A Survival Guide to Tricky Cannabis Convos: Convincing Older Generations

You have experienced the benefits of cannabis in your own life. Whether you are suffering from anxiety or depression, recovering from addiction or experiencing chronic pain, you may have found healing in cannabis where pharmacology failed you. When you know what your options are, it can be hard to watch those around you struggle with pain or chronic illness in addition to the jarring side effects of prescription medication.

Whether it’s your grandfather who has joint pain or an ultra-conservative friend with Fibromyalgia, it’s a challenge to convince a generation raised on “Reefer Madness” that cannabis is the answer. One thing not to lose sight of is that knowledge is power…and arming someone with it can be very persuasive.

One of the best things you can do is to provide reputable information from sources they trust and make it an ongoing conversation. News organizations such as The New York Times and The San Francisco Chronicle have archives and dedicated sections on the latest developments surrounding cannabis news. The more objective information you can provide, the easier it is to convince your loved one to open up to something new.

As legalization becomes more prevalent across the country, it has created opportunities for researchers to conduct medical studies, like this one on the effects of CBD from patients in chronic pain. As it turns out, 43 percent of people who switched from prescription meds to CBD products prefer cannabis on an ongoing basis. The numbers don’t lie, and they’re not going away.

As we learn more about cannabis users, one of the most exciting emerging demographics of the industry is women and baby boomers. These influential groups are fueling the skyrocketing growth of the cannabis industry, particularly in California. Increased access, safer purchasing abilities, and expanding product lines are responsible for the growth, and there’s no looking back. We’re no longer dealing with your somewhat-shady hook-up on the wrong side of town. Educated Budtenders, luxe packaging and high-quality testing standards are changing people’s minds about what cannabis looks like.

It’s also about a finding a holistic, wellness-minded solution. Our modern lifestyles have brought about a bevy of issues ranging from sleeplessness to anxiety, chronic depression and a depletion of our Endocannabinoid system. As the opioid crisis quietly ravages our country, there is a growing demand for a better answer. The wellness space is worth well over $3 trillion and rising. Adding cannabis to the wellness sector is opening up doors for healing that people would have never considered before.

So, save your newspaper clippings. Create a link library. Arm yourself with the knowledge to empower yourself and those around you with the facts about cannabis, not the hype.

This article is the third and final installment in a series of articles on navigating the controversial conversations that can sometimes arise around the topic of including cannabis as part of a healthy lifestyle. Check out Part One on relationships and Part Two on motherhood for more tricky cannabis convos.