We spoke to a former weed dealer about legalization this election

I live in a quaint little town called Severna Park which is located near Annapolis in Maryland. What is not little, however, is the obsession with and desire for marijuana in our town. It seems to be a larger problem than it is in other areas simply because the drug dealers make a great amount of money from selling it and because the town’s inhabitants just enjoy getting high.

With weed legalization becoming a hot topic this election, I interviewed two of my friends, one a former dealer, and the other a user, for their take on what could happen.

Both of my friends who were interviewed for this story wished to stay anonymous. “It’s been a while since I’ve experienced the weed culture in Severna Park but I think it’s a problem because it isn’t as widely accepted as it is post high school,” he says. “This allows it to be viewed as more criminal and for it to be used in a way where it’s rebellious, not relaxing.”

Another friend of mine was formerly a marijuana dealer. She enjoys marijuana and finds it calming and enjoyable. “Smoking boosts one’s mood and it helps one eat if they have a tummy ache,” she says. This reason is why marijuana is used for medical patients sometimes. “It also helps get rid of headaches and makes sickness and certain pains such as depression and anxiety bearable.”

The other friend who was previously quoted likes to smoke weed not just for medical benefits like she does, but for mood benefits as well. “I enjoy it because it’s a good stress reliever,” he explains. “It also allows me to have a better appreciation for music such as rap or hip hop because it also just creates an atmosphere where you can be insightful and relaxed and not have to worry about outside problems.”

My female friend has been surrounded by weed for several years. This is why she chose to become a weed dealer. “One becomes a dealer in order to get some quick cash as well as help out a friend who needs help selling the bud,” she tells me. Making cash is not the main reason she chose this path for herself, however. “I never really got much profit except maybe getting smoked up [for free],” she says.

She has also learned many lessons while being a dealer that have nothing to do with the drug business. “One will learn a thing or two about trusting certain people and, as cheesy as it sounds, learn to remember important measurement conversions,” she says. She has used this skill in conversions for several other normal tasks that every American might undertake, such as baking.

Because both of these friends enjoy smoking weed, they both believe that it should become nationally legal. “I think the younger generation are advocates for it being legalized, including myself,” my male friend says. “I 100 percent agree for it to be legalized and it would be beneficial financially to our country. It would add money to our economy.”

The other friend agrees that it would be very emotionally, rather than economically, beneficial. “I think weed should be at least medically legalized because I’ve heard of many people who claim it makes them feel so uplifted when they’re ill,” she says. “I had a professor who told me he knew a woman personally who had cancer. She was so sick and couldn’t eat and then the last couple of months they legalized marijuana and she was able to smoke it. She told him that it made her feel so happy and not in pain anymore. She also gained her appetite back and was able to eat again.”

Although these two friends both believe weed is a major problem in Severna Park, they hope to see marijuana more actively used across the nation. Half of the states in America have legalized weed so it may be a matter of time for Maryland to legalize it. Our only choice to see if this happens is to wait and see until after the election.