The Truth About Pot: How Marijuana Almost Cost My Pal His Sanity

For want of a joint. (Photo: iStock)

In late 2008, I heard the most fantastic tale from a friend. He’d spent five days in a row at the neighbourhood cemetery hiding from The Man.

Now, before you dismiss him, one of my dearest friends, of being intentionally obtuse, you should know he was one of the toppers of our batch, among the best chess players I have known and also a hacker of exceedingly good repute. He is one of those guys who acquired knowledge in a savant-like fashion. Things just came to him. Organically.

But, 2008 changed that in more ways than one. We graduated with our engineering degrees and entered the workforce at a time of great uncertainty. My friend, who had joined a large IT services major, was benched. For those unfamiliar with the term, ‘benched’ means exactly what it sounds like – you warm the benches for until when work is thrust upon you.

Ingenious as he was, he devised a way to avoid the routine of going to office.

And in its place, he discovered pot.

A couple of years since, now a seasoned stoner, he couldn’t remember much of what he had learned when recalled by folks at the office. (Photo: iStock)

The Comings and Goings of a Seasoned Stoner

I remember the first time we smoked pot together. I panicked! A fact that bemused my friend to no end. While I heard the six o'clock azaan sound from what might have been a thousand mosques atop his terrace, he frolicked like a child in an open field. I remember not recognising him at all. He seemed a deranged man. It was the first time I couldn’t relate to anything he said or how he acted. And the juvenile pranking was annoying. I sat there flustered until my stoner’s high wore off.

A couple of years since, now a seasoned stoner, he couldn’t remember much of what he had learned when recalled by folks at the office. That’s about four years’ college education. He tried to laugh it off – and got back to the arduous task of relearning things he’d listed in the skills and expertise column on his resume.

He still retained some of his genius, but only, this time, he thought it was augmented by what he was ingesting.

So, what started as an innocuous bit of fun, was now an essential supplement to tide through interviews, meetings and reviews.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) – the most evolved brain region – subserves our highest-order cognitive abilities. It intelligently regulates our thoughts, actions and emotions through extensive connections with other brain regions. Also, importantly, the PFC monitors errors – giving us the insight that we are incorrect and need to shift strategies.

What started as an innocuous bit of fun, was now an essential supplement to tide through interviews, meetings and reviews. (Photo: iStock)

In other words, it is what tells you you won’t grow wings on your majestic leap down from the terrace. Regular marijuana use impairs its function. A fact that is not apparent from watching your favourite rocker on stage belting out a crowd favourite or from your stoner friend who claims to doodle like Michelangelo, under the influence.

The Long Road to Recovery

It’s hard being friends with an addict. The person is fundamentally altered; you just can’t relate to their experience. What can you add to conversations about constellations in the daylight or faeces lining the streets? If you tried to be serious, you elicited laughter, paranoia or abject silence. I bit my teeth and held on, but at some point he just wouldn’t let me.

And then, one day, he called.

I sensed desperation in his voice. Apparently, he had skipped a meeting with his client because he couldn’t find a joint in time to gain the necessary confidence. He had foraged the neighbourhood garbage dump in search of an unfinished blunt. When I met him, elementary functions – such as crossing a busy street or meeting people –seemed an ordeal to him. He was a broken man. Our conversations changed after that.

It is now 2017 and pot is commonplace. It has gained social acceptance at a remarkably swift pace and is readily available. What’s more, you are seen as a bit of a prude if you don’t partake in the odd blunt that’s being passed around to the blaring sounds of EDM. An entire generation after is growing up with ill-conceived notions, armed with internet facts about getting high. Here’s what I know: there isn’t a greater threat to young people right now.

It is now 2017 and pot is commonplace. It has gained social acceptance at a remarkably swift pace and is readily available. (Photo: iStock)

These days when I meet my friend, I don’t bring up his pot-smoking days. It was a hard time for the both of us. He spent many months after, weaning himself off the substance and gaining his full senses. There are days when I recollect something he said or did and am amazed that he could redeem himself. Like those nights he spent at a cemetery, chatting with the undertaker in the man’s basement bunker.

It was a long road to recovery and as I’ve said before, he is no ordinary guy.

But, I shudder to think what will happen of the less fortunate.

(Roshan Cariappa is a Bangalore-based tech entrepreneur, occasional writer, and musician. He finds inspiration in Bharat, dharma, economics, music, and startups. He tweets at @carygottheblues.)