We live in a world where not everyone is cool with how we choose to use our brains and bodies. It’s weird, but it’s just the way to goes. Certain bosses, officers of the law, and family members are quick to judge when we are flying high.
Which can be pretty hypocritical. Like - how many cups of coffee have they had? What meds are they taking? How many drinks?
And I’m not judging. People use substances. Humans always have and always will eat, smoke, massage, snort, boof (that means up your butt) and yeah, even inject stuff. Maybe it’s insulin for diabetes. Maybe it’s a skin cream that makes you glow like a full moon. Maybe it’s a problem, and maybe it’s just for fun. Maybe it’s your wellness routine.
I’ll be the first to admit it can be a problem. I’m not going to pretend I always used pot responsibly.
Learning How Not to Get High
Back in high school, I would sneak away at lunch. Into the trees where all the smokers hung out to buy single joints in crumpled ziplock bags or crunchy nugs wrapped in tinfoil. We would roll loose joints or borrow pipes, get baked, and, well, usually just never go back to class.
It’s not that I didn’t think I could learn while high. I’m pretty sure 5th-period art class would have been a breeze.
But, I was self concious of people realizing how lifted I was. Honestly, the teachers loved me and probably would have been glad I showed up to class for once - high or not.
The real problem was I didn’t want my peers to judge me.
As I said, I wasn’t the most responsible smoker. I would hit that shit hard! Get eyes like cherries and be awkward AF. I did not know my threshold. And I won’t lie, it caused some problems.
But I stand by my statement that I could have crushed my art class. Or the computer class. French and Math maybe not so much. But I have a good friend that would smoke all day and study Japanese. Whatever floats your boat.
What I’m getting at here is that I was terrified of what people would think of me.
Developing Life Skills As a Stoner Teenager
Instead, I’d sneak home, play on my computer, draw pictures, and play music. Sure, lots of that time was wasted on my Xbox playing Halo and Elder Scrolls, but the drawing, music and reading conspiracies on the internet, I’d say, actually hold some academic value. Or at least turned out to be useful skills.
All I do now is sit in front of my computer, read weird shit, and write about it. And play music to relax. Create graphics for my blog. All those years I was “not living up to my potential” I was preparing for what now is my career.
I’m not saying we should get all the kids high and send them to art class. Brain development, gateway drugs, all that you know.
But what if we were a bit less judgemental of people who were high? What if it was genuinely part of not just people’s creative processes but sanity, wellness, and pain management?
Rules are fine. Don’t do dabs and drive. Maybe the president shouldn’t be high 24/7 (but, wait, what would it be like if world leaders just had safety meetings together??)
Everyone needs to stay safe. But openness is needed.
We are not all the same, and it’s a straight-up fact that when someone gets high, they have their reasons for doing it. And if we can't even be at least a little bit curious about why someone is a stoner, who the fuck are we to judge?
And likewise, who are we, proud smokers, topical rubbers, gummy chewers, lubricant appliers, and suppository inserters (we all have our reasons!) if we hide this thing that freaking love? The more we hide from those we fear judging us for “using drugs,” the less change we can expect to see.
So, the call to action here is to be proud. Show off your stash. Smoke in public. Let people know about your creative hack. Or the secret to why you just so chill all the time.
Maybe don’t be that person talking about how high they are all the time. But, if you had a bad day and ate the whole cookie, talk about it too. We have our reasons, good and bad, but we are adults and don’t need to hide who we are anymore.
