We all know someone who absolutely despises cannabis and is completely unaccepting of our enjoyment of it. How do you deal with these people, especially if they are a friend or family member? Most importantly, how do you deal with them tactfully?

Tell Them It’s Your Choice

You are your own person and no one can tell you how to live your life. It was your choice to start using cannabis, and it’s your choice to continue to enjoy it. Tell the person giving you a hard time that you are an adult and cannabis does not affect your ability to go to work and pay your bills. You work hard, so you should be allowed to indulge in this harmless habit.

Cite Safety Statistics

A big reason a lot of people have issues with cannabis use is because it is still illegal in much of the world. Even in the US where half the country has legalized cannabis for recreational and medical use, cannabis remains a Schedule I drug. As a result, people think cannabis is dangerous, simply because anti-drug propaganda tells them that it is. If the canna-hater you know tells you that cannabis is dangerous hence why it’s illegal, cite statistics that show no one has ever died from a pot overdose. Explain to them the history of cannabis and why it was criminalized in the first place.

Tell Them How Cannabis Helps You

You have your reasons why you keep using cannabis, it makes you feel good, helps with medical issues, etc. Next time someone tries to lecture you about your love for cannabis, try explaining to them why you enjoy it, and why it helps you be a better person. This is especially helpful if you are using cannabis for medical reasons, such as managing chronic pain. This person can’t begrudge you for wanting to make your life a little bit easier. People have different things that help get them through the day. Cannabis happens to be what helps you. You could always be flippant and tell them that cannabis helps you deal with people like them, but that would be mean.

Find Out Why They Hate It

People have personal reasons for disliking cannabis. They distrust it because of the legality of it, or maybe they tried it once and had a bad experience. If you find out why they dislike cannabis, you can talk to them about it. Propaganda can be a powerful thing, hence why it’s still used. Propaganda is also meant to intentionally misinform people, which is certainly the case with cannabis. Maybe they are just misinformed about it, and you can be the one who changes their mind. If they tried it and hated it, explain that cannabis affects everyone differently. There are many people who do love it, and they should perhaps not be so judgmental of those people.

Tell Them To Try It

Most people who don’t like cannabis haven’t tried it for themselves and are just basing their opinion off of what they’ve been told about it by other people, the news, etc. A lot of people who hated weed, tried it for the first time, and now don’t even remember why they hated it. Remember when your parents would tell you, “try it you’ll like it” when you were a kid? There were certainly times when you tried a food that you thought you hated on general principle, then found that you loved it. For example, I hated sushi despite never trying it, then I tried it and now it’s my favorite food. Once they actually give cannabis a chance, they might end up being the biggest champion of pot you know!

Some people hate cannabis, that’s a fact of life. Some people hate cannabis because they are misinformed about it. They know the stereotype of the stoner portrayed in media, and they automatically relegate you to that role. If you try talking to them about it, you might come to a mutual understanding. Who knows, you might get them to change their mind!

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How have you dealt with canna-haters? Share in the comments!

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