"I see all my friends around me smoking pot, and sure I've tried it a few times but it just feels like I'm avoiding my problems. I'd rather face them head on."

"I stay true to myself through my style and self-expression, I don't need pot to put me in a box. Some people think because of the way I look that I must smoke pot. I like proving them wrong, and breaking the stereotype."

"I have a lot of goals and dreams, I can't be wasting all of my time sitting around on my friend's couch smoking pot. It doesn't make sense for me to get where I want to go."

"Honestly, marijuana doesn't do much for me. It sort of just blurs the world around you. I have too much to do, I have to stay focused on those goals. Pot passes the time, I'd much rather be making quality memories."

"I've never smoked pot. Why would I want to waste my time high when I could be enjoying the real world and going after my goals."

"fear comes and goes, it stops and slows.
like bleeding, like dying, from laughing to crying.
stay real, stay true, be happy, be you.
dont hurt, dont fight, smile soft, endless delight.
why care, stay strong, in the end, nothings wrong."

"Sure, I smoked pot as a kid. I would go back and change that if I could. When I look back at those times...it's not like I don't remember anything, I just wasn't doing anything memorable. It's a lot easier to stay focused on my goals and the people in my life now. Cutting out pot made that clearer."

"Since pot became legal, I've really relied too heavily on it. I want it to solve all my problems, but I've started to realize only I can do that. I can't avoid them forever."

"I smoked pot all through high school and college. I realize now I did it more to fit in than anything. I didn't actually like the effects; the haze, the laziness, but I did it because everyone around me was. I still wonder today how much more I could have accomplished by now if I wasn't just wasting all those years on pot and trying to impress people that weren't even worth impressing."

"Going through high school, it's hard enough trying to discover who I am without all of the influences around me. I've had to work hard to be myself and find my own path."