Reading this piece -- incredible and I thank you for it -- was like reading my own thoughts and experiences so well articulated that I had to stop multiple times and just smack my hand to my forehead. I'm 20 years old, recently "recovered" (whatever that means) from severe, crippling depression, and six months and eight days sober. As an ex-stoner whose struggled to keep my cool in conversations with people who heard that weed isn't addictive (though this idea has no relevance in their lives, they tend to run with it) and can't understand that my experience is not an exception to this "rule", this work made me feel like a real person, one who isn't alone in this experience. I can't tell you how many times I've been told to my face "at least it wasn't nicotine, that's way harder to quit". Excuse me? That's a joke. That is a joke. Right? How could a drug that ALTERS YOUR PERCEPTION OF REALITY be easier to quit than one that doesn't? Not only do stoners crave weed in just the same (and often more extreme) ways as nic addicts crave vapes/cigarettes, but they have to be SOBER while they do it. I'll save you all from the extent to which I could rant and rave about this misconception.

All this to say, as someone with a suicide attempt and (very real) addiction in my history, it was extremely validating and beautiful to read this wonderfully crafted, chaotic yet simultaneously grounded, and so supremely human piece of writing. Thank you Alex, from the bottom of my heart.