Weed has always been good to me. I have fond memories of pulling seeds and stems out of shitty brown ‘80s Midwestern weed and smoking it from a kazoo or an apple. I feel very lucky to have discovered Cannabis early in life; tho it probably helped that every time I have more than 3 alcohol-of-any-kind drinks, I vomit.
My childhood was pretty unhappy, and I was desperate to escape in any way possible. I was 7 years old the first time I ran away. After my parents caught on and began capturing me at the end of the driveway, I realized that was no longer a viable method of escape. Once I discovered cannabis, everything changed. The euphoria, stimulating conversations, deep connections, and delicious food experiences were beautiful escapes from the hopelessness I felt at home.
Now, I write and perform comedy. Shocking, right?
Caryn Ruby, Mackenzie Horras, and Molly Reynolds in their web series “Baked Goodes“
Being stoned onstage does NOT WORK for me. It takes me out of the moment of the scene/joke and into the moment of “can people tell I’m high right now?” “am I acting different?” “do my hands look normal?” and other unnecessary thoughts. However, creating and writing when I’m high is A-Mazing. Sometimes I smoke a few hits of a top-shelf sativa and the jokes and ideas will come to me without any effort at all. It can be challenging to focus for long periods of time, but I just read an article (yes, literally in the middle of writing this I got sidetracked by checking emails and Twitter and a few articles…) about how the secret to more productivity is working less. (I swear!). I learned you cannot work creatively for hours on end. So there! I’m doing it right!
My theory is that cannabis helps me by simultaneously quieting and focusing my mind while allowing thoughts and ideas from my higher self (heh) to make their way in. These revelations often turn into bits or show ideas, like the time I got high with my boyfriend at the time and thought to myself “who the fuck is this loser living on my couch, eating all my food, and not paying any rent?” Had I just stayed high, maybe I would have ended that relationship much sooner.
When I’m high, it’s like my smartness peeks in and I think more clearly and make better decisions. I used to do a bunch of jokes in my stand-up routines about this, like when “high me” knew I shouldn’t bring my pot candy on vacation with my sister and her kids, yet sober me packed it anyway. Or the time sober me thought it was a good idea to get on an airplane with an eighth in my vagina. I’m like Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hiiiiiiiigh-d, if their eyes were perpetually at half-mast.
It’s not that I can’t write or create when I’m sober; I actually do most of my work that way. But if I’m stuck on something or trying to brainstorm… a nice sativa bong rip gives me a little extra boost. If I just want to chill and have a snack, I’ll opt for an indica strain, and if I’ve got a few hours of free time in my future where I don’t have to go anywhere or be responsible, I’ll eat an edible like a THC/CBD Kiva Bar and see where my creativity takes me. I may come up with an amazing idea. Or I could get a burst of productivity and start doing the dishes or stretching – have you ever done high yoga? It’s amazing, like you can actually FEEL your body from the inside. *Bonus* busywork is a great way to get any problems out of your mind and allow the answers to just come to you. TWO BIRDS! I’m telling you, it’s like I’ve figured out the secret of the Universe. At least it feels like it. But then again, I’m high right now.