The Responsible Stoner

On my 21st birthday in 2019, I bought a sativa joint with the strain name of Bruce Banner. Being 21, this gave me a whole range of possibilities for where my experience with marijuana would lead me. Since then, I feel like marijuana has been a great addition to my life, even though it is not something I would recommend to everyone. 

In these two years, I went from only doing marijuana once in a while, to doing it every day for a while, then to doing it no more than three times a week. In my opinion, I can safely say that the best option for doing weed is in moderation, only, and I think any more than that is slightly worrying. 

I say only slightly because there are those who use marijuana medicinally. I myself have even thought of applying for that status, but even then, I believe that weed is not that big of a highlight for my functioning. Although I have developed a good relationship with marijuana usage, I feel it’s something that I am still learning about, in a way that I think everyone should. 

For instance, when I first started smoking that joint, I was wondering about the effects of contact highs and second-hand highs. Although people cannot get a second-hand high just from the smell of weed, our pets can, and it is something to take note of. Because of this, I have made a point to only smoke outside, and usually if it is a joint rather than a vaporizer, I take a shower or change my clothes after, since the smell is so strong.  

Also, in my growing ideas of being a “responsible stoner,” I make sure to record in my calendar every time I consume cannabis so that way I may not fall into the old pattern of daily consumption. Daily use is generally frowned upon because it leads to a requirement of stronger doses taken to receive the same desired effects, and for those who have done it daily since/when they were younger than 21, it can lead to a deterioration of mental health and cannabis addiction. Even then, daily cannabis use for 21+ users can still lead to mental health deterioration and side effects such as depression, irritability, insomnia, and several other factors that aren’t worth the risk. 

I certainly am not above criticism. I smoke weed even though it is absolutely as bad for your lungs as smoking cigarettes, I used to use it daily, and I still participate in the use of weed. Weed is not something I will advocate for anyone to try/use, but I still think that the legalization of marijuana is a step in the right direction when it comes to ending the “war on drugs”. 

We still have a long way to go, but I think a couple more positive steps would involve freeing/pardoning those persons who were previously arrested for selling a substance that is now legalized in their states, further legalizing drug use, and understanding that the drug itself is not bad, but rather perhaps the relationship the user accumulates with it. 

I feel that drugs themselves are something that most people let propaganda speak for, and although there are plenty of people with negative experiences towards users, most don’t understand how to use them properly because they’re not sold with any instruction. 

The proper way to use weed is not easy to find. We often might hear the phrase “smoke weed every day,” to the point where I’ve been to dispensaries that advocate for daily recreational use, and yet for most of us, that is absolutely not the case. Using weed to escape problems, to numb depression, or to improve productivity doesn’t actually solve those problems but rather puts them off until a less fortunate time comes when you truly need to deal with them. Weed is absolutely not a substitute for therapy, and I think that the best time to use weed is only in gatherings with a happy, healthy headspace, no other responsibilities for the day, and with no driving ever. 

Weed is neither good, nor bad; weed is a drug. I will not advocate for others to try it, and I never would.  

UPDATE: APRIL 2022 

I have successfully stopped smoking aside from very, very infrequent social occasions, and now use edibles instead. 

I can say with absolute certainty that I still do not advocate for everyone to run to their nearest dispensary and start using, but the criticisms I often see of people using drugs is blatantly dehumanizing. When it comes to anesthesia or prescription painkillers, we often don’t question it unless there is addiction occurring, but to see this judgment vary from substance to substance often does boil down to the same thoughts Richard Nixon would’ve said when the war on drugs started, clearly indicating a lack of updates in beliefs and understanding. 

Even if there are addicts, this doesn’t make them any less human. People can get addicted to either alcohol or marijuana just as easily, and the answer isn’t to shun them for doing it but rather understanding that anyone can fall into this trap, and that the best thing for them is intervention and rehabilitation. 

I don’t believe those two things are easy to do. In fact, with today’s for-profit healthcare, I can see why some don’t succeed in recovery, but that doesn’t make the person behind the pipe any less human. They deserve help, just as much as you or I do. No man is an island and despite the Western culture’s belief on the individual rising above adversity, no –one has ever really done it all on their own.