Search Results for: "cannabis closet"

A reader writes:

Hooray for the "Dealing with Aspergers" stories! My husband has Aspergers and uses marijuana to deal with the symptoms of his neurological disorder.  The biggest struggle he faces each day is the overwhelming anxiety he experiences as a result of his many sensory processing problems.  He can see every flicker in fluorescent lighting, hear every electrical hum of an appliance, feel every fiber in his sweater. He also experiences a great deal of stress as he tries constantly to fit in and behave appropriately in social situations. He oftens says that he doesn't believe neuro-typical people can truly understand how hard it is to live in this society as a person with autism.

by Chris Bodenner

A reader writes:

I think living in Manhattan has warped my view of how others view pot. I can get it anytime I want. They deliver the stuff here (granted, at a HUGE markup, but still). You can also smoke on the street with relative impunity. Often I will be walking around and have the sweet, musty smell of pot enter my nose. I always look around to see if I can identify the culprit, but I never can. Ironically, smoking weed in a crowded public place is probably the safest place to do it. In fact, wondering the streets of Manhattan or Brooklyn with a spliff in my hand is one of my favorite activities and I have almost zero worries about getting caught (being middle class and white doesn't hurt).

Another writes:

I am a late 20s casual user, college and law school graduate, working as an attorney, in a healthy relationship, stay fit, run a small business, etc. I live in Portland, Oregon, so pot use is pretty much accepted here. Once someone gets past the level of a casual acquaintance, it's usually okay to tell them about it, and more often than not they indulge, or have in the past.

Another:

A few years ago, some friends and I were passing a joint in an alley behind a bar in downtown Vancouver, BC, when we were suddenly caught by surprise by the police. The officers gave us a stern lecture, confiscated our pot and let us go.

Another:

by Chris Bodenner A reader writes: I used to be a conservative Republican like you.  I am now a conservative Democrat.  I think our government is overbearing in many instances. In the case of marijuana, it’s missing out on a large amount of tax revenue if the stuff were legalized and regulated like alcohol. Doing that would rid … Continue reading The Cannabis Closet: The Conservatives

by Chris Bodenner

A reader writes:

I always went back and forth about writing to you regarding my self-medication of Asperger's Syndrome, but the reader posted earlier convinced me.  I, too, am diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome; people tell me I'm intense, committed, hard-nosed, highly principled (on a borderline-pathological level), honest/blunt to a fault, overly formal/polite, etc. 

I was entirely against substance use – from caffeine to alcohol to illegal drugs – until a close friend of mine unexpectedly passed away when I was 21.  I had smoked periodically starting that year (maybe 5-10 times ever), but after he died, my use/abuse really took off. In short, I stopped giving a damn about what I put in my body.

by Chris Bodenner

A reader writes:

I am autistic (Aspergers Syndrome) and have used cannabis to modulate the anxiety, intensity and aggression associated with my particular variant of AS for over 30 years. I first considered suicide at age 16 to escape the constant bullying in and out of school and the debilitating pain in my back that the doctors told me would probably mean a lifetime long addiction to opiates. The side effects of these medications were horrendous and left me in a constant daze. Being a straight-A student I chose instead to find a solution to my pain by trying every alternative therapy I could find.

I first tried cannabis at age 17. I quickly found that when I was medicated, people around me coped far better with my eccentricities. Like many ASDs I have a violent and explosive temper and am often described, especially by women, as a "Scary Guy." The cannabis increases my tolerance for interruption and also helps me be more extroverted and therefore social.

A reader writes:

Your ongoing reporting on cannabis users is great. So I will make my confession (but because my husband has a high level security clearance, I cannot come clean to the world): I grow marijuana under the house and smoke whenever I want. We have three children, all almost grown. All are good kids, and not one has ever been in trouble. They know about me, but they are good and don't say anything to anyone. Even though it's "live and let live" around here, none of them drink or smoke. We did a good job!

Another writes:

Since making the decision to pursue art full time 20 years ago, I have been scraping by, hustling for money and cheap places to live. About a decade ago I acquired a large, raw warehouse in a mid-sized city and slowly built it into a studio and livespace. I kept my costs low by doing nearly all of the work myself, becoming a carpenter, plumber, electrician, welder, sheetrocker — all while selling my art with varying success. I spent the last boom years one step ahead of bouncing checks and never knowing from where or when the money was going to come.

About two years ago I hit a wall. The sudden increase in fixed costs that accompanied the birth of my second child coupled with my unpredictable sales pattern was forcing me to reevaluate my grim financial situation. Then I got an unexpected business proposition. A friend suggested that I smooth out my cash flow problems by setting up a grow room operation in an unused portion of my warehouse. Thus, with his expert help, I began an interesting journey into the high tech world of completely controlled indoor agriculture.

A reader writes:

I'm a thirty-nine-year-old graphic production artist living and working in the Bay Area. I began this career by returning to community college for trade-specific classes in 2002, while working part-time at a well-known medicinal cannabis dispensary in Oakland's 'Oaksterdam' neighborhood. Four years of a flexible part-time schedule and good pay allowed me to complete a certificate program and launch a professional life. It was kind of like bartending (industry parlance is 'budtending') while going to school, except that I didn't have to work all night, or around drunks.

In my time at the dispensary, I saw a broad cross-section of the cannabis community, from young shady hustler-types to full-time students (and their professors), from stereotypical aging hippies to plumbers, white-collar professionals, and doctors. I have never seen so many different kinds of people find common ground; I overheard many an unusual conversation in our waiting area, and I walked many little old ladies and cancer patients through their very first marijuana purchases.

A reader writes:

This is in response to the law student and aspiring judicial clerk. I clerked for a federal circuit court judge within the last few years, and I was not drug-tested, nor was any other clerk that I know of. Federal judges are quite independent, so perhaps there are judges or even whole districts or circuits who do test. But the general sense I got was that the judicial branch cared a lot less for this sort of thing than the executive (I turned down a job with the Justice Department in part because I was not willing to lie on the background check). I think it's telling that the judges tasked with sentencing drug offenders (or denying their appeals) at least partly recognize the absurdity of the whole thing.

Another dissents:

As an attorney I have no sympathy for the law student who "won't be able to pass a drug test" after graduation because it would compromise their beliefs to stop smoking marijuana. That sounds like classic addict talk.

A reader writes:

One aspect of current marijuana laws I haven’t seen highlighted in this series pertains to the government’s policy of drug-testing nearly everyone who receives a government paycheck. This includes civil servants, recipients of college scholarships, research grantees, etc.

I am a long-time light smoker (okay, I was a heavy smoker at one point), but stopped smoking a couple months back, mainly because I lost my “source” in a relationship breakup.  As luck would have it, I recently discovered that I will have to submit to a drug test as a condition of receiving some government money. Although I’m not going to be adversely affected by this policy, it got me thinking about how many talented people are blocked from taking government money due to these draconian laws.  If, as it appears, roughly 50% of the population might easily fail a marijuana-detection test, what does it mean for civil service and government-funded research?

Another writes:

The FBI refuses to hire any individual who has smoked marijuana in the two years prior to his hiring process. I was outed in the polygraph phase of the applicant process (after I was actually accepted for employment).

A reader writes: Thanks for posting the full spectrum of effects that marijuana has on users. What's interesting is that even the addiction stories defuse the devil weed myth, because it turns out that marijuana is just another substance that affects different people differently. Just like alcohol, sugar, caffeine, tobacco or painkillers, marijuana can be … Continue reading The Cannabis Closet: Addiction, Ctd.