*Disclaimer: the following article was written while under the influence of marijuana and has not been altered or edited in any way. The Rib does not condone the use of illegal drugs.
I don’t consider myself a pothead. That being said, it is just occurring to me to wonder if most “potheads” consider themselves so or if it is more commonly a condition one is in denial of… curious. Regardless, I’m fairly confident that my use of marijuana is objectively below that of a “pothead.” I’m no stranger to the substance; I in fact bake marijuana edibles not infrequently, but I partake in consuming the marijuana less often than most. I drink rather than smoke most weekends, although I do smoke or consume edibles occasionally during the week. Let me say now that I have never gone to class high, although part of me believes this is based largely on principle alone and not because I believe it would hinder my learning experience. I do, however, do homework on occasion while high and often find this mode of work quite conducive to my thought processes.
To expand, I take a lot of media-based theory and production courses. With my theory work, I usually spend hours reading dense theoretical texts, many of which spend 15+ pages spinning an allegorical relationship between a given cinematic/artistic choice and castration. “Queer-ing,” Foucault, and questions of procedural rhetoric are usually in attendance as well. It’s dense to say the least. Dissecting and giving due respect to 50+ pages and 4+ theses of this form per week is not easy… enter my friend Mr. Cannabis. While high, I find some of my lovable cynicism suspended just enough to engage with and fairly question these theoretical works. I find myself writing annotations that don’t always make perfect sense (see fig. 1), but at least prove that I am able to interact with the arguments being made in one way or another. If nothing else, this allows me to remember aspects of the texts in ways I might not otherwise was I not to read high but rather simply dully skim words.
There are of course downsides to reading high. For instance, I slow down my reading time significantly. The reasons for this change in pace, I believe, are trifold:
1. I am annotating and engaging in conversation with the text – this is good! Saves time in class by decreasing awkward silences when my teacher calls on me and I have nothing to say about the text I supposedly “read.”
2. I am taking longer to comprehend things – this might be because I am investing more in actually comprehending arguments rather than sort-of grasping some of the concepts, which would be good too! However this might also be because, although concrete effects of marijuana on the brain are heavily contested, many believe cannabis can slow thought processes in the brain, less much good…
3. I get up and take “breaks” a lot… usually to get food. This is undeniable and not great for various reasons, but the “munchies,” as they’re called, can also be turned in to a time motivator. I often promise myself a snack, or a “munchies appeaser,” at the end of a chapter of text or at the end of an entire reading. Through this motivational hardball I play with myself, I am further incentivized to read efficiently – this is good!
As you can clearly see, although work time may slightly increase overall as a result of reading while high, it is not an overall negative effect of the work ethic.
As for my creative classes, the benefits of working while high are numerous. My creativity is at an all time high while high ;). A few weeks back I wrote down the following idea after consuming marijuana:
“somersault. Body cut out green screen-y placed on road i AM fire truck – flashing lights on tits and ass wee-ooh wee-ohh voice over, tied to image forward backwards fast slow slow fast all with sound tied… madness forever.”
… And it transformed into a great VISA project by my crit four days later. True, I do not want to rely on a substance to foster all my imagination but I don’t believe that this is the case here. Much how cannabis can slow down my reading time, it can also speed up my brainstorming time! By allowing my brain to make new connections, weed becomes yet another resource in exhausting my mind of all its ingenuity. Producing work high often works along the same principle. I never use valuable equipment after consuming marijuana, but most of my creative work comes in post-producing and playing on the computer—at which point being high is super advantageous; I play in ways I wouldn’t have otherwise and often discover new layers of my own work. For instance, last week I was editing a project I had been envisioning and creating for days already when suddenly a soundtrack for the piece came into my mind: I just had to put The Wizard of Oz soundtrack to this multimedia piece about depression. The “highdea” took my project in a whole new direction, one I would have never imagined, and although I ended up loving the choice, I also would have appreciated playing with it regardless; creation through experimentation allows for the best work method and experimentation is often best done high…. Assuming I remember to “save as…”.
Working high is not for everyone. I am not sure my reading method would work out the same were I reading an econ textbook nor my creative method were I designing a lab. Nevertheless, I wanted to share and explore here how high—as in relating to/resulting from marijuana usage, not as in the opposite of low—productivity can be a positive thing and that being productive while high is not necessarily exclusive to “potheads.” I, for one, feel little need to be high in most social situations but would happily do the majority of my course work after consuming cannabis and most likely feel better off for it. I am curious how this mind alteration would affect my class performance were I to break with my previous, more conservative ideals and try attending class high, but I don’t think I will try it any time soon. If not out of stubborn principle alone then out of fear that it might just be great.