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Mary Jane seduced me my first semester of college and has become a part of my life ever since.

Before then, I didn’t know all that much about marijuana. I didn’t even know what it looked like until junior year of high school.

Growing up as a Christian, marijuana was obviously one of the things that God did not approve of. Therefore, I never took a part in it.

It was taboo and prohibited in my household.

I never questioned my parents’ decisions and did what I was told. I stayed away from Mary Jane and her bad reputation.

But I couldn’t stay away for long, not after laying my eyes on Mary Jane at my first party in Chico.

After our encounter, I couldn’t understand why people thought it was so wrong.

Mary Jane opened up my eyes to a world I never thought possible.

It didn’t affect me negatively — it made me feel like I was in the heavens. It made me ponder things and made me realize things about myself that I hadn’t realized before.

What could be so bad about that?

I’m not saying a person needs to smoke marijuana in order to achieve these things (because I’m positive it’s possible without it). But to me, it intensified the thoughts and creativity that was already there.

But like with every drug, there are also negative effects.

For instance, smoking weed sometimes makes people lazy — or at least it does to me. I just want to wrap myself in blankets and lay in bed all day or maybe watch Netflix.

Then there are the munchies. This may not be a negative effect to some. But in my case, it is because I’m a broke college student who can’t afford food.

There’s also paranoia. Depending on how someone is feeling or thinking, smoking weed can give people bad trips.

I’ve experienced a few myself. I always think the government is out to get me.

Regardless, I still think marijuana could be a good thing, depending on how one uses it.

A new friend recently told me that he was a huge pot smoker. He doesn’t see anything wrong with smoking weed and even grows it himself.

He knows of someone who has had seizures their whole life, but after smoking weed, they no longer do. Because of marijuana’s health benefits, he is all for legalizing it.

It’s these types of cases that make me think to myself that marijuana can be a good thing.

But there is still a part of me that has my parents’ opinion of marijuana carved into my head.

I confessed to my mom that I’ve taken a liking to marijuana, and she cried.

It wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. I wish she would have gotten angry instead.

She just didn’t understand why I would give in to “mota.” After explaining myself to her, she saw where I was coming from, but it didn’t change her mind about marijuana. She encouraged me to try to stop, and told me she would be praying for me.

After more conversations with my mom about the subject, she’s learned to be open about the benefits of marijuana, but only for those who really need it. Like those who use it as a cancer treatment or other serious health issues.

It’s a start.

Whether someone agrees with me or not, marijuana could have its health benefits. Mary Jane isn’t for everyone, but those who’ve met her know.

Daisy Dardon can be reached at [email protected] or @daisydardon on Twitter.