Move Over, Politics: How to Explain CBD to Your Family This Holiday Season

The holidays are coming around again, and for many people, this is the time of year when they have the opportunity to spend time with family and catch them up on a year’s worth of news. To help you avoid that awkward moment when you happily announce that you’re taking CBD and your family reacts as if you were smoking illegal pot, prepare yourself ahead of time with this handy guide to sharing CBD info with your nearest and dearest.

1. Share Your CBD Experience

There’s nothing better to get a conversation started than sharing your personal CBD story. Perhaps your family knew that you were struggling with day-to-day discomfort or sleep problems, and CBD seems to have turned the situation around since the last time you all got together.

Without making any outlandish claims, you can easily let CBD come up as part of your “news” by sharing your personal experience with CBD and let the rest of the CBD info flow as Aunt Hilda and Uncle Bert start asking questions. The keys to a successful conversation are matching your answers to the questions that are asked and sticking to your own experiences and the facts.

2. Graciously Listen to their Stories and Concerns

While you’re probably up with CBD education and the latest studies on the endocannabinoid system, it’s important to keep in mind that your relatives probably aren’t. As you share CBD info with people from an older generation or who live in an area where CBD hasn’t yet hit it big, be ready to listen to stories about “weed in college” and “the latest news story about the dangers of marijuana.”

Once they’ve shared their stories, you can then turn the conversation around to CBD info with a clever little CBD segway. You know your family better than anyone else—their interests, their sensitivities, and their attitude towards holistic supplements. Here are just a few ideas to get you into the CBD flow:

For Recreational Cannabis Users

• “I’ve certainly had my share of adventures, but CBD is more like a regular superfood for overall health.”

For the Affectionately Concerned

• “CBD itself is actually legal across the country and has been described as having a low potential for toxicity by the World Health Organization. While marijuana has clearly-known risks, CBD has several therapeutic uses that are increasingly supported by research.”

For the Science Nerds

• “Fortunately, scientists understand cannabis better now and have been able to isolate compounds like CBD that have several therapeutic properties and aren’t the least bit psychoactive.”

3. Be Prepared to Explain CBD

Once you’ve piqued their interest and have the conversational floor, it’s your chance to shine in the spotlight with accurate and up‐to‐date CBD info. Be sure to start with some basics of CBD education and move on to statistics and laws from there.

What is CBD?

Set the stage by explaining what CBD is—and what it isn’t. Be sure to cover the following points when explaining CBD info to your family:

• CBD is short for cannabidiol.
• CBD is one of 100+ cannabinoids (or “active compounds”) in the cannabis plant.
• CBD is not psychoactive and doesn’t get you high like THC does.
• CBD is the most abundant cannabinoid in the hemp plant.
• CBD extracted from hemp is legal at a federal level—even in many states where recreational or medical marijuana are not.
• CBD is currently sold in several different forms, including:
  • Mixed with a neutral carrier oil to be placed under the tongue and swallowed
  • Added to gummies and supplement powders
  • Added to skin care products and topical balms
  • Added to coffee, beer, and other commercial foods and beverages
• So far, anecdotal reports as well as scientific research show that CBD is well tolerated with few (if any) risks and many potential benefits for health.

How Does CBD Work?

Once you’ve covered the most basic CBD info, you can mention some of the properties and benefits of CBD that are supported by animal and/or human research studies:

• Reduces seizures
• Helps with anxiety
• Helps with anxiety-related sleep problems
• Helps to alleviate inflammation
• Helps to alleviate discomfort
• Helps with some forms of cancer
• Powerful antioxidant
• May improve memory
• Helps to protect against neurological decline
• Helps with acne, psoriasis, and dermatitis

Who Can Take CBD?

After hearing all of this CBD info, your family members will hopefully relax, and some might even show an interest in CBD. If they’re keen to try it, show off your CBD education and knowledge further by explaining who could benefit and who should avoid oral forms of CBD:

• Yes
  • People over the age of 18 (unless a child with a prescription for Epidiolex®)
  • Pets
• No
  • Anyone who is trying to become pregnant, or is pregnant or breastfeeding
  • People who take other medications
  • Both should consult with a medical professional to work out if they can use CBD, which forms, and the safest dosages for CBD

In any case, any family members who are interested can take this CBD info to an open-minded healthcare practitioner and find out the pros and cons of CBD for their specific situation.

Which CBD Products Are Best?

Your relatives have all the CBD info. Now make sure they know what they’re getting by explaining the available products on the market. In particular, focus on the things they should look for when shopping for CBD, such as:

• Broad-spectrum CBD (rather than isolate)
• Made from hemp grown without pesticides or herbicides
• Extracted using a supercritical CO2 process
• Mixed with a high-quality carrier oil
• Third-party tested for strength, THC, heavy metals, and other contaminants
• Excellent customer reviews on forums and independent rating sites

4. Take Some Products for Your Family to Try

Above and beyond providing CBD education, give your family the best chance to warm up to CBD by having some CBD products on hand. We generally find that CBD edibles and CBD topicals are the best products to share at a gathering or to give as gifts for those new to the world of CBD.

If you’ve already brought someone from your family onto the bandwagon with up‐to‐date CBD info, make their day (and their year!) by giving them an entire bottle of the CBD product that would be the most meaningful for them.

EndoCoast—Helping You #findyourcoast in the Holiday Season

Whether you’re feeling excited or anxious about the holiday season, coast through the time a little more easily with the high-quality, broadspectrum products from EndoCoast. Vegan formulas, delicious flavors, and ingredients based on the latest nutraceutical research provide the perfect way to support your endocannabinoid system and help you find a sense of calm.

Once you’ve read through the CBD education articles in our Learning Center, put your CBD info into action by shopping our CBD products for yourself, your pets, and your loved ones this holiday season. From the team at EndoCoast, we wish you happy and healthy holidays and a wonderful new year ahead.