Despite the growing acceptance towards cannabis all over the world, and its subsequent legalization in many countries and US states, the subject remains a touchy one for many people. Having a negative attitude towards the plant can come from a number of places, and there is no universal reason for disliking it. Those who’ve been partaking for a long time are probably used to brushing off the negativity, considering that they joined the crowd at a time when the public’s opinion was even worse on average.
And yet, there are some instances where it’s really hard to ignore this kind of criticism, especially when it comes from people close to you. If you’re facing a problem like this, you’re far from alone. Many of those who love marijuana still have to deal with problems in their personal relationships that arise from clashing views.
Try to Understand Where They’re Coming from
If you have a situation like that on your hands and want to do something about it, you need to start at the source. As we mentioned above, everyone who dislikes marijuana has their own reason for it, and you should not assume that you know what’s going through the person’s head, even if you are already close. In some people, it’s the result of strict conservative views that are so deeply ingrained into their thinking that they are practically impossible to change. Others are stuck in a mindset from several decades ago and have never bothered to read up on recent developments.
Then there are those with more legitimate concerns, like family members who disapprove of the fact that you’re smoking and potentially harming your lungs. In those cases, the problem might be alleviated by switching to a different style of using cannabis, such as vaping or edibles. But you’ll never know what the root of the issue is unless you sit down and talk.
Times Are Changing – But Not Everyone Is Following the Trends Closely
We touched on this above, and it’s an important point to explore in detail. For some people, the whole reason they dislike marijuana is because they are unaware of recent developments in the field. With the legalization movement growing in strength, we’re seeing more research being conducted into the plant’s effects than ever before. And with that, much of the stigma that used to surround it has disappeared on its own. But this can only happen if people are willing to educate themselves on the subject. If you feel like that’s the problem you’re dealing with, approaching the person with some informative materials can go a long way.
Don’t Force the Issue
At the same time, you should be careful with how you approach this kind of conversation. People often tend to put up a barrier and double down on their assumptions if they feel like they are being challenged aggressively. Don’t start the conversation with “you’re probably just too ignorant on the subject, take a look at this”. It will take some time to properly lead the conversation in the right direction, but your patience will be rewarded if they are willing to listen.
Don’t be discouraged if your talks don’t go anywhere. As we said above, some cases of negativity are just too difficult to manage and you can’t expect to change those people’s views. If you fail to see any progress, don’t keep pushing with the assumption that you will eventually “break” them. This will only increase the divide between you even more.
Why “Just Try It and You’ll Understand” Is Often a Bad Idea
One of the worst approaches to dealing with negativity towards marijuana is to just assume that once the other person has tried it for themselves, they’ll “see the light”. This is a terrible idea for a multitude of reasons in pretty much every case, especially with no prior talks about the subject. For one thing, everyone reacts to their first time smoking differently. Modern strains can be quite powerful too, and what feels like a normal session to you can be absolutely mind-blowing to someone who’s never tried it their entire life.
Do you remember the slight paranoia that used to creep up on you when you were still a fresh smoker? Now multiply that several times and combine it with an already anxious, negative predisposition towards what’s going on, and you have a recipe for disaster on your hands. Showing marijuana to someone who’s normally against it should only come as a response to their own curiosity.
Discretion for the Sake of Preserving Your Relationship
In the end, if you find that you’re facing a losing battle, the best thing for both sides’ sake is to just drop the subject entirely. Of course that doesn’t mean that you should stop smoking yourself. But if you care about preserving that relationship and don’t want to see it deteriorate even further, perhaps a little discretion is in order. Try not to make it too obvious when you smoke, and do your best to coordinate your sessions with times when the other person wouldn’t be paying attention. We don’t mean to outright hide like a guilty high schooler – just don’t rub it into their face that you’re high.
Thankfully, we’re already seeing the general attitude towards marijuana changing significantly. It will take some more years, but there will be a time when the majority of people don’t see it as anything different than having a beer. Even then though, you have to come to terms with the fact that some people will just never want to see things any differently, and there’s simply nothing you can do about that.