Now I’ve never smoked marijuana before. Actually, I’ve never smoked anything before. And this situation never happened. But this is what I imagine it’s like, from reading and from watching other people. I know that marijuana is illegal, the hippies used it in the ‘60s and, on the occasion, it is prescribed by a doctor for those with cancer. What I don’t know is why it’s illegal, what else it can be used for to make it legal, and how it could possibly help anyone.

In the beginning, I didn’t know too much. But I figured there would be books on this exact subject. I was right. When our class went to the school library, I immediately took to the computer card catalogue and typed in ‘hemp uses.’ Okaaayy…..that didn’t work. I typed in ‘hemp.’ That didn’t work either. Ah ha! Instead I replaced it with a word I knew would work. Marijuana. The computer catalogue showed me

“In college back in the 60’s, I was a ‘hippie’, or ‘freak’ as we actually called ourselves back then. The crowd I hung around with there tended to use a lot of drugs, some more than others.” He said that he admired their political and social beliefs, and identified with them in almost every way, but he never “agreed with the drugs.” A majority of them who used marijuana also took other drugs. “Many of them thought nothing about taking speed to stay up all night hoping to get work done, but mostly they just bounced off the walls, and accomplished very little.” A good percentage of them also took LSD, which always worried him because one never knew how they’d react, whether they would have “a good or bad ‘trip’”. All in all, there were a lot of people who were ‘wasted’ a lot of the time. It was hard enough dealing with the pressures of college courses, social causes, and self-discovery without marijuana and other drugs. I pondered over this for awhile, and it surprised me that they, meaning his friends and acquaintances, would bother to do all the other illegal stuff. They probably thought it was ‘cool.’ I also wonder if he could remember and particular person that ‘used’ it, so I asked.

I also found out from my mom, that most marijuana is illegal because it is imported from other countries. The imported and “kept secret” kind is the kind that is active in making people high, and supposedly killing their brain cells. She explained that police are always on the watch for that kind of stuff and it is hard to tell what kind is the good kind, (the male cannabis sativa) and which is the kind that they want to arrest people for, (the female cannabis sativa which is harvested, hung to dry, and sold in bulks to pushers.)

Anyway, I think reading about a particular thing that’s hard to do, is better than trying to do it. I think that, if I don’t know ahead of time what could happen, then I would be reluctant, but daring. But, because I LIKE to read about such things as drugs, alcohol, and the unmentionable topic, I have more ‘experience’ than if I had actually tried to do something like that. For instance, if I am feeling a particular way, I wouldn’t know why I was feeling like that and what caused it if I read about it. If it’s something I should never ever do, like drugs, for example, I’d rather read about it and risk a headache than to try them and risk my life. Thanks, Ms. xxxxxxxxx. I feel smarter already. I’m on my way to “Psychology 101.” And by that, I mean that it helps to know what goes on inside a person’s head.

I guess that was an intelligent answer. Better than I could come up with if I didn’t know about that. He does know, though, that studies show that it affects one’s memory, and also one’s ability to pay attention. “I can vouch for this because marijuana smokers in college, while smoking and studying, could not keep their mind on either their studies or any other topic of conversation. Instead, they got generally poor grades, and tended to forget what you were talking about.” He said that they often believed that their minds were sharper and more focused, and sometimes more creative while they were smoking, but actually managed to accomplish very little other than waste time and babble on with no particular train of thought.

Some topics in this essay:
Ignore Tell, Kathmandu Kiff, Student Union, Stress/Depression Relief, Drugs Alcohol, Cannabis Sativa, Industrial Hemp, Actually I’ve, PCP Poor, Temple Kiff, cannabis sativa, kathmandu temple, kathmandu temple kiff, temple kiff, brain cells, tobacco smoke marijuana, staring hole, bad idea, prescribed doctor, marijuana illegal, dad bad, dad bad idea, smoke marijuana smoke, parents didn’t,