Weed is a huge part of Nigerian pop culture despite it being illegal within the country. In this article, five Nigerian women talk about the first time they smoked weed.
Bimbo, 22
The first time I smoked weed was in January 2021. I had just broken up with my boyfriend and was looking for experiences that would take my mind away from the pain. I told my friend I wanted to smoke, and he invited me to his house. He made sure I had eaten when I got there, then offered me alcohol while he rolled me the joint. I didn’t feel anything after I’d smoked the first joint, so he rolled me another. After a while, I became hyperactive, and then I dozed off. The fact that I didn’t feel sick after smoking unlike drinking made me stick with it. Since then, I have been smoking on and off.
Chinyere, 20
In 2020, I was seeing this guy who smokes weed. That day at his place, he rolled a joint. Watching him roll it turned me on. I asked him to pass it because I felt like trying it in that moment. We smoked the joint till it finished. It didn’t hit immediately, but when it did, I was just laughing. I also couldn’t keep my hands to myself. We had sex and afterwards, I had a class group meeting I couldn’t afford to miss at school, and I don’t remember how I got there. I laughed a lot at this meeting too. It was a 10/10 experience — 100% recommend for dick appointments.
Blessing, 20
In 2018, I didn’t get admitted to any of the universities I wanted. The federal school my dad chose for me raised their cutoff mark that year so I didn’t qualify anymore and the private school I wanted, my dad thought it was subpar. My dad wanted me to retake JAMB again and enrolled me in a tutorials centre. One day, when my dad dropped me off at the tutorial centre, I saw some of my girlfriend’s friends drinking and smoking in the bar close to the centre. They asked if I wanted to join, and I thought, “Why not?”
When one of them gave me the joint, he said, “Drag am small, make you no choke.” I did as he said. The effect was immediate — I felt like I was floating. I asked to smoke some more, and they ordered booze for me. After the second joint, I don’t remember what happened, but my mum came to pick me up at 3 PM. I slept on the way home. The next day, I couldn’t attend tutorials because I woke up by 10 AM. I continued smoking for two years after that day, but I don’t smoke anymore because it affected my grades. I went from being an A student to getting Ds. I had to stop.
Tosin, 24
I am asthmatic and I have always wanted to try smoking weed. In 2018, I went to a friend’s party. The guys at the party were smoking, and they asked if I wanted to join them. I had always wanted to try it, so I took a puff. I was about to take another when they cautioned me that it might be too much for me, but did I listen? Later on, I noticed I had become more carefree. I drank and danced a lot and played card games. It was a great experience and I didn’t get an attack as I had expected from smoking. I’d like to try it again.
Sophie, 21
During my fourth year in university, I went to see one of my friends. His roommates were around, and they wanted to smoke. Smoking weed had always been on my bucket list, so I asked for the joint. I had a painful tonsil infection, so inhaling the smoke was hard for me. My friend had to teach me to inhale properly. I took a few drags and after a while, I started laughing. My heart was pounding so hard I thought I was going to die. I wanted to call my mum and tell her I loved her. At some point, I felt like my friend and his roommates were plotting against me. There was this voice in my head telling me what to do; it told me that I had two personalities because of my Zodiac sign. I am not even into astrology. I started hallucinating — I saw people who had already left the room sitting on the chair. After a while, I felt sad, and I hated myself. I was also really horny.
I had to google how to stop a high. It was such a frightening experience. I know now that weed isn’t for me. The high lasted for about two hours, after which, I slept for the rest of the day.
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