Discreet thanks: “Selling weed got me through grad school”

volume 4

Discreetly Dank is a recurring column dedicated to giving a voice to those who dare to be horny. Each volume will be by a different author who needs a safe place to document what it’s really like to be a weed lover in a world where cannabis is still not normalized.

I graduated from high school five years ago and sometimes I still think I can get over it. For two and a half years, my brain toyed with new people, ideas, and passions as I worked toward my master’s degree. From trying to do quality research to reading books that challenged my previous thinking, I loved being a student in a program I chose, among people whose teaching and experience I loved respected.

“One day it dawned on me. I had become the plug for many people around me.”

I loved it so much I was willing to work full time and go to school. It was the only way I could graduate without incurring a lot of debt—and I wasn’t dying to give Sallie Mae another reason to call me.

But my full-time email marketing salary barely covered the rent, and I was still broke as soon as my checks came. I had to start looking for ways to put more loose change in my pocket.

A worthwhile part-time job

Even though I’ve never been this broke, I still made sure I could get some weed. And while my financial situation had dealt my ego a serious blow in grad school (like when my car was retrieved from my own driveway), I didn’t give up on my ganja. I was determined to have weed by my side to balance my anxiety and help me sleep.

My reputation as a stoner helped me make many friends who tried to smoke what I smoked or enjoy some of the edibles I made. At least a few times a week someone would offer to pay me for edibles since they didn’t know how to make them. People also seemed very trusting and interested in any flower I could spare from my stash.

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After a while it made more sense to me to buy half or whole ounces every time I refilled because I knew someone else would be asking me for weed or edibles. Buying in bulk gave me the opportunity to save a small item at my risk and take care of the acquisition.

And with overdraft fees pouring out of my reviews and new reading lists every semester, I’ve always been glad it worked.

connection to my community

In a state with a poor medical program and no legal adult cannabis, it made me feel good to be able to help others who wanted some weed to make themselves feel better. I loved (and still love) baking. And the extra money for my books, the used laptop I used to write my thesis on, and eventually credit hours.

One day it dawned on me. For many people around me I had become the plug. In addition to my job and studies, I also baked special cookies and introduced flowers to colleagues and classmates. Some of my professors had even bought edibles from me and shared them with their friends and family members, who started placing orders.

What started with me shopping smart with my own plug, helped me buy my hood for graduation, food for late nights of writing, and pay the rent after I was out of a job but still absolutely mine wanted to end the program.

I had to take out more school loans to complete my final semester and graduate. But I’m proud of everything I did to finish grad school, including making money selling weed and edibles. The extra money really stuck with me, and I remember learning so much about people from finding out what flavors and desserts they liked, how often they liked them, and how much it meant to them to have a trusted source for theirs having a need for grass.

It was nice to have the trust of my community and to share their desire to find more joy, proper rest and relaxation. It was really nice to have money for groceries and bus tickets to see my family when school had drained me emotionally.

withdrawal from life

Even after I graduated from graduate school and got a new clerk job, I continued to sell flowers and make edibles for a few years because I couldn’t get enough of the joy and relief this would bring to people.

It is vulnerable to doing cannabis business in a state that prohibits it and I have always been grateful to be able to safely connect with the many wonderful people who seek a better quality of life.

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It’s been years since I’ve hosted a bake sale or weighed 7g’s to put in a pill bottle with the sticker peeled off, but I still look back fondly on how my community held me down during grad school, and I did as well held down.

Now my master’s degree proudly hangs on the wall behind me every day, and I still wonder if some of the lessons I learned selling weed weren’t just as important to me.

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Discreet thanks

Discreetly Dank is a recurring column dedicated to highlighting the stories and perspectives of cannabis enthusiasts grappling with the stigma surrounding cannabis in all facets of life. From micro-aggression to genuine health and safety concerns, the contributors to Discreetly Dank dare to be horny in a world that hasn’t caught up with their sophisticated lifestyles…yet.

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