A day in the life: Anonymous

“If I were to explain to someone what [smoking] weed felt like, it would be like carbonated water,” John* said. “It’s fizzy. You feel kind of bubbly. You talk too much, you laugh too much. Everything is heightened, and I guess that’s why it’s fun.”

John sets aside 20 minutes each night to smoke marijuana, a habit he started when he was in eighth grade. He waits between each hit, careful he isn’t getting too high and the smell isn’t too strong. His parents have no idea he smokes. Before getting high, John goes to school, works out and does his homework.

“I’m in all honors [classes,] and I smoke pot every day,” John said. “I’m taking all these classes, [so] I can’t dumb myself down with this stuff. I’ve turned it into a process and I’ve made it work for me so that it benefits my day.”

John said he smokes enough marijuana to get the psychedelic effects of the drug, while not letting it interfere with his daily activities. He vaped in middle school, but quit when he noticed that nicotine was affecting his endurance. John makes a point not to smoke too much or let drugs consume his life, which he said required practicing and learning how much to smoke daily as he got used to the effects of marijuana.

“The whole point of me doing these things is to enhance what I do in [my] day to day life,” John said. “It’s adding to the things that I do. It’s not a burden, it’s just kind of a daily activity.”

Smoking marijuana hasn’t altered John’s mood, mental state or ability to work hard and be successful, he said. John’s close friend, Jack* said John works hard at school and maintains a social life along with smoking.

“He’s a really nice, calm guy,” Jack said. “I’ve never seen him get mad. He’s very chill [and] he goes with the flow. He’s a very smart kid.”

John said he would quit doing drugs if he experienced negative effects and feels confident he could do so easily. This may be harder than he thinks, according to Mary Frith, KHS nurse. She said drugs not only hurt students’ ability to focus and learn, but recovering from addiction can also have negative physical effects on students.

“It is affecting them, even if they’re taking small amounts [or] doing it sporadically,” Frith said. “You could feel fine, and it’s doing damage in your body that you don’t see and that you won’t know about until later on down the road.”

John said he has been judged because he smokes marijuana. He said most people who do drugs are labeled by other students as unsuccessful or a “stoner.”

“Throughout middle school and high school, rumors have been that I’ve been this crazy drug addict,” John said. “I’ve maintained the same grades, same mental state, everything stayed the same. Even if you smoke pot once, people are gonna say stuff about you. Sure, I’d love it to not be that way. You can’t change it, so I’ve just learned to accept it.”

*Names changed for anonymity

John’s Daily Schedule:

7:30 – Go to school

3:00 – Work out

4:30 – Homework

6:00 – Eat dinner

10:30 – Smoke

11:30 – Go to bed