How to Talk to Your Family and Friends About Weed

The best way to talk to your family and friends about weed is to listen first, come prepared with facts, and be honest about both the benefits and the risks. A lot of us spent years living with “cannabis shame.” Conversations about weed are easier to navigate than ever, but in some places a little prep and tact go a long way — especially where the plant still faces some kind of prohibition.

In most of the world, cannabis is still taboo. Which is pretty ironic given how socially accepted alcohol is — a drug that kills around three million people worldwide every year, according to the World Health Organization.

Cannabis has its downsides, but by most measures it's far less risky than alcohol, with more potential benefits. To date, there's no recorded case of anyone dying from a cannabis overdose, despite nearly a century of misinformation, stigma and all-out demonization.

The “Reefer Madness” propaganda still hangs around, but things are starting to shift, and in the era of legal cannabis, it's time to push even harder to destigmatize the plant socially, and that means working up the nerve to have “the weed talk.”

Whether you think a loved one could benefit from cannabis or you just want them to understand why it's an important part of your life, that first conversation is key to opening the lines of communication.

Not sure where to start? Here are some of the most useful tips and nuances for talking to the people you love about cannabis, so you can actually pull up the tangled roots of weed fear and the misconceptions that come with it.

We know it can be tough, especially if you've been dealing with anti-cannabis vibes for years, but the only way to get anywhere is to take the time to listen first.

What are your loved ones' main worries, and where did their ideas about cannabis come from? Did they have a bad experience with weed in the past? What shaped the way they think about it?

Keep in mind that anyone who's against legal cannabis today probably comes in with built-in biases they may not even be aware of, and reacting with aggression or impatience will only prove their point.

Keeping an open mind and listening to their concerns with genuine interest and curiosity is essential. Once they've gotten everything off their chest, it's your turn to respond.

Use that moment to answer any questions they've asked, clear up any misinformation, or simply share your take on how they see things.

Again, patience is key throughout the whole conversation; otherwise, whatever you have to say will probably fall on deaf ears.

To get there, you can ask a few questions of your own to better understand where they're coming from and how you might help them see things from a new angle.

Questions you could ask include:

Where do you think your information about cannabis came from?

Is it possible your information is out of date?

Would you be open to considering new information about cannabis?

It's also important to go into this part of the conversation with total transparency. Cannabis isn't 100% bad, but it isn't 100% good either. Yes, it's a versatile medicine and wellness product; no, it's not chamomile tea.

In other words, don't blindly defend every single thing about the plant; it's just as important to acknowledge the risks that come with cannabis so people can make the best decision for themselves.

But above all, show up to the conversation prepared. Knowing the basic science of the plant and how it works with our bodies, a bit of history, and anything else you think they might be curious about makes all the difference.

Do your homework ahead of time, and get ahead of the arguments or misconceptions that are likely to come up.

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