With the country I grew up in set to go full legalization of marijuana and my current state only at the ‘medical’ marijuana state, I thought I’d try to talk like an adult about why I used it, and why I don’t anymore.

Until golf became my full time sport of choice, I played contact/collision sports for years.  Hockey, football and rugby at various stages occupied much of my time.  I still miss playing hockey, and the people I met playing rugby are some of the finest people you could ever hope to meet.

Unfortunately, playing contact/collision sports means that hitting is involved, and hitting (and being hit) does hurt.  Anyone who tells you otherwise is full of shit.  I’ve broken bones, had sprains, tears, pulls, charley horses, concussions, and a raft of other issues.  Most mornings, limbs hurt.

Which brings us back to marijuana.  I’ve used it.  I currently don’t because drug tests are very much on the horizon for me (no bad reasons; I don’t have a criminal record of any kind unless you consider 2 speeding tickets in 24 years criminal activity).  It helped me in two areas:

  1. Pain management.  It helped better than pain medication did without concerns about becoming addicted to it.  Unfortunately, I did become addicted to eating more than I normally do, which explains why I’m fat.  I gained weight (I gained additional weight when I gave up smoking cigarettes; if you’re curious nicotine is a great appetite suppressant, among other things).
  2. Stress/Anxiety.  After a long and stressful day at work, it helped me de-stress and be able to relax enough to sleep without hoovering up Ambien like they’re jelly beans.  I slept better on nights I smoked marijuana than on nights that I didn’t.  FWIW, I never woke up with any hangover effects beyond a desire for a hearty breakfast usually involving waffles or pancakes.

As it relates to golf, it would not surprise me to see someone experiment with edibles (if they didn’t want to smoke) if they needed to relax the night before an important round.  Same for someone who might be in pain but doesn’t want to feel drugged up on painkillers.

On a personal note, I think marijuana should be legal in the US.  Period.  It’s not addictive and there’s not a credible study that shows marijuana is a gateway drug.  I used cocaine twice in college before I found marijuana.  I have zero desire to ever use cocaine again (among other things, the paranoia is a TERRIBLE thing for me).  The only thing keeping me from using marijuana is concerns over a potential positive drug test.  Take that out of the picture and I’d probably be using it periodically (either smoking it or as an edible).