Each of us has a context where we first got started smoking weed, and we probably have kept up with that. Whether it’s at a party with friends, relaxing on the sofa after a long day, or getting stoned before going to watch a movie or a show, we have times and places in life where we like to have a smoke sesh because of the way it adds to the experience. But what if it’s getting old?
There are many fun things to do while high – board games, video games, have deep conversations, listen to your favorite music, and so many more. Whether you enjoy them will depend very much on what you like to do, how stoned you are, and what kind of weed you’re stoned on. For any and all of these fun things, your mileage may vary. But give them a try!
The Not-Fun Things
This is probably not necessary to say, but don’t put your life or yourself in any danger. This isn’t the moment to try and recreate your favorite stunt from Jackass. Don’t play with fire. And please don’t operate heavy machinery!
The Fun Things
- Play video games. If you’re not a gamer this is probably not a good way to start, but if you like playing then doing it while stoned is an entirely new experience. I find it works best for games where you can get into a kind of flow where you stop thinking and just let your hands play. First-person shooters can be like this, or platform games. Rhythm games are another good option, and of course, something like Tetris is perfect. Puzzle games don’t tend to work so well – anything where you need to consciously problem solve is going to be more frustrating than fun. Hitman is probably my favorite game of all time, but not when I’m baked! If you’re with a group, playing video games like GTA where you can just tool around and have cool things happen with no consequences can be a real laugh.
- Fresh air. If you’re feeling a bit too hazy, just step outside and enjoy the fresh air. Even if it’s cold there’s something really comforting about being in nature while stoned, and I find that walking around or sitting on the grass can be incredibly calming after smoking. Some people like to exercise while high. Not me. But sitting in a park listening to the birds and the wind in the trees is highly recommended.
- Be creative. Drawing, painting, or sculpting while stoned can lead to some truly interesting results, while music-making is another fun option. Try writing a short story – if you can maintain focus it could be properly weird! Even more basic things like coloring books or playdoh can be surprisingly satisfying when you’re high! The trick is not to frustrate yourself – if you find that you are too stoned or high in the wrong way and you’re frustrating yourself because you can’t make your hands do what you want, put it aside!
- Meditate. I wrote a whole article about this. Check it out!
Marijuana for Meditation
This is not an article about meditating while stoned. It’s about leveraging the state of altered consciousness that cannabis can induce to meditate deeply and look inwards to learn more about yourself and help sort through issues that may be…
- Board games. This is a great thing to do when high with friends. The key thing here is don’t get competitive. Smoking weed tends to chill people out to the point where winning something is the last thing on their minds, and that’s the correct spirit. Playing board games while stoned is not about winning, or even playing well – it’s about generating opportunities for entertaining events to occur. It’s about someone attempting to pay rent on a property they own in Monopoly. It’s about making little paper hats for the pawns when you’re playing chess. It’s about a game of Clue that goes on for three hours before somebody realizes there are no cards in the envelope. Play high – embrace it!
- Listen to music. Our lives today out filled with music if we want them to be. We listen while we’re traveling, while we’re working, we’re cleaning, we’re cooking. But how often do you really just listen? Getting stoned and listening to music – maybe an old favorite – can be a great experience. You might hear layers you never heard before. You might appreciate something you never gave the time to before. And it’s a fun way to try again with music you were never able to get along with before – maybe try grooving to Miles Davis’s A Kind of Blue or Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Personally, I dig the Sun Ra Arkestra. Maybe you’ll learn you really like Rush, or Steely Dan (nobody likes Steely Dan except for professional musicians who are actually just impressed).
- Watch a movie. Go to the theatre or stream something at home. Big dumb action movies are great. Comedies are great (there’s a reason they kept giving Cheech and Chong money to make all those stoner movies). Serious emotional dramas can work, but you’re probably missing some nuance. And anything with a complicated plot is going to be too much effort. A good way to think about stoned movie and TV watching is that normally you watch for the story – that’s just what you remember, that’s what you enjoy. When you’re stoned, your ability to remember plot details and track character motivations is severely curtailed, so what you enjoy is the individual scenes. A show with good stand-alone scenes or sequences is going to be much more fun than one that relies on an accumulation of plot detail for its power. Don’t watch something you might want to have an intelligent opinion about later.
- Go somewhere interesting. This is pretty vague, but take a trip to a place where there is some stimulation and see how you respond to it. This could be a theme park, an art gallery, or just a cool architectural space. I would recommend not going somewhere that it would be awkward to leave if it’s not working for you – it’s pretty hard to turn around when you’re halfway up the steps in the Statue of Liberty, for example.
- Surf the internet. What, really? Don’t I do this all day anyway? Well sure, but I’m not talking about social media or news. Look up something on Wikipedia or TV Tropes and just keep clicking. There’s a deep rabbit hole waiting for you, and you are going to enjoy following it all the way. (When you reach the Moon landing deniers you’ve gone too far – turn around and start heading back.)
- Learn smoke tricks. Some people are able to do really cool things with smoke, like blow smoke rings or… well, variations of that. Try learning! If you can get into that zone you might surprise yourself. You’re probably never going to be Tom Noddy, but cannabis users are pretty easily impressed while stoned!
- Eat food. Anyone who smokes cannabis is going to be familiar with the munchies – not so much a hunger as a desire to have food in your mouth. But even if you don’t have them, eating is a really fun thing to do while stoned. Try a new restaurant or some new foods. Or just something simple, but really focus on it. Maybe you’ve had Starburst candy before, but have you really tasted it?
- Couch lock. It may sound strange to put this on the list as surely it is the opposite of doing a fun thing, but don’t dismiss it. Sometimes getting so stoned that you can’t summon the will to move and you know you aren’t going to remember whatever is happening with any clarity is exactly what you need to unwind. If you smoked a little too much and you find this is what is happening, don’t get down on yourself. Embrace it. Lean into it. You’re locked to that couch, and you’re loving it!
Conclusion
This is a list of some of the most uncontroversial best things to do while high. You should make your own list. There are many things to do while high and many ways to have fun – it’s a rich, wide world out there, and weed can make a lot of it better! Enjoy the smoke!
