Appendix

1. A San Francisco cannabis connoisseur ("Alan"), 36, married

I first turned on with marijuana while an undergraduate in 1963, although I didn't really get into it until two or three years later when I was in India. I have been smoking it regularly since then, ranging from a couple of times a week to almost every night as a relaxant.
    I have also stopped smoking a few times for periods of up to several months, whenever I feel that it's just becoming habitual or uninspiring. I also stop smoking and possessing marijuana whenever I'm involved in political organizing around the marijuana law reform issue—in other words, when I'm in the glare of publicity, or when I feel that even the slightest chance of getting busted would harm the cause.
    I usually smoke a joint or two in the evenings with my wife, while watching the tube or playing backgammon or reading, as a relaxant and mild soporific. I've been insomniac since the year one, and find a little dope by far the best sedative, although a quarter of a Quaalude does almost as well. I rarely smoke pot during the daytime while working, not only because it would be hazardous to get caught but also because I don't like to work while stoned; it's too much of an effort, and it's distracting and drains energy. I'm a classic workaholic and regard one of the most important of pot's medical uses as a self-medication against overwork.
    On the other hand, I find that marijuana increases my imaginativeness and creativity when I'm working on something creative, like writing or photography. I believe in chemical control of my own consciousness, and I use a great variety of drugs for specific purposes. For creative work I find that a toot of coke for energy, a hit or two of reefer for inspiration, a big multiple Vitamin B-complex capsule and about 500 units of Vitamin C will usually put my consciousness at its discursive best. For sexual activity, I like a bit more coke (maybe a quarter gram taken in very small mini-lines over a period of several hours), a modicum of marijuana or hash or hash oil, a glass or two of wine for staying power, and Vitamin E.
    For pain—for example, when my wisdom teeth were pulled—I self-medicate with prescription Percodan or Tylenol #4 with codeine, lots of marijuana, Perrier water for minerals, Vitamin C for healing, maybe goldenseal for healing also, and a little smoking opium if available. It places my consciousness just beyond the pain.
    At parties or social gatherings (ranging from just getting together with another couple at home to going out to movies, to big parties), I find that marijuana creates conviviality, gregariousness, social giddiness. I find pot infinitely preferable to liquor as a socializer, though sometimes tequila gold with salt and lime is wonderful. (I also consider tequila from the Agave cactus to be the most psychedelic of alcohols.)
    Set and setting are important, and yes, there are circumstances in which I feel pot smoking is inappropriate. I never get stoned before making any kind of public presentation, for example, testifying in court or before a legislative hearing, when I want to be at my sharpest. (I don't drink coffee, toot coke, or take any other kind of drug except tobacco in such circumstances.) I find that too much marijuana (for me) when I'm trying to get some work done, even creative work, leads to the two most famous pitfalls of being stoned, STML (short-term memory loss) and TT (tangential thinking ). There are chemical and nonchemical ways to correct this condition, but generally when writing a research paper or a journalistic article I avoid getting very stoned.