Even if you have obtained benefit from the use of medical marijuana and are a complete devotee, you’ll probably have to admit that sometimes you’re annoyed by the hostile and stereotypical perceptions you have to put up with from some quarters. Much of this is due to ill-informed prejudice but before blaming others, perhaps it is necessary to look a little more inwardly. Please remember when reading this, that this article does not advise you of the legal position in your state or country and nor does it advocate breaking your local laws.

Conflicting messages

It’s not unusual to see articles that are actually strongly in favor of the use of medical marijuana unwittingly using photos and images that perpetuate some of these questionable views. A typical example might be the otherwise excellent and factual article that contains an image of a typical ‘user’ who is dressed as if they’ve just time-travelled from a late 1960s commune. Another web site containing great information, which made a good job of de-bunking many myths, unfortunately shot itself in the foot by using an appalling photograph of a group of furtive-looking folk sitting around a table in a darkened smoke-filled room, smoking their medical marijuana. It was closer to a scene from Macbeth or a 19th century novel’s depiction of an opium den than modern reality. Yet another article strongly in favor of US de-criminalization of cannabis for medical use, used a photograph of someone who had all the appearances of being in real-time mental communication with the beings of ‘Planet Zarg’ at the time the photo was taken.

This careless and self-destructive use of wildly unrepresentative imagery harms the cause of trying to get medical marijuana taken seriously, and also dents the efforts of many responsible people to legitimately differentiate between their medical use and that of recreational users.

The real message

Such images are typically a long way from the reality of many people that use marijuana to ease pain or alleviate otherwise distressing medical symptoms. There’s no doubt that amongst many in society, including much of the conventional medical establishment, some view the use of marijuana in such a capacity as, at best, unproven or controversial and at worst harmful. What is required in this area is rational debate, assessment and clinical evaluation, drawing upon personal experiences with illnesses and pain. In many countries this process is underway and in others, people are trying to get it underway. However, this isn’t going to be helped if people using medical marijuana are continually perceived as being merely recreational users in disguise due to the use of negative stereotypical imagery.

The real images

Let’s consider, for a second, how it might be possible to use more helpful imagery that members of the public can associate with. First of all, there are large numbers of ordinary everyday folk that are using medical marijuana, not for kicks or to try and discover nirvana, but to bring them relief from pain or other symptoms. The legal complexities don’t make it too easy for some individuals to identify themselves, but perhaps a few more photos and articles written around their experiences, showing how ordinary people obtain benefit, just might help bring public perceptions of this issue back to reality.

It’s also worth thinking about how we can make better use of the well-intentioned but sometimes equally misdirected comments from some public domain celebrities and big names. The problem is that while many sites and articles mention long lists of names that have spoken in favor of de-criminalization of marijuana, they also frequently just mix-up recreational use and medical marijuana. It doesn’t matter how big the name is, so-called ‘endorsements’ from multi-millionaires along the lines of "I enjoy using marijuana to get out of my skull after a busy day’s filming" just aren’t going to be helpful in the context of winning ordinary hearts and minds on the medical marijuana debate.

So, there’s a challenge to start getting some big names that are known supporters of the use of marijuana in a broad social context, to start speaking a little more eloquently and specifically on the subject of medical marijuana. Just think of some of the well-known names that are reported as being potentially in favor, including:

• Kirsten Dunst;

• Brad Pitt;

• Jennifer Aniston;

• Morgan Freeman;

• Stephen King.

Yes, sure, some of these have been more open than others if you’re to believe the reports, but the problem is that many of the reported admissions have been linked to statements that are almost entirely recreational-use oriented. That’s where the challenge comes in – to try and persuade some household names to look at the evidence, listen to some cases and then to try and throw their support (assuming they accept the evidence) behind those advocating the use of medical marijuana. So, if anyone knows any big names willing to participate in the medical marijuana debate – send them a Tweet!