Sacramento, CA – The Obama Justice Department (DOJ) held a press conference in Sacramento today announcing an array of enforcement actions against medical marijuana producers and distributors as well as landlords throughout California. Patient advocates are calling President Obama’s enforcement effort harmful and unnecessary, representing a stark contradiction to his pledge of disengagement in medical marijuana states. The DOJ claimed it was carrying out civil and criminal enforcement actions against medical marijuana providers and sending “warning” letters to property owners leasing to dispensary operators.

Read the entire press release on the ASA website.

There is one last issue to consider in using terminology. Some words have legal risks. This is especially true of written words in your printed materials. You do not want to write down anything that could be used against you later. I strongly advise you to avoid words and phrases that indicate that you buy or sell cannabis. Instead, use the words acquire or provide. You should also avoid identifying individuals who are involved in providing cannabis. Many dispensary operators refer to their suppliers as vendors. This term implies a buyer/seller relationship. Patient-cultivator is a better option. Think very carefully about legally loaded terminology and discuss these issues with your lawyer if you are unsure.

You can not make a list of all the good or bad words in medical cannabis. You must think critically about what you say and write and decide what is best. However, here are some basic suggestions about good terminology:

I have said already that using proper terminology will influence those around you. You should make it a goal to model this behavior for your staff and patients. But using good terminology will have a larger impact than just your dispensary. I began working on cannabis related issues in Berkeley in 1994. When I first began to speak with the media and elected officials the words pot and marijuana were commonly used by both. Over the last ten years, local advocates have been consciously and consistently using the word cannabis at City Council meetings and in interviews. We have seen a slow transformation in the language of the local debate about cannabis. City Council members and reporters have gradually adopted the term cannabis. Now they are using it and influencing others. Little by little, the terminology is spreading and influencing the terms of this debate.

The word marijuana is a good example of how to avoid a word with baggage. Marijuana is a Mexican slang term for the cannabis plant. The word is commonly used by people in all walks of life. Most cannabis users, both medical and non-medical, have positive associations with the word. People who are not cannabis consumers (and even some who are) often have very different associations. For these people, the word marijuana is associated with illicit drug use, rebellion, crime, and even violence. The word is also associated with youthful experimentation, lack of ambition and motivation, and comical behavior. These associations are unfair, but very real. Decades of propaganda have added these connotations to the meaning of the word.

You can avoid these undesirable connotations by always using the term cannabis in place of marijuana. Cannabis is the proper botanical name for the plant. More importantly, the word cannabis is relatively uncommon in general use. People do not tend to have any negative associations with this term. By using it, you make a subtle distinction between the medicine cannabis and the illicit drug marijuana. As a botanical name, cannabis also has the advantage of placing the plant within a context of science that is absent from the more common slang term.

Some cannabis consumers argue that we should not have to change the terminology we use just to please others. This is misguided. As dispensary operators we will need the support of our community, elected officials, and neighbors. It is a waste of time to try to change their minds about the non-medical use of marijuana when we are primarily concerned with the medical use of cannabis. The connotations associated with words like marijuana are complicated and deep rooted. In an ideal world, people would be rational and fair in their reaction to words. But in fact, reactions to words can be very powerful and are often reflexive. Don’t get distracted overcoming connotations when you could be talking with people about your dispensary.

Avoiding negative connotations is a good defensive strategy. But you can also use proper terminology to help accentuate the best aspects of medical cannabis and your dispensary. Using positive terminology will help you frame an issue to your advantage. By turning connotations and associations to your advantage, you will be able to influence the way others think about this issue without engaging in a discussion about terminology. Remember that you don’t have to insist that others adopt your terminology. You will find that others will gradually adopt better terminology when they hear you use it consistently.

Consider the term medicine. As a matter of habit, many cannabis consumers refer to their medical cannabis by terms associated with illicit marijuana. You might hear them use word like weed or pot. Using the term medicine will take the discussion out of the context of non-medical use and strongly reinforce the medical aspects of this issue. There is a huge difference in the reaction people have to the phrase “patients need pot” and the phrase “patients need their medicine.” The connotations associated with medicine are generally positive. Medicine is useful, safe, and necessary. These are the connotations you want tin your speech and writing.

Using positive terminology will influence the way other perceive your dispensary. You can influence them to see you operation in light of medicine and health care. This is much better than reacting to your dispensary as a “drug shop” or “marijuana store.” Using proper terminology will also help you. As you make a habit of using proper terminology, you will begin to train yourself to think – and more importantly act – like a health care provider. This is a big advantage for dispensary operators.

Continued in a later post…