Being high makes boredom seem more interesting by lowering your sense of what is interesting. This is similar to food. Food often tastes better when people are high, but we act as if getting high changes the molecular structure of food. We act as if we’re the same, and the food has altered; similarly, we tend to act as if we are the same and the boring thing is now more fun. But things have not changed: you’re just high.

On any single occasion, this distinction doesn’t really matter: if it tastes better, that’s great; if it is less boring, that’s fun. But boredom, as a mental state, is essential. It can spur creativity, imagination, and problem solving.

When getting high becomes the solution to boredom, we become less skilled at dealing with boredom and learning from it. Getting high too often makes it harder to tolerate the regular routines of life.

If you return to getting high after this break, you might occasionally devour a meal high or find a not so funny movie hysterical. Enjoy it, but try and steer away from using cannabis as a cure for boredom.