Dear Stoner: How Do I Tell My Family I Smoke Pot?

Dear Stoner: I’ve been smoking pot for a few years, but in the last six months I’ve started smoking more as I drink less (I’m 25). My parents have always been against marijuana, but I want to be honest with them if I continue to partake. How should I break the news?
Beaver Cleaver

Dear Beaver: It’s hard to give specific advice, as I’ve never met your parents — but honesty is usually the best policy. If you don’t see yourself ending your cannabis use anytime soon, make sure you educate yourself before starting the discussion. Don’t rant about pot’s ability to fight cancer you don’t have or George Washington’s hemp garden; just tell them why it benefits you. Does it help with anxiety? Pain? Sleep? Maybe talk about an instance in which marijuana made your night better without putting you in danger, as alcohol can. If you have a decent job and keep yourself tidy, that might help their outlook, too. You want to take an unapologetic stance while still being respectful of their questions and concerns.

My dad was almost forced to embrace cannabis after I got a job writing about it, but not everyone is lucky enough to have supportive parents. Some people refuse to change their mind regardless of how much you love them, and some won’t approve of pot no matter how you spin it. If all else fails, slap a Mary’s Medicinals transdermal patch on your dad the next time his back aches and tell him it’s Icy Hot. The results may speak for themselves.

Dear Stoner: I don’t like smoking, but I hate how long edibles take to kick in. Do you know of anything I don’t need to smoke that will still help my achy knees faster?
Liz

Dear Liz: These kinds of questions are best asked at your dispensary; any decent budtender should be able to assist you after hearing the specifics of your ailments. But if you don’t trust salespeople, here are the basics.

Tinctures are a great way to achieve a quick high without putting smoke in your lungs. Extracted with alcohol or vegetable oils, tinctures are high concentrations of THC in liquid form. Put a few drops of marijuana tincture under your tongue and the THC will enter your bloodstream almost immediately. The quick ingestion should give you a tingly body high within ten to fifteen minutes. And this is another good use of Mary’s Medicinals; those transdermal patches contain extracted THC and CBD for pain relief and come in ten- or twenty-milligram dosages, so you can experiment with how much medication you want and where you want it.