One meaningful gesture not only saves students looking to get high money but also serves as an act of kindness: the invitation to be smoked down. 

But what exactly is "smoking someone down?"

Zoology sophomore Sam Matson, who has used many forms of marijuana — edibles, bongs, joints and wax — defines "smoking someone down" as smoking with the person and “planning to get them high.”

The person who offers to smoke someone down has to provide most, if not all, of the weed when carrying out the act, or else it's considered “matching” — each person providing an even split of marijuana. Matching is less of a selfless gesture, but still more cost-savvy.

Matson said she enjoys smoking someone down and it can even be an intimate experience. Several of her first dates were spark-up sessions.

However, romance aside, Manson also smokes people down to help people out if they can't afford to buy enough weed, among other factors.

 “It’s just the price of weed, really, and accessibility, is different for everyone and different dispensary prices,” Matson said. “(I’m) not expecting anything in return except a good time and maybe they’ll smoke you down later.”

In Michigan, however, smoking weed has become more of an affordable activity. The growth in the state's Marijuana industry has caused a dip in prices. From January 2022 to January 2023, the cost of one ounce of cannabis dropped 53.6%, according to a report. In December 2022, the retail price per ounce of flower dipped to $91, down 74$ from $351 per ounce in December 2022, according to the Cannabis Business Times. The average price for a gram of marijuana in Michigan is $5.

But costs can add up quickly. And if a student is tight on cash or doesn't have a way to the nearest dispensary, smoking someone down so they can participate in the session becomes a true act of kindness.

Biology secondary education sophomore Lulu B. said she smokes people down at least once a week, but typically just her friends. She does this so often because she is usually the one "asking people to smoke" instead of vice versa, so she provides the weed. 

“When I ask someone to smoke, I feel like it’s implied that I’m going to be smoking them down if it’s completely my idea,” Lulu B. said.

Lulu B. believes that smoking someone down is fully an act of kindness because it is “sharing something you love with someone else” who loves the same thing.

To celebrate 4/20, Lulu B. and Matson both plan on smoking someone down or matching with other smokers.