Question
Why should behavioral health and integrated care professionals be prepared to discuss cannabis with their clients?
Answer
Cannabis-related conversations are already occurring in healthcare settings on a daily basis, regardless of whether clinicians feel equipped to navigate them. Patients use cannabis for a range of reasons; anxiety, sleep, stress, emotional regulation, and chronic pain, and these uses surface naturally in clinical encounters across nursing, social work, counseling, and advanced practice roles. Yet research indicates that many clinicians do not feel fully prepared to engage in these discussions, creating uncertainty about how to respond when a patient raises the topic.
The clinician's role in this context is not to endorse or discourage cannabis use, but to engage in informed, ethical, and respectful dialogue. Because these conversations happen whether or not professionals are ready for them, preparation becomes an ethical obligation rather than an optional skill. Building this readiness helps ensure that patients receive consistent, coordinated, and nonjudgmental care.
This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the course, "Medical Cannabis in Integrated Care: Patient-Informed Strategies for Emotional Regulation and Therapeutic Dialogue," presented by Paulette Smith, DSW, MS, LCSW-C.
