Melissa Etheridge

Rock singer and Grammy winner Melissa Etheridge. (Tarina Doolittle)

(Tarina Doolittle)

Rock star marijuana advocate Melissa Etheridge says she even smokes with her children.

"I have smoked with my older two," the musician told Yahoo (via People). "It was funny at first, and then they realized, it's a very natural, end-of-the-day [thing] ... And it brings you much closer. I'd much rather have a smoke with my grown kids than a drink -- oh, God, no."

Etheridge has four children, including Bailey, 20, and Beckett, 18. Her comments appear in a new Yahoo documentary, "Weed & the American Family."

"My children have a very clear understanding of cannabis," she said. "When I hold it without shame or confusion, then they can understand it as simple as if I was pointing to a bottle of Percocet and said, 'That's Mama's medicine.' You take the naughtiness out of it, and it's not something that kids run to."

Etheridge became interested in medicinal marijuana during her treatment for breast cancer over a decade ago. She's fought for legalization ever since.

"It wasn't about being high," she added. "It was just being to a place where I could communicate with my children, to where I could get up, to where I could eat. It was great medicine."

In a 2013 editorial for CNN, she wrote that taking marijuana during chemotherapy "changed my life."

"I believe it is time to shine a light on the old 'Reefer Madness' fears," she continued. "Let's legitimize cannabis sales so that our youth are as protected from illegal pot as they are from illegal alcohol and tobacco sales. Legitimize the growers so that pot can have regulations and I know I am supporting American businesses and not outlaws when I purchase it.

"Our great Constitution challenges us to grow constantly Let's put an end to marijuana prohibition and get clear regulations on the legal sale of pot. The benefits might surprise us."

-- David Greenwald

dgreenwald@oregonian.com

503-294-7625; @davidegreenwald

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