You know the feeling when you meet someone else who loves cannabis?
When I discovered cannabis, it was like a whole new world opened up. Suddenly I was connecting with new people who would invite me to hang out and introduce me to new music, new ideas, and even more new people.
Just having a conversation about weed creates bonds fast. Not everyone is into cannabis - but when people are excited about it, they open right up. Even when we couldn't talk about it, sharing smoke crosses borders and cultural boundaries.
Joints transcend language. I didn't need to speak Hindi to share a cone with a Baba by the Ganges in India. But we both felt that skunky landrace and smiles just the same.
Making a point in my life to start conversations with people about my passion for the plant has unlocked doors I wouldn't have dreamed of.
It began with new friends at parties and local shows when I was younger. As I matured, sharing a joint or just mentioning weed made me friends who invited me to festivals around the world Eventually, it brought me into the world of cannabis cultivation.
If I hadn't been open about my marijuana obsession, I never would have stumbled into a full-time job harvesting designer crops on Canada's West Coast. Cannabis was my livelihood for several years, which in itself brought more cool people and unique breaks.
It's crazy to look back on. Who would have thought this sticky, smelly plant would have influenced so many life decisions?
The connections I made from simply being excited about smoking weed changed my life. And, I suspect, many other people's lives, too. Whether you became a rasta, got through cancer, followed through on some stoner idea, or just had good times, cannabis can connect you with your spirituality, your health, and some really good people.
This isn't new. Cannabis and community have gone hand in hand since, well, forever. Be it sharing hashish out of hookahs or vaping live resin in the 2000s, cannabis consumption happens in the community.
Even smoking alone can create connections: internal ones. I love spending time with just me and Mary Jane. I can get as weird as I want in my head, make whatever crazy snacks I want, or dance because no one is watching.
Who would have thought that a plant would be the shoulder I cried on during breakups, or the inspiration to create music, or figure out how to do the right thing. When it's just me and cannabis, I can connect to what really matters for me and my life.
That's why this is a creative connection. With cannabis, I've lived a life where when I'm honest about my love of the plant, the crazy ideas it gives me, and the people that it attracts me to, opportunities pop up.
So that's why I created this column - to share not just my story, but yours too, about how cannabis inspires, connects, and transforms lives into something more than they were before.
Photo Credit: Louis Hansel on Unsplash
