Why do you smoke weed? This is a question that most smokers will be asked sometime by a family member, passer by or from curious peers who haven’t smoked weed. I don’t have a medical marijuana card or prescription nor do I have a medical condition or symptoms that are muted or diminished by weed. I am purely a recreational marijuana user who smokes for the pure enjoyment. I don’t feel the need to justify my use of marijuana but I would be happy to share the feelings and benefits I gain when smoking which convinced me to become a regular user.
First off the effects of smoking are not always the same and can vary from person to person and from day to day. Being high feels different depending on the strain of weed you smoked, how much was consumed, if you had a full stomach and the environment around you. I smoke weed mostly for two reasons: to relax and to give myself a creative boost.
The relaxed and mellow feelings while high are felt through my entire body, all the way to my fingers. My mind shuts off background noise and becomes more interested about what’s in front of it right now instead of thinking about nagging issues like all the unanswered emails in my inbox or the stressful day I had at work. I can sit in and watch a few episodes uninterrupted of Venture Brothers and laugh like a kid again at its absurdity. I can cook dinner more calmly while singing a song instead of with a panicked fervor of having to get dinner on the table at a certain time. It’s a wonderful way to de-stress and enjoy the people and life you have around you that you might have ignored if you were up in your head thinking about work.
The other reason I smoke is to motivate and stimulate my creative side. Marijuana and artists go hand in hand a lot because being high lets you forget about creative boundaries and you feel more free, more experimental. After smoking, I often grab a large pad of newsprint, a rainbow selection of markers and put on Adventure Time or Neil deGrasse Tyson talking about the universe and start doodling. Getting a group of friends in the room, smoking and brainstorming for your latest creative project will yield a wide variety of answers both good and bad but with many more possibilities. I also keep a journal of ideas that I get while I’m high.
I realize that people have different reasons for smoking weed and those feelings are usually, universally calming. Sometimes I smoke for the social lubrication like enjoying an electronica concert or making me feel more relaxed in a large convention setting. It is important to remember that being a recreational use of weed just like alcohol shouldn’t be the solution to your problems and is best enjoyed in moderation.
As part of this new marijuana-focused community and industry, I want to help cut down the stigma that being a stoner means having an uncontrollable habit or that somehow consuming weed is more detrimental to society and myself than drugs like caffeine or alcohol. We are all adults here and are capable of making our own informed decisions when consuming substances that affect our body. The more people approach this from a rational perspective the more mainstream and accepted consuming marijuana can become for everyone.
Why do you smoke marijuana? Do you smoke to relax, have fun, or is there another reason?