Marijuana may be accepted more and more across states in the US but that doesn’t always mean that family and friends will be 100% on board with the new medical marijuana patient (i.e., you ☺). Having the right facts and information about medical marijuana (MMJ) will be important when it’s time to talk with your family about medical marijuana.
Our previous blog posts have given new MMJ patient some of the foundational information about cannabis, so be sure to check out our archives. These posts are also created to share with even non-MMJ/MJ partakers.
But you still may be asking: how to I actually talk to friends and family? Also, if my child/ren somehow finds out, how to I talk with them about MMJ and still be a responsible parent who does not promote youth recreational weed usage?
The bottom line is to always use words like ‘may, might, could’ and not make any medical claims – which is good advice in general.
Having the setting where you will talk with your friends and/or family is very important. Choose a relaxing time and place but don’t over orchestrate it. That might conjure up images of scenes from ‘Intervention’, which is definitely not what you want to do. This is a good thing and considering the facts and your personal experience with medical marijuana, talking to your family will likely be no big deal.
Also pick a place and time where nothing else is going on – like holidays or family events. An uneventful Friday night at home is a perfect time. Be aware of what might be going on in the lives of your friends and/or family members. Negative reactions to anything can sometimes be triggered by other stress people have going on in their lives.
And above all: do NOT smoke or partake before talking with your friends and/or family. Do not do ‘the talk’ stoned or high.
It should be easier to talk to other now that medical marijuana is so widely accepted, but back a few decades ago it was definitely a taboo subject. There are still some things to say and not to say. Since marijuana technically is still categorized at a Schedule 1 substance – which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies as not having any known medical benefits and is considered addictive – there are still some old school folks, like my dad, who hear that and immediately dismiss marijuana as a dangerous drug. End of story.
It’s unlikely you’ll be dealing with such a dogmatic person and perspective, but how I handled speaking with my dad might offer some good suggestions to a new medical marijuana patient who needs to speak with their family and friends. My father is a very reasonable person but he is very obstinate when it comes to following the rules – even if they don’t make any sense.
Using the term ‘cannabis’ rather than marijuana is a good place to start. Cannabis has far less of a stigma attached to it and actually does cover a wider area of the whole ‘marijuana’ subject. Knowing the difference is also handy – check out our blog post that dives deeper into marijuana vs cannabis …
Marijuana, Hemp, Cannabis, Weed… What Does It All Mean?
I also used phrases like, ‘many people have experience’ or ‘there have been reports from people who experienced’ when talking about the benefits of medical cannabis. Steer away from more absolute or immoveable statements and stick with more ambiguous terminology. Without large-scale research into the medical applications of marijuana, this isn’t enough data to make these claims.
To this my father promptly asked, ‘Well, why isn’t there any large-scale research?’ The answer is covered in another blog post about the history and scheduling of marijuana. Marijuana is thisclose to being at least federally decriminalized, but major world events like the COVID-19 pandemic, the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine, the faster-than-we-thought changing climate and ensuing record-breaking natural disasters and more have taken the US government’s attention away from the rescheduling. Fortunately it has bipartisan support, so it’s only a matter of time.
But perhaps that most compelling fact about marijuana is that over its several thousand year usage there has not been any cases of overdose or death related to its usage. There might not be the large research we all would love to see, but this fact alone is one that 1.) can’t be disputed, and 2.) kind of says it all.
For additional information and suggestions you can always ask you medical marijuana care provider doctor. You can also speak with your local budtender for other ideas. The regulations in Missouri (and other states) are explicit on what medical cannabis dispensaries can and cannot say, so they will have excellent information that you can share with friends and family. They can even guide you on correct vernacular and terminology.
And you can always send them this blog if they would like more in depth information. Just be careful of letting them search the internet – much like when you’re sick, it’s sometimes difficult sorting out the reliable online sources and information.
