HIGH: Confessions of a Cannabis Addict with Leonard BuschelHIGH: Confessions of a Cannabis Addict with Leonard Buschel
Recovery Recharged with Ellen Stewart Pushy Broad from the Bronx
Leonard Lee Buschel is an influential, seasoned writer, editor, and author of his memoir,' HIGH: Confessions of a Cannabis Addict'. Watch this fascinating and enthralling interview with the author. Watch Here: https://youtu.be/2XuZz6iA9E8
26:52•6 Mar 2024
Laughing Through Cannabis Addiction: Leonard Buschel on Getting High and Getting Honest
Episode Overview
- Long-term daily cannabis use can become an addictive habit rather than genuine getting high.
- Humour can make difficult addiction stories more approachable while still being honest about consequences.
- Early loss, family dynamics, and environment can strongly shape later substance use and risk-taking.
- Sobriety may feel frightening but offers an "edge" where life becomes vivid, alert, and genuinely lived.
- Documenting your experiences, whether in a journal or a memoir, can help make sense of your past and recovery.
“"I got high every day for 26 years... when you get the message, hang up the phone."”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol and drugs? This chat between Ellen Stewart and memoirist Leonard Buschel drops you straight into that question, with cannabis addiction front and centre. The focus here is marijuana, long-term dependency, and what it really means to wake up after decades of being high.
You’ll hear Leonard describe growing up in Logan, Philadelphia, a tight-knit neighbourhood he calls his "Brigadoon", and how early gambling, pinball machines, and hashish led to a 23-year career as a drug dealer. He talks openly about losing his father when he was three weeks old, being raised by a single mum, and feeling like he "grew up like a plug with only one prong" – all shaping his relentless chase for that first hit.
The episode centres on his memoir, *HIGH: Confessions of a Cannabis Addict*, a book Ellen says made her "laugh until I cried".
Leonard explains why he chose humour over misery: "If you can't play music for someone, you better be able to make them laugh." He’s clear about cannabis dependence too, pushing back on the idea that "pot isn’t addictive" and describing smoking every day from age 18 to 44: at a certain point, people "aren't really getting high anymore" – they’re just avoiding withdrawal.
For those in recovery, there’s plenty to relate to: smuggling hash from Israel in his twenties as a classic "go to any lengths" addict move, and the shift from getting high to getting sober and staying on "the edge" of real life. Leonard now writes nightly journals to prove to himself, "oh, look, I had this life", and frames sobriety as a kind of hero’s journey, quoting James Baldwin on the terror of giving up your crutch.
If you’ve ever wondered whether long-term cannabis use counts as addiction, or how someone can come back from being high every day for 26 years, this conversation might get you thinking about your own highs and what reality could feel like without them.
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