Cannabis Wellness
Love, Laughter, and a Little Leaf
How Cannabis Can Deepen( or Damage) Relationships During the Holidays
by Sammie Pyle, RN, Cannabis Nurse Educator
The holidays have a way of magnifying everything. Love feels bigger. Stress feels heavier. Family dynamics get louder. And for couples, this season can be both a warm glow and a powder keg. Add cannabis into the mix, and it can either be the match that soothes the flame— or the one that sparks a wildfire.
As a cannabis nurse, I’ ve seen how this plant can bring people closer, invite healing conversations, and rekindle intimacy. I’ ve also seen it divide couples who didn’ t know how to incorporate cannabis mindfully.
But I don’ t only speak from observation— I speak from experience.
Our Story: A Joint That Became a Journey
Twenty-seven years ago, my husband didn’ t walk up to me with some charming, polished line. He didn’ t pretend to be someone he wasn’ t. He looked at me, really looked into my eyes, and said,“ Do you want to go smoke a joint together?”
Somehow, that was the most intimate invitation I’ d ever received. That one shared inhale opened the door to our entire life together. Because cannabis wasn’ t just something we did— it became a space we returned to, over and over, to remember we were on the same team. It became our reset button. Our truce flag. Our“ come home to me” when emotions ran high.
Over two decades of marriage, means we’ ve survived:
● Miscarriages, with no babies.
● Grief and trauma.
● Bi and burnout.
● Career shifts and identity changes.
● Moves all over the country and back again.
● Those seasons where you love someone, but you don’ t like them very much.
However, when the tension rises— when voices sharpen, and walls go up, and the ego steps into the room like it owns the place— one of us will look at the other and say,“ Want to go smoke?” Not to numb, not to avoid, not to disappear, but to remember that we chose each other. We still choose each other.
Cannabis helps us drop the armor.
● The defensive words soften.
● The breath slows.
● The nervous system unclenches its fists.
And suddenly, we’ re no longer two people fighting— we’ re simply two people trying to understand each other again.
24 December 2025
● That has been the glue for 27 years.
● Not the cannabis.
● The humility the cannabis makes possible.
The Good: Connection, Calm, and Conscious Intimacy Cannabis fosters presence, and presence is intimacy’ s oxygen.
● A shared joint before dinner after a long day.
● A walk outside with a gummy gently easing life’ s edges.
● A slow Sunday morning with CBD and coffee.
● These little rituals become love languages.
● Moments that say, I’ m here. I choose you. Let’ s meet in the middle.
Studies show couples who use cannabis together often report higher intimacy and emotional attunement. 1 Because the plant quiets the mental chatter and turns up the emotional clarity. Cannabis can help us listen, really listen— instead of just waiting for our turn to speak. And when it comes to the bedroom? Let’ s just say the body’ s awareness and sensory enhancement speak for themselves.
The Bad: When Cannabis Creates Distance But cannabis isn’ t a blanket fix. When one partner consumes and the other doesn’ t, resentment can brew— especially if there’ s shame, misunderstanding, or secrecy involved. Even when both partners consume, different tolerance levels or intentions can create misalignment. One may want to elevate; the other wants to unwind. If communication is missing, cannabis becomes parallel play, not shared experience.
When cannabis becomes the go-to instead of communication— that’ s where cracks form. Cannabis should support relationship healing, not replace it.
The Ugly: When The Plant Is Avoided, Misunderstood, or Misused. Cannabis can highlight what already needs addressing. If someone is using cannabis to numb hard feelings instead of working through them, the relationship will feel the distance. Cannabis doesn’ t cause emotional disconnection, but it can cover it up long enough to make the issue grow. The plant can be a mirror, showing you where the tension resides. But we still must do the work.
Conscious
Cannabis: How to Use the Plant as a Bridge, Not a Barrier. 1. Set the intention.“ I want to feel close to you.” Say it out loud. It changes everything. 2. Create a ritual. Maybe it’ s a porch session after the kids go to bed.
Maybe it’ s date-night gummies and music. 3. Talk about the experience afterward. How did it feel? Safe?
Disconnected? Deepening? 4. Do not consume to avoid conflict. Consume to soften enough to resolve conflict. 5. Remember, the goal is not to get high— the goal is to get present.