Prof Crull
May 27, 2016
“How Getting High Made me a Better Caretaker”
In the op-ed article “How Getting High Made me a better Caretaker” by Tom Huth, Huth argues that marijuana created a better lifestyle for him. He explains the hardships of being a caretaker for his wife who is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, leaving him with greater duties . However, smoking marijuana has made him feel as if he is free of responsibility and a better caretaker for his wife as well. He proceeds by explaining the gratitudes of smoking marijuana throughout the article to convince the reader that smoking marijuana can make an individual feel “enriched and enlivened”. I agree with Huth’s argument and believe that marijuana can benefit people with easier and happier lifestyles.
Huth begins by explaining how marijuana has benefitted him. He continues and mentioning that he has been a longtime smoker and has a history with marijuana for a great deal of his life. He describes the feeling by saying “ when my awareness is heightened” it helps him socially and personally. He continues, saying it has helped his creativity, his decision making, giving him a better general outlook on life, and most importantly making him a better caretaker. Huth takes care of his wife, Anne, who has suffered from Parkinson’s disease for the past 20 years. She has struggled against it physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually. Regardless of the assistance he receives taking care of his wife, smoking marijuana has always seemed to keep him from “burning out as a caregiver”.Smoking marijuana allows him to see the normal things as something fascinating and foreign which enables him to enjoy them on a much more frequent basis. For Anne’s benefit, he is also a better companion. When Huth cares for Anne during the day, he takes evening walks while he is high. Being high makes his walks feel longer than they are and more adventurous. He recollects trips with Anne where he took hikes in the mornings stoned. He pleasantly describes each setting distinctively. This is an advantage because after Anne got sick, Huth was not allowed to work and experience the world as he used to before. Therefore, the advantage to smoking weed now was that he was allowed to see the ordinary as extraordinary. As for his everyday duties such as making dinner, it has become a ritual to smoke before starting to cook only because he is completely “absorbed” in his duties. Smoking weed allows him to become amused and enlightened into his chores. Smokers and stoners come in all different professions and classes. Ranging from the heights of astronomers to the depths of welders. Huth distinguish himself as a “stoner helpmate: chronically chipper, resilient on demand, fully rechargeable and unmatched at keeping myself amused for long stretches of downtime”. Even though Anne doesn’t follow her husband and caregiver Huth in his practices of frequently smoking marijuana, it still has been an “ally” to her. It ...
