Letter from the Editor: High Ground
Editor’s note: The Independent’s annual Weed Issue arrives amid upheaval on Harvard’s campus. On April 14, University President Alan Garber ’76 declared in a message to the community that Harvard would not comply with the terms set forth by President Donald Trump’s administration. The Trump administration responded by freezing $2.2 billion on multi-year grants as […]
Harvard Pushes Back Against Federal Regulations, Faces $2.2B in Cuts
On April 14, the Trump administration announced that it would freeze $2.2 billion in multi-year research grants and halt a $60 million contract with Harvard University—a response to the University’s lack of compliance to what the Harvard administration described as an “unprecedented” list of demands. Federal officials characterized Harvard’s response as an example of elite […]
Tripping in the Classroom
Next semester, Harvard undergraduates will have the opportunity to explore the science behind psychedelics in the classroom. Dr. Chloe Jordan, currently a lecturer at Boston University and an instructor in Harvard’s Psychology Department, will teach Neuro 101EE: “Neuroscience of Psychedelic Experiences.” Her course will explore the neurological mechanisms, moral implications, and societal impacts of hallucinogenic […]
Made With Weed
Yes, I know that was a strangely morbid subtitle. But it’s true. There are some things I just need to see infused with marijuana before I pass on from this Earth. Over the years, humanity has progressed beyond just merely smoking marijuana. Instead, we have developed a myriad of ways by which an individual can […]
Horrible Harvard Things That Would Be Better High
I know you’ve thought about it before. Whether it was sitting in Sanders during the election watch party or writing three essays in one day, the thought has crossed all of our minds: “This would be way better if I was high.” I’m not encouraging anything illegal (Hi Mom. Hi Harvard.)—I’m just saying that if […]
Dis(joint)ed Journaling
So. I’ve been feeling a little bit off-kilter lately, and with the perfectly-timed Weed Issue of the Independent, I have decided that this is the perfect excuse to engage in my favorite form of catharsis: writing while high off my ass. This week, I plan to get high and write every single night. (Okay, so […]
Pot Perspectives with Jeffrey Miron
It’s true. I swore off the thought of concentrating in economics after a brief stint in Harvard College’s Economics 10A: “Principles of Microeconomics” last semester—the supply-and-demand graph shifts didn’t spark any Marie Kondo-esque joy. But hey, it’s the Independent’s renowned Weed Issue, so I figured I might as well venture back into the department to […]
Roll Crimson
Although weed is strictly forbidden by the Harvard College Student Handbook, for the sake of this article, let’s pretend that killjoy little booklet of rules magically disappeared. Harvard is well-known for its diverse and impressive student body. It is likely one of the reasons you gave for wanting to attend this school aside from its […]
The Price of Cannabis Prohibition: Profits, Public Health, and the Case for Legalization
Dr. Akwasi Owusu-Bempah—criminologist, sociologist, and co-author of “Waiting to Inhale: Cannabis Legalization and the Fight for Racial Justice”—has long argued that cannabis policy is deeply intertwined with racial justice. In a JFK Jr. Forum at the Harvard Institute of Politics two years ago, he and Tahira Rehmatullah spotlighted the unequal impact of prohibition and the […]
Light on the Charles
Sundazzles enormous stretch across the surface Of the Charles River, informing ripples From the sun through space directly splashing Upon the water of my eye to the depths Of this woven candle, this riverring starstuff. We are the ones learning now, we living Blood of the spirit, ancestors of the moment, Brainvessels beating an experience […]
Finding Value at Tommy’s
“Hey Tommy!” is a phrase one will hear many shoppers say to the cashier at Tommy’s Value on a typical afternoon. Located at 47 Mount Auburn St., this family-run market has become a community staple in an area that lacks convenience stores, serving students and Cambridge locals alike since 2002. Though it briefly shuttered during […]
Running on Fumes and Gummies
In June 2024, the NCAA voted to remove marijuana from its list of banned substances for student-athletes across all divisions. Following the removal of the same ban in the NBA, this rule change was a significant shift for the athlete community, who are no longer subject to season-long suspensions for a positive test. Additionally, this […]
“Been There, Done That.”
The implications of using medical marijuana as an alternative to prescription drugs are certainly not a new discussion topic. “We’ve been using cannabis for 5,000 years,” Harvard Medical School instructor and medical cannabis specialist Dr. Peter Grinspoon pointed out in an interview with the Harvard Independent. “If you look at the big picture in human […]
The Dream NFL Blunt Rotation
A FaceTime session with someone desperately trying to win you back? Prime time to hit them with the real questions—like who’s in their NFL dream blunt rotation. Bonus points if you still remember their favorite team and casually toss in a token player to keep them wrapped around your finger. With this in mind, we […]
Marijuana: Social Aid or Secret Poison?
Note: To protect their privacy, the students referenced throughout the article wished to be anonymous. They are instead referred to by the pseudonyms “Ben” or “Mary.” “An addict, any addict, can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use, and find a new way to live,” reads the motto of Narcotics Anonymous, a nonprofit founded […]
High in Reverse
I smoked for the first time my sophomore year of high school. Smoke might be generous—I took a few puffs off my crush’s gas station cart before she ditched me for a Zoom therapy appointment, leaving me to watch “The Office” with her best friend (whom I had just met, and was incidentally drop-dead gorgeous). […]
I Started Growing Weed At Five
“It is just like any other farming,” I often tell people when I mention that I was brought up growing marijuana. Depending on where my listeners are from, that tends to get a mixed reaction. So let me clarify from the jump: I didn’t grow weed by myself, my family wasn’t running a commercial-scale operation, […]
Yardfest on Five Substances
I started my Yardfest day slinging back mimosas and Coronas bright and early. The goal was simple: pace myself so I could reach my peak—both drunk and high—at precisely 7 p.m., when Natasha Bedingfield would finally grace us with her beautiful British presence. Contrary to the title of this article, I had a plan, and […]
A Baked Dozen
In a dimly lit Eliot dormitory that doubled as an arena of absurdity, a cadre of unconventional knights gathered at their makeshift round table to challenge a gargantuan dragon that loomed over their consciousness—a beast as enigmatic as any myth. The knights readied their chalice—a crystal-clear, single-chamber bong bestowed upon them by Merlin, the very […]
Thoughts from New Quincy: 5mg to Forget
She wore a Miu Miu headband and carried a pastel tote bag as she stepped out of the dispensary, clutching a few 5mg hybrid gummies and a pre-roll “for later.” I passed the storefront—blush-pink shelves, botanical product cards, a wall of tastefully labeled vapes—and thought: we didn’t decriminalize weed. We domesticated it. Not repaired the […]
The French Alternative to the Smoke Sesh: L’apéro
When I first saw the theme for this issue, I wasn’t sure what I could contribute. Weed is illegal in France, and without a trip to Amsterdam under my belt, I have no funny stories or observations to share. I briefly considered writing about Europe’s smoking culture, but there are only so many ways to […]
Psychedelic Week at Harvard
The Harvard Undergraduate Psychedelic Club hosted a series of trippy, serious, and deeply fascinating events for their first annual Psychedelic Week from March 30 to April 4. A beat reporter was on the scene. This is not, however, a traditional news piece, since the reporter was involved with the organization. The inescapable entanglement between subject […]
G.A.N.J.A.
Gummy Galore You take it at midnight. A single gummy, peach-flavored, soft in the center and hardened at the edges. It’s wrapped in cheap plastic, the kind that sticks to itself. No label—just a smiley face drawn in fading Sharpie. You bought it for seven dollars from a guy in a denim jacket standing outside […]