5 Tips for Introducing Cannabis to Your Family Celebrations This Holiday Season

Merry Cannabismas, happy Chronikkuh, and a very special Bongzaa to you and yours!

Now that cannabis is legal, the green Christmas jokes practically write themselves. But culture change is serious business, and winning your weed a permanent place next to the wine will take more than marching into the family holiday party with spliffs a’ blazing.

Follow these suggestions and just maybe this will be the year that “green Christmas” transitions from joke to joyful tradition.

Feel It Out First

You know your family culture best. Perhaps your relatives already pass the Dutchie to the left, or perhaps they used to. In this case, sharing your stash is a matter of logistics—checking in with your hosts to ensure they’re onboard, choosing a delivery method, strain, and dose that works for the crowd, and ensuring kids don’t get their hands on it.

But if yours is a brood of buzzkills, consider this holiday season your opening move in a long game, one that starts with a conversation. Medical cannabis and CBD—a.k.a, the gateway cannabinoid—are great topics for gently steering the family conversation towards acceptance.

Go Low and Slow

What’s fun for seasoned stoners can be terrifying for nug newbies, so be careful when you’re choosing which products to share. There’s nothing like a bad first experience to turn a person off of cannabis forever, so start low and go slow when recommending products for other people. High-CBD and balanced THC:CBD strains are less likely to induce anxiety or paranoia than their high-THC equivalents.

If you plan on bringing edibles to the party, 2 mg of THC is a great starting point for each individually-dosed serving. For the sensitive among us, that’s enough to create a mild perceptual shift while still enjoying functioning social skills. Guests with higher tolerances (or higher aspirations) can always just eat more.

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Know Where to Start

Unless the party is at your place, your host is the first person you need to chat with about your plans to bring the green. Beyond that, take a good look at your family dynamics and think about who your family influencers are—if you can win their approval, you’ll have an easier time getting everyone else’s.

Show Some Respect

Until bringing cannabis to a party is as culturally accepted as bringing wine, tread lightly. Although you may love the idea of getting your entire family high, that shouldn’t be the goal.

Ultimately, it’s about acceptance, creating an environment for you and pot-loving brethren to consume without judgment; the best way to cultivate that is by giving the respect you wish to receive.

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way to Weed

Ideally, your relatives can accept cannabis as a normal part of daily life, whether they consume it themselves or not. But if you’re getting stonewalled in your efforts to normalize, remember: there are plenty of ways to consume without your prudish relatives being the wiser. Pop some edibles or a discreet vaporizer in your pocket, and enjoy the holiday magic.