In Alphabet City

"My dad and I have never been close; we have a tense history and a hard time relating. But then last weekend, something shifted. He was in town visiting and gets to telling me about a work party he went to. He happens to casually mention how his colleagues passed around a joint -- and weed being legal in Oregon and all -- he joined in. 'Man, it's a lot stronger than the stuff we had around when I was your age.' he says.

It was hard to keep a straight face - I couldn't believe the conversation we were having. I knew I had to play it cool but I had to take the opportunity. So I  ask him how he feels about smoking pot before we go on with our plan of grabbing lunch and walking around the High Line. Dad just smiles this big sheepish grin and says sure. So I take out my vaporizer, show him to use it, and we take a couple of puffs.

And the day goes on as planned. We talk, walk around, eat tacos, see a play. But the experience hanging out with him was different --  it was relaxed, easy. It was fun.. 

Getting stoned with my dad was the first pure and pleasant interaction we've had in years."

"I've only tried weed three times. Twice with a friend during grad school, and then this past New Years with a childhood friend. Each time was a bong or bowl, and it was kind of difficult to hit. I can't say I really felt anything. But this Volcano is nicely mild and pleasant, not like the harsh smoke of a pipe. I am starting to get why people like this, this really is quite fun." 

The Smokey Truth About Mom’s Habit

"I smoke maybe two times a year now but my wife is a big stoner. When I get high I'm all about eating ice cream and doing nothing but it's hard to take issue with her because she smokes and cleans the house, makes a salad and thinks everything is hysterical. Our daughter has caught her before. What stinks? she asks. But my wife wants to avoid the topic until she is older so she thinks mom sneaks the occasional cigarette."

Productive Weedy Weekends

"The best weekends start with hitting a small bowl. One hit is all you really need to get into a good headspace. Put on music and knock out some chores that you tend to put off like cleaning or doing laundry. People always recommend going for a walk or seeing a movie blazed but cleaning is really the thing to do. Getting high makes these mundane tasks appealing and really enjoyable."

Creative Inspirations

"You really have to know yourself and how you are high. I am more of a spiritual weed user; I don't enjoy it in a social setting but love it for a introspective creative process. It feels like magic the way I can let myself go down the rabbit hole and bring back something special from the high." 

No Excuses, I Just Like Weed

"I've been enjoying weed since I was 19, so almost two decades now. Over the years, I've noticed what I enjoy doing on it and what it helps me with, but overall I just plain like it. I like getting high and staring into space with my thoughts, or feeling creative when I cook, when I clean. It gives me a more detailed and focused way of thinking when I write a report or analyze data for my job. I like the way that weed impacts me the day after, the year after. But I'm not going to give an excuse and say it's because it helps with this or that. I just like weed. I really enjoy it." 

A Morning Routine With a Weed Twist

"Wake-and-baking is seen as something extreme, even for those who enjoy weed regularly. The idea of being blazed in public is extremely uncomfortable for many and it seems unthinkable to smoke up before a corporate 9-6. But for me, smoking a bowl is like drinking an espresso shot; I feel energized, awake, witty. I don't work in a profession where I work with people's health or wellbeing, nor do I need sharp technical skills so I have the luxury of being in a more creative headspace. 

After showering and getting dressed, I’ll make a cup of tea, select a pinch of ground weed from my grinder, and check my email while I eat breakfast and leisurely smoke a bowl. It’s such an enjoyable morning routine. I leave my apartment in a good mood, and by the time I sit down in my office 40 minutes later, I’m ready to focus on the tasks ahead.

A few women I know also smoke in the morning, and we all agree on two rules: don't smoke in bed without first getting dressed, and don't smoke too much. Just enough to start your day on a high note. And yes, pun intended."

Weed Helped Me Pass The Bar Exam

"Studying for the bar exam felt like such a daunting task, there was so much riding on it! Just getting out of my apartment and going to library was difficult. What helped me get through it  was weed! I'd wake up in the morning and take a small puff from a joint my sister rolled the night before. It worked great. Walking blazed made for such pleasant mornings. I'd listen to music and grab coffee on my way. I wasn't high anymore by the time I took out my books and the trouble I felt earlier would be gone. It's strange to admit, but weed helped me feel at ease and able to focus on the day ahead. Living in New York City for the past 10 years, feeling refreshed and relaxed is a luxury. But for me, rolling a joint and taking a hit of it gets me there."

Defending the Blaze

"It's hard to explain weed to those who insist that pot is a havoc wrecking stimulant. I get the fear; I recognize that not everyone has the same reaction as me. But it's also strange to have to constantly justify something that is such a consistent positive in my life. Weed helps me feel creative, strategic, brave. I blaze and it's like the lights turned on."

Dating a Weed Abstainer

"From 18 to 28 I used to smoke all day every day. I'd do things and be high and it would be awesome. But now I smoke maybe twice a month, hanging out in bed with my dog watching TV. I started feeling awkward and paranoid while high around people and it wasn't fun anymore. But it was also a shame thing - my girlfriend doesn't smoke and it's weird to be high around her when she's not."

Pot as a Problem-Solver

"If an issue arose, and tinkering with it for a few hours resulted in dead ends, we had a unique problem-solving approach. In the afternoon, the whole office would take a break and some of us would smoke some weed. We'd talk about the problems we were facing and when the joint was cashed, would go back to working. Over the course of the day, a solution would present itself, especially if you shifted your attention to working on another project or task. It's a very good system, using weed to help you think through an issue. It works for me at least.”

Below is an excerpt from a New York  Magazine article titled Ambling Through America's Most Stoned Suburbs.

“Say you’re a mom in the suburbs on a Wednesday night, it’s 9 p.m., your kids are in bed, and you have nothing but a boring to-do list in front of you — laundry, making a grocery list, packing up the lunches, and then, if you have time, watching one show...If I can do all that stuff a little high, I’m happier.” 

Jane West is the founder of Women Grow, the cannabis industry’s largest professional networking organization.

Katja Blichfeld, On Coming Out as a Stoner

“I didn’t really come out confidently as a stoner until I was thirty. But that coincided with a lot of other things in my life—like when I felt confident in my career and I stopped calling my parents for any kind of help, like not even financial but just was like I’m going to figure out how to change that piece of electrical equipment and not going to call my dad, you know what I mean? My thirties were definitely this time when everything flipped and I felt more confident about who I am and owning my behaviors and my personality, and people can just fuck off if they don’t like that I’m a stoner.”

Quote from Katja Blichfeld, the co-creator/writer/director of the series High Maintenance, in a wonderful two-part interview with Got A Girl Crush 

Sometimes It Helps. Sometimes It Doesn't.

"My friend and I work out together after work two nights a week. He has a makeshift gym in his basement - some weights, an incline bench, jump rope. We catch up and talk through things so it's really a bootcamp for body and soul. Afterwards, we hang out upstairs, blaze, drink tea. Sometimes I  talk him into smoking before, but it doesn't always go well. Sometimes weed gets me all amped and I'm like more lunges, yes! But other times I'm like working out? Ugh, can't we just lie down?"

"I've loved smoking pot before showering ever since grad school, when my roommate’s boyfriend rolled me joints after dinner. After a long day in the library I’d perch myself on the sink, blowing smoke out the tiny window while Coldplay’s The Scientist echoed the melancholy studying inspired.

Weed helps me shake of the gook and grime of the day - the bad vibes, bad moods, FMLs and nagging thoughts. I have a vivid imagination and a tendency to throw up from stress and anxiety. Weed helps me slow down and shake things off. It helps me be sane and strong."

Everything in Moderation

"I've been smoking consistently for 25 years. I've always been very athletic and run and practice yoga but I still used to come home and smoke a bowl most nights of the week. I've toned it down in recent years, though. Now I take a few months off to clear my mind. I've always said "everything in moderation" but didn't think that applied to pot.  But you have to be cognizant when you hit your peak and pot starts to negatively affect you. You have to find a balance. Plus, there's an upside: extended breaks make your next session that much better." 

Learning a New Skill

"Rolling joints is a new thing in my life. I used to have a bubbler, a little tiny one, that my old roommate and I bought together. It broke and I bought a second one but it broke too. My BF rolled me joints when we first started dating and I found it so sexy. I made him roll me joints for a year! I could see he was getting annoyed and wanted me to learn how to do it myself, but I didn't want to; he was just so good at it! Then he flat out stopped rolling joints for me and I hated him for like two weeks. But now I know how to do it! Admittedly, it's a great skill to have."

That Was Then, This Is Now

"I used to really hate weed. I thought it smelled awful; I had no interest in trying it. But as I grew older, I kept meeting people - really smart, really cool people - who enjoyed weed without the hazy slowness. They were lucid, productive, engaged. So, finally I try it, and yeah, I totally got it. Weed's fantastic. It makes me laugh thinking back on my previous attitude. I'm so grateful for weed. It helps me crush life."

Becoming a Better Person

"The predominant perception is that pot smokers are lazy burnouts but marijuana affects people differently. Personally, I believe weed helps me be a better person. It makes me kinder, more thoughtful, more sincere; it helps me approach life in a calm and reasonable manner. Other stimulants that I think will give me the same feeling of relief or gratification, like alcohol or caffeine, instead make me moody because of the negative comedown."

"My boyfriend rolls a joint after work every night, but weed is not for me. I enjoyed it a lot in college, don't get me wrong - nights where 15 of us piled into a dorm room were some of the funniest and most enjoyable times of my four years. But at some point, I started feeling very anxious and paranoid on it, it was no longer fun and relaxing. I much prefer a glass of wine for my post-work relaxation. It doesn't bother me that my boyfriend smokes, I see how it helps put him at ease. I think he would have a hard time without it. It doesn't bother my parents, either. The funny thing is, they have the same dynamic! My mom enjoys a glass of red wine while my dad likes to vape weed. To each his own."

It's Not Always Magical

"Last summer, I broke barriers with my father when he was visiting me in New York, and we vaped weed together for the first time. I would have never brought it up but for him telling me a story about going to a work party. Since weed is legal in Oregon, people were passing around a joint, and he reported, in typical dad fashion: 'It's much stronger stuff than back in my day.' 
We had such a nice time hanging out, I was hoping we could repeat the experience, but no. When I went back home to visit him this winter, the magic was gone.

Which just goes to show you, weed may give you an opportunity, but it's not going to magically solve your problems. Our relationship is still a work-in-progress." 

"Every Sunday night we had a tradition. There would be a couple people on grill duty; I usually made a salad and arranged cheese. Jon was in charge of rolling joints. He sat in the corner with sunglasses on, an iPad balanced on his lap, rolling joint after joint. We were well prepared by the time the jazz trio that played outside the Italian restaurant next door started setting up. It was a great tradition, passing around joints, grooving to the sound of live jazz until the sun set and the mosquitoes came out."