To Get High or Not to Get High: Stoners Talk

This week, a question came up in one of my classes: should we smoke weed be- fore class? I found this very interesting, because smoking and its side effects have always been fascinating to me.

So I decided to do a little digging. I had the opportunity to interview three “stoners” (who all wished to remain anon- ymous, for obvious reasons), and they shed some light on the situation.

I met Man X completely by accident. We both happened to be ordering Papa John’s and waiting for it downstairs at the same time. He smelled like weed, so I asked him if he smoked. He said, yes, and I asked if he’d like to be in the paper. He agreed and the interview went as follows with me starting by asking, “How often do you smoke?”

X: “Every day, almost three times a day.”

Me: “Have you ever smoked before class?”

X: “Ha ha! All the time.”

Me: “Would you recommend smoking before class?”

X: “Well I, personally, don’t see what’s wrong with it. I smoke all the time and I still have a 3.8 GPA.”

Man Y and I have been friends for years. He was pretty reluctant about the interview at first, but when he found out he would remain anonymous, he decided it was okay. So I asked him, “When did you start smoking?”

Y: “When I was 13, I think.”

Me: “How did smoking affect your grades in middle and high school?”

Y: “I’m not sure if it did. I kept pretty decent grades throughout school.”

Me: “How do you feel about people smoking before class?”

Y: “I think it’s cool if you don’t smoke too much. Smoke just enough to feel good, but not so much that you’re try- ing to eat the girl who’s sitting in front of you’s hair.”

Lady Z would be considered your classic “stoner.” She was actually high during the interview. Our interview actually surprised me though.

Me: “How often do you smoke?”
Z: “All day, every day. Ha ha ha.”
Me: “Are you high right now?”
Z: “Hell, yeah!”
Me: “Do you smoke at school?”
Z: “Sometimes. I try not to.”
Me: “Why?”
Z: “’Cause it be messing me up sometimes.”

Me: “Would you recommend smoking before class?”

Z: “Nah, that sh*t messed me up in school. Maybe I smoked too much, but when you smoke all the time, it’s hard to learn the balance. That’s why I had to drop out.”

Me: “So if you could figure out ‘the balance,’ would you smoke before class?”

Z: “Maybe.”

So all in all, I was pretty surprised by the answers. It seemed that there was a trend in smoking before class, but not smoking so much that it affects your work.

All of the persons interviewed have been smoking for over four years, and I feel like they are “experts” on the topic. It seems to depend on the person who is smoking the weed, as it’s an individual experience.

Should we smoke weed before class? Who knows? You’re not going to know until you’re high yourself. (Memory loss is a side effect of smoking weed, so you might want to take that into consideration.)