How to conduct cannabis conversations at the holiday table

Experts and politicians can debate the most successful party in the mid-term elections, but one result is indisputable: November 6, 2018 was a very good day for marijuana. Cannabis was present on the ballot in four states and three (Michigan, Utah and Missouri) passed legislation for cannabis. North Dakota was the solitary solitary, vote against a measure to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes.

These votes mean that recreational grass is now in 10 states and Washington, D.C.and marijuana for medical purposes in 33. The result also means that cannabis will likely become a topic of conversation at vacation meetings with friends and family.

We have prepared a checklist for when Uncle Jeremy or Aunt Lily will resurrect the arguments of Reefer Madness." era.

But, first, a few words: do not let the grass wars destroy your family reunion.

Whatever the subject of a difficult conversation, the experts tell us that the most critical thing we can do is listen to the other person with openness and curiosity.

"You can not move the conversation in a more positive direction until the person feels heard and understood," the authors note.Difficult conversations: how to discuss what matters most, "Who are also members of the Harvard Negotiation Project.

Advocacy is the strategy of last resort, say authors Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen. When you encourage someone to come to your point of view, she pushes it away. And that's when things can start to get ugly with the green bean casserole or vegan stuffing that this great Aunt Lily has prepared especially for you.

So, with the discussion points below, keep this one in your back pocket: "Please, skip the sauce. Is not it the best turkey of all time?

While anti-marijuana forces have long claimed that marijuana leads to the use of harder drugs, research does not support this theory. Yes, there is a correlation, but that does not mean that there is a cause and an effect. In other words, the link between marijuana use and subsequent drug abuse could be compared to the relationship between, for example, enjoying Slurpees as a child, then burglary 7-Eleven stores. One action may precede the other without leading to it. Even the National Institute of Addiction (NIDA) concluded that "the majority of marijuana users do not use other" harder "substances …", noting that if marijuana "stimulates the brain" for an appetite for of other drugs, it could be the same said of alcohol and nicotine.

And here's what we Know. According to public health researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, the application of marijuana laws for medical purposes did not result in an increase in the use of hard drugs. The opposite seems to actually be true.

2. Cannabis can be an effective tool for combating The opioid epidemic in America.

A 2017 study published in the Elsevier peer-reviewed journal Drug addiction and alcohol dependence have shown that, in states with a form of legalized marijuana, there was a significant decrease in the number of hospitalizations for opioid addiction or abuse, as well as a reduction in overdoses. ; opioids. At the same time, there was no increase in marijuana hospitalizations.

Another study published in 2018 in the journal of the Society for the Study of Addiction Addiction, has shown that in states where medical marijuana is available, opioid doses, expenses and prescriptions have fallen by almost 30%. And you will be surprised to learn who is among the people benefiting most from medical cannabis.

3. Medical marijuana is a boon for seniors with pain that is difficult to treat.

Opioid Prescriptions for the Medicare Generation – 65 Years Old and Over – and Medicaid, which includes people with disabilities and low-income people, decrease dramatically when states make marijuana available for medical purposes. A study published in May 2018 by the Journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA Internal Medicine found that in states where people can buy marijuana for medical purposes at a dispensary, the number of opioids treated with Medicare and Medicaid decreased by 2.21 million daily doses per year.

This result would not be surprising Dr. Diana Martins-Welch, a geriatric doctor from New York who co-wrote his own survey which revealed that two-thirds of seniors who use medical marijuana to manage chronic pain have significantly reduced their reliance on opioid analgesics. "Elderly people who use marijuana to relieve pain are extremely positive about this experience," she told Marijuana.com. That's why it's so important to legalize marijuana at the federal level so that we can do more large-scale factual studies that will indicate the best ways to help more people, especially seniors, particularly .

4. Legalizing marijuana means safer products and safer ways to use them.

Cannabis sold in clinics has been laboratory tested for the presence of pesticides, solvents, molds and other contaminants. In addition, clinics offer cannabis in a wide range of formats, including dyes, sublingual bands, vape pens, edibles, capsules, balms, patches and suppositories.

This means that you can avoid the harmful effects of smoking, a method even discouraged by the most ardent medical marijuana practitioners. "As doctors, we do not like to recommend people to smoke in any form because, obviously, it's not good for you," said Dr. Jordan Tishler, a physician. Physician trained at Harvard who runs InhaleMD, a medical practice focused on cannabis in Boston, told Marijuana.com. In addition, other methods of consumption allow a more precise dosage and the ability to choose the onset and duration of the effects of marijuana that best suit the situation that patients are trying to treat.

5. All cannabis products do not make you high.

Cannabidiol (CBD) , not intoxicating, but it has a wide range of therapeutic benefitslike reduce inflammation or calm anxiety. In addition, CBD can be associated with a very low dose of THC, its intoxicating sister compound, to treat an even wider range of diseases, including menstrual cramps and nausea caused by chemotherapy. With the right relationship between CBD and THC, people will not notice any change in mood or compromise in their ability to do normal activities, but they may well get better sleep and have less pain.

6. Legalized marijuana does not lead to higher consumption rates among minors.

If this were the case, we would see an explosion in marijuana use among teenagers, while more and more states have opted for some form of legalization. This does not happen. Rather, The data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that between 1995 and 2015, marijuana use among high school students decreased somewhat. The percentage of cannabis users who have ever used cannabis rose from 42.4% to 38.6%, while the percentage of marijuana users at least once in the last month went from 25.3% to 21%. , 7%. Similar dips have been observed in recent years in states such as Oregon, Colorado, and Alaskawho all have marijuana laws for recreational purposes in books.