How to Talk About CBD With Skeptics

Explaining CBD to skeptics, especially if they are a product of a time during which the very idea of cannabis legalization was equivalent to some wild dystopia, and as such consider anything that’s not prescription medication voodoo magic, can be frustrating. But if you’re truly passionate about CBD’s healing potential and sharing it with people you care about, you’ll approach this the right way, like a professional presentation to a client.

You need to pick your arguments wisely, weed out the information that will complicate the matter unnecessarily and potentially obscure your point, and be realistic, as in avoid overselling CBD like some magical, almighty cure, because you’ll only come across as a sly, silver-tongued salesman and cause your already reserved audience to get their guard up even higher.

Here are a few talking points to help you with your pitch.

Distinguish CBD from Cannabis and THC

Many of the CBD skeptics, especially the older ones, associate cannabis with Reefer Madness, or in other words for those who’re not familiar with the reference, a demonic possession that cannabis unlocks the door for. And as preposterous as this outdated belief may be, take it one battle at a time and leave this one as a topic of another conversation.

For now, focus on drawing a clear distinction between cannabis and CBD. Start with the fact that CBD is non-intoxicating and make it a recurring theme of the conversation for good measure. If your listeners are particularly skeptical or not particularly science-savvy and thus find it hard to believe that not every single cannabis molecule teleports you to another dimension, you can draw a parallel with alcohol and sugar – sugar is fuel for alcohol, but alone it can’t get you drunk.

Explain the Science in Layman’s Terms

Instead of expecting skeptics to blindly take your words for granted, which won’t happen by default, you need to leave them no choice but to believe you, and the only way to do that is through facts and arguments, grounded in science. Not only that, but explaining the science behind CBD’s effects actually makes for an interesting conversation in itself – keep in mind that even many doctors are barely familiar with the endocannabinoid system (ECS).

Just make sure you don’t go too heavy on the science. You can explain that the ECS is like a communication network that encompasses the bodies of mammals, including cats and dogs. It uses endocannabinoids to send signals to the cannabinoid receptors, spread throughout our body like control towers. These signals trigger the necessary responses to changes in our body, wanted or not, and by doing so maintain a delicate balancing act between all the complicated and tightly entwined processes that occur within us all the time.

For example, when our body temperature rises too much, our blood vessels expand in order for the heated blood to go to our body’s surface and cool off. This is what gives us the red coloring that we perceive as an unwanted reaction, but it’s actually just the contrary – it’s the ECS taking the necessary action to bring our body back to normal, to a place of balance, or homeostasis as is the scientific term.
What does that have to do with CBD, you might ask?

Well, many conditions, both physical and mental, are caused by an endocannabinoid deficiency that leaves the ECS incapable of communicating – no endocannabinoids means no messengers to deliver the orders to the cannabinoid receptors. Because CBD is an exogenous, meaning external, analogue of the endocannabinoids that our body naturally produces, it acts like a universal donor, supplying us with endocannabinoids we might be lacking.

This is why CBD’s benefits are so sweeping – because the ECS spans the entire body.

Mention Benefits

Once you’ve explained the science behind CBD, its beneficial properties can acquire legitimacy in your parents’ minds. Some of those main properties are:

• anti-inflammatory
• analgesic
• anxiolytic
• sleep improving
• neuroprotective
• antioxidant

Mention the Lack of Serious Side Effects

Side effects from CBD are generally rare and occur after some serious CBD intake. Those side effects include fatigue and drowsiness, diarrhea, and changes in appetite. In other words, they are quite benevolent and unlikely, which makes them a risk very worth taking, considering the potential rewards.

Mention Famous Advocates

The fact that so many celebrities – people who have access to the very best that life has to offer – choose CBD for numerous reasons and trumpet its benefits, speaks for itself. A particularly strong testament to CBD’s legitimacy is the growing support for it among athletes, and especially among fighters who have become some of its most devoted advocates, as they need neuroprotection and relief from pain, migraines, muscle soreness, and anxiety the way professional runners need quality shoes.

Getting skeptics on the CBD bandwagon isn’t as hard as you may think, as long as you explain rationally and coherently why CBD is not some fad, but a legitimate movement, rooted in science and human biology and physiology, that they’ll most likely enjoy being a part of.