Four Things Not To Say To A Medical Marijuana Patient… can you get me some good pot?
Muraco Kyashna-Tocha, 49, of Seattle, has grown marijuana legally since 1999. Kyashna-Tocha has had five neck and back surgeries and said that using marijuana manages her pain enough so she can engage in daily life. Credit: Chris Joseph Taylor/The Seattle Times
If you happen to be a medical marijuana patient like me, you’re well aware that there are lots of folks who still harbor some enormous moral judgments about cannabis and those who use it medically — even in the states where it is legal.
If you aren’t a patient, chances are you may either already know one, or soon will. As the acceptance of the medical use of pot grows, so does the number of patients choosing this option.
So let’s talk about those moral judgments.
Medical marijuana patients are too often given to understand that we should somehow feel vaguely guilty about the relief that we get through using the herb.
We are given, intentionally or not, little cues which seem to carry the message “You are a little less than entirely acceptable to polite society.”
To some of us, that feels a lot like “Why don’t those people just stay at home?”
While “interacting” with a proudly ignorant Twitter user today, I was freshly reminded of this unfortunate dynamic, and it got me thinking about the same old tired, threadbare judgments and stereotypes that patients must deal with, over and over and over again.
Sometimes the attitudes manifest themselves a little more subtly.
