Sir Lancelot: 2.5% of Americans smoke weed every day. We are two of them.
We don’t mean purely recreationally, either. This school year, we have smoked before going to the gym, working on Math 55 problem sets, or even showing up for midterms and final exams. Our results speak for themselves; we both have near perfect grades, and yet, we seldom hear people using the same methods. This is especially surprising at a school like Harvard where students look to gain an edge wherever possible. Weed has the potential to reduce stress, make work more tolerable, and aid in focus, and students who smoke weed recreationally should be more open to the possibility of adding weed to their study-aid repertoire.
Sir Galahad: I suffer from general, social, and separation anxiety disorders. I have seen a psychiatrist since I was 10, and I have been medicated with Zoloft since I was 13. When I came to Harvard, problem sets piled up, and the pressure to perform pushed me over the edge. I was losing it. As a last-ditch effort to help me get my work in on time, my psychiatrist recommended I try smoking weed. She said it may help me overcome the anxiety preventing me from working. I had smoked recreationally before, but never to help get work done. Still, since my daily Zoloft seemed to be working less and less, I gave her advice a try.
Sir Lancelot: Did it work?
Sir Galahad: Surprisingly, it did. It helped me focus on my work by alleviating the stress that my problem sets caused. I was getting so overwhelmed by various due dates that I couldn’t get anything done. Weed reduced my stress just enough that I could focus on the task at hand, but not so much that I didn’t feel motivated to work. I also began to enjoy the most mundane assignments, which made my work feel like less of a chore. I started to love the entire process of a problem set, rather than just the moment I turned it in. Finally, weed helped my writing become more descriptive and emotional. One professor told me that she thought that while my writing initially felt guarded, it became more emotional and rawer over the course of the semester. I truly believe that without marijuana, my first semester at Harvard would have been a wash.
Sir Lancelot: I know many smokers—myself included—who frequently do their math homework high. I’ve had similar success in my economics courses. In fact, the only work that I can’t do while high is my Chinese homework.
Sir Galahad: Why do you think that is?
Sir Lancelot: Chinese is not my first language, so I’m not completely comfortable with it yet. When I try to speak Chinese while high, it tends to mess up the tones, and I have trouble formulating my sentences.
Sir Galahad: That’s an interesting point. I’ve had similar problems with my philosophy readings; I find it hard to understand the rhetoric and syntax typically used in philosophical writing, since it is so different from what we read on a daily basis. I’ll read an entire page before realizing that I did not understand a word of it.
Sir Lancelot: I don’t think that everyone enjoys being high. Weed might make you more relaxed and productive, but I do not think that weed is the answer for everyone. I do enjoy smoking small amounts and being productive while high, but not everyone will have these results.
Sir Galahad: Of course not. While I’m not advocating for everyone to try doing homework high, I think that those who already have experience with weed should consider trying it.
Sir Lancelot: How did you find out what size dose works for you?
Sir Galahad: I started with a very small amount—about 20%—of what I normally smoke. I tampered with this amount until I found my optimal dosage. Right now, I consider a working joint to be about a third of a gram. Of course, everyone’s tolerance is different, and those who want to try weed as an academic aid will have to do their own experimentation for best results.
Sir Lancelot: I was wondering if you ever feel that weed makes you feel lethargic when taking tests. Sometimes, I find it hard to stay alert and focused on my work when high.
Sir Galahad: There are two main ways I counteract the drowsiness some weed users report when I smoke before taking exams or working on assignments. I typically also ingest some type of caffeine, as well as making sure to smoke a sativa-dominant strain, both of which help to prevent the typical symptoms of sleepiness associated with smoking. The intense relaxation associated with indica can be counterproductive when trying to take an exam or finish an assignment.
Sir Lancelot: I’ll be sure to give that a try. My last question: who shouldn’t smoke for academic assistance?
Sir Galahad: People who have never smoked weed before should not try smoking to focus on schoolwork. When it comes to conducting yourself while high, there is a learning curve. Since being high affects motor coordination, people who have not been high very many times will have to exert a lot of effort into controlling their body. This will ultimately detract from their assignments. Once you’ve been high a few dozen times, you’ll have a better idea of how your body responds and will be able to conduct yourself better. Moreover, those who have experience smoking recreational doses of weed will not find the much smaller working dose potent.
Sir Lancelot: That makes a lot of sense. I have smoked enough that a working joint does not make me feel that high, but in the past, it would have.
Sir Galahad: Exactly. I think that anyone who has experience smoking weed and does not react adversely to it should give it a try.
Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad’s true names have been protected for legal concerns. Opinions of Forum pieces belong only that of the writer and do not reflect the values of the Independent.