4 Tips for Talking to Your Parents About Cannabis
The legalization of cannabis and its known wellness benefits have helped change the perception and stigma around weed. But more work needs to be done to ensure that weed is more widely accepted. Talking to others about your cannabis consumption can still be a difficult topic. Even tougher is when that audience is your own parents. If you’re using cannabis or would like to use it, here are five tips that will help you approach the cannabis conversation with your parents.
Acknowledge Your Parent’s Reservations About the Plant
Let your parents know you understand their concerns around weed consumption. If you’ve had previous conversations about cannabis with them, or if they’ve shared stories about their own experience with cannabis, those can all be good starting points. Find out whether their concern is around the consumption of weed or if it’s the activities associated with using cannabis. Understanding the root of their concerns will allow you to better address the problem at hand.
If your parents were open to sharing their experience with the plant, the conversation becomes easier. After all, they are also coming from a place of understanding and experience. Adopt a straight-forward approach to share why you want to try weed or why you are using it. While you may not have the same reason as your parents to want to try cannabis, there’s nothing wrong with being transparent and open about your intentions with the plant.
Try to have a subjective discussion that embraces their concerns, perspective, knowledge, and interest about cannabis. Keep in mind that it’s a conversation, not a debate!
2. Talk about its Wellness Benefits
Another good angle to approach the conversation is by talking about the health and wellness benefits that come with using cannabis instead of focusing on recreational use. There are many researched health benefits of cannabis; medical cannabis is currently used to treat chronic pain, depression, epilepsy, muscle spasms, PTSD, nausea, and a spectrum of ailments.
Outside of the medical market, there are known wellness effects of taking CBD which have made this cannabinoid very trendy and popular. It has anti-inflammatory properties which help reduce pain, and reduce stress and anxiety. With the legalization of cannabis in Canada, CBD is now easier to get your hands on.
3. Discuss Alternative Ways of Consumption
A common concern among parents about cannabis is the act of smoking. Joints, pipes, blunts, and bongs are popular methods of cannabis consumption. There are many toxic aftereffects of smoking, and parents are often worried about these health risks. But the legalization of cannabis has opened doors to innovation in the industry. Today you can find several different ways of consuming cannabis , including cannabis oil, edibles, and other cannabis concentrates. Using a vaporizer device for cannabis flower will also help reduce the health risks associated with smoking.
4. Have the Conversation in a Private and Comfortable Environment
Initiating a conversation about cannabis with your parents can be uncomfortable and awkward.
Make sure you’re doing it in a place where both you and your parents feel comfortable, and best if it’s done in private so you don’t have to worry about other people walking in. Make sure the timing and mood is also right, and be patient with the process!
If there’s a way to naturally segue from a different conversation into talking about cannabis, take advantage of it. This will gives you an opening to bring the topic up more naturally. For example, a conversation about wellness and self-care can easily lend itself to a conversation about CBD and its benefits.
Be prepared for a negative response from your parents. Stigmas and negative perceptions around weed tend to be rooted in a lack of education and understanding around a topic. Your parents might need more time to digest everything you’ve told them, or they may need to do research about cannabis themselves to better understand the topic. Remember to be respectful and empathetic throughout the process; you can always give them time and revisit the conversation later.
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This article was written by Lisa Willson, and edited by Trina Lee. Lisa Willson is a full-time content marketing specialist. She has been closely following the CBD Healthcare and Medical Industry trends. Published July 4, 2020.