Telling people you smoke weed can be stressful, but 2015 was the year pot became an acceptable topic at many dinner parties and family lunches; medical and recreational use of cannabis has sparked debate, discussion and reform worldwide from the Americas to Australia. At the close of 2015, four of the United States had legalized cannabis use for recreation, and 23 states allow the use of medical marijuana. Cannabis finally has momentum, and many potheads are ready to come clean to their family and friends. This advice is for people with an interest in cannabis that might be a little worried about the opinions of others, whether you indulge annually, monthly, weekly or daily!

Five Things to Consider Before Telling People you Use Cannabis

Read Up

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Be educated about cannabis. If you’ve decided to talk to your friends, family or peers about using cannabis be sure you know your stuff. Try to avoid sweeping statements like “Smoking weed is GOOD for your health!” Research, read, get baked while you do it. Have resources (and maybe cannacaps) available to share! Learn a bit about what you are putting in your body: your loved ones want to know that you are safe, and being educated will help you show them that you are.

Hold Yourself Accountable

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Be a responsible consumer: monitor your weed consumption. Excessive and unhealthy use of cannabis can lead to all kinds of unhealthy scenarios, so take care of yourself and others, and be self aware. Monitor your use and hold yourself accountable. Be your best self, and fight the stigma.

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Take Care of Yourself and your Health

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Live the right kind of lifestyle. If you’re hoping your family and friends will accept that you are a cannabis consumer, set a good example. Exercise regularly; eat a healthy, balanced diet; have hobbies, friends and forms of entertainment; and get out of the house. Really do it, don’t pretend! A balanced, healthy lifestyle is important whether or not you smoke pot. It’s just more fun high. Don’t give anyone a reason to critique your pot smokin’ ways!

Talk Cannabis

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Talk to others about cannabis. Talking to weed-positive folks, you can gather more information and hacks on your friend Mary Jane. If you are unsure of who is weed-positive, be friendly and ask questions of people! (What do you think of cannabis being legalized? Do you know anyone who uses medical marijuana? Y’know.) Don’t act dumb, innocent or uneducated, be proud of your knowledge and what you have learned. Find people you can debate with, and learn from them. (Do be mindful of who you discuss your cannabis use with, of course!)

Just Do You

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Its 2016, stoners come in all shapes and sizes, and often people are reluctant to be accepting of potheads due to ‘typical’ stoner stereotypes. This is easy if you have the above four points under control: Don’t smoke in public places; respect those who are not interested in trying weed or being around it; respect someone who says they’ve had enough; and understand there is a time and a place for consumption.

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Smoking weed doesn’t make you a good or bad person, your actions are what really make an impression. If you’re worried about sharing that you’re 420-friendly with someone else, use the above points to frame it in a way that will allow others to look past the fact that you use cannabis, and into your true character instead.