Wiz Khalifa story highlights why being a stoner parent isn’t a headline

The more I see Wiz Khalifa in the news, the more I like him. He made headlines most recently for sharing in an interview that he goes to parent-teacher conferences stoned on the freshest podcast episode of Call Her Daddy with Alex Cooper. This slew of coverage over something I do every day, parent after consuming, makes me wonder why it’s such a headline-grabber.

RELATED: 6 Alternative comedy podcasts to make you giggle

I listen to a lot of femme indie rock and 2000s nu-metal, so Wiz doesn’t bless my Spotify Wrapped, but I still know that I dig his vibe. At the jump of the pod the rapper is smoking and chatting.

The vibes are good throughout the conversation, where he opens up about his cannabis consumption, parenting as a stoner, and his passion for reality television classics like Flavor of Love. At many points, he drops one-liners that I will repeat in my head for the rest of my life.

Since I’d prefer you go listen for yourself, here are the Khalifa quotes that made me laugh without explanation.

“I am way too player to be sleeping in a fucking tent.”

“Hit the weed. Go on a boat. Enjoy life.”

“Do you hear the flute, bro?”

Now, let’s talk about the big story on the wire: Wiz goes to parent-teacher conferences high.

Wiz Khalifa talks about pot parenting

As Cooper joins in and starts smoking on something she asks him if he’s ever been in a situation while high that non-consumers would unravel in if they were to smoke.

He blew a raspberry and said, “That’s pretty much my whole life.”

RELATED: 20 musician-owned cannabis brands that hit a high note

This is when the conversation touches on how Wiz goes to parent-teacher conferences high. The follow-up note that most outlets listed from the hour-long pod is that his son probably smells like weed sometimes, too.

Wiz goes on to explain that he goes to these conferences high because it’s important to him to be authentic in every situation. The artist wants the teacher to connect with the real him—the person who is parenting his ten-year-old.

“They’re not gonna get a fake version of me or this made-up parent that society makes you think that you’re supposed to be. I am who I am,” Wiz told Cooper. “It’s not because I’m a celebrity or anything, but it’s really what I believe in, and you know, why not get the real me? Why would I have to change who I am and act like I’m not that just for these places I’m gonna go? That’s not how I’m going to live my life ever, hell no.”

Many pot-smoking parents don’t feel they can do the same. The way the media latched onto this one small conversation in the interview highlights why. Being medicated or stoned or lifted or whatever you call it while doing things like playing trains, consulting with teachers, or having family movie time is still a wild concept to some people. But each parent who feels safe enough to let their pot flag fly opens the door for another.

I wear my Sackville dad hat with a smoking apple to toddler story time at the library and explain my work to inquisitive parents at the playground. Showing people that you can be a loving, safe gentle parent and a cannabis consumer is important to me, and it seems like that is important to Wiz, too.

Wiz Khalifa is parenting goals

Wiz is fun, if that wasn’t apparent by his music, movies, or maybe every appearance he’s ever made, take my word for it now. He also appears to be an active, engaged parent and a generally empathetic man. Even in going to parent-teacher conferences high, he isn’t just being a stoner, he’s making an effort to connect authentically with his child’s educator.

As a fellow parent that takes every opportunity to advocate for responsible pot smoking parental figures everywhere and who identifies with a lot of what Wiz was talking about in that recent episode of Call Her Daddy, I might go as far as saying Wiz Khalifa is parenting goals. At least for a certain kind of parent.