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POP VOX - THE GREAT AMERICAN SMOKE OUT/UP

In the course of human events, it occasionally comes to pass that one person has neither weed nor money, while another person is in possession of the former and offers them tokes from a bong or blunt or "j" without expectation of anything in return. Everyone agrees this custom is in all ways generous and praiseworthy, but there is a great rift in what it is called. Do you smoke someone "out," or smoke someone "up?" Growing up in Seattle, I only ever heard "out," yet here in New York, smoking up is a far more common enterprise, leading me to believe the out/up split falls along regional lines in similar fashion to

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pop v. soda

(2006),

on line v. in line

(2009), or

chode v. chode

(2010). Urban Dictionary provided no help, as usual, defining terms as synonymous, so I headed out to the streets of Manhattan to try to determine who smokes up and who smokes out, and maybe try to get smoked out or up in the process. (PS: Mission accomplished.)

When you let someone smoke for free, are you smoking them out or smoking them up? Bria:

Smoking up.

You sounded pretty sure about that.

That's what my friends say when they're smoking up someone for the first time.

Where are you from?

Rockaway, Queens.

Do you smoke someone up or smoke someone out? Dennis:

I'm not really sure how to answer that question, because I don't smoke marijuana.

Well, as a non-marijuana user, which sounds more natural?

I'm guessing out. I'm not sure. You got me on that one. Hey, can I ask you some questions about your financial future?

No.

If I'm your friend, would you smoke me out or smoke me up?

Max: I would say I smoke you up. But there's a difference. If I smoke you out, that means I want to get rid of you. If I smoke you up, it means we're both having a good time.

Where are you from?

I've been in this neighborhood for over 30 years. Originally, Brazil.

So if I have weed and you smoke my weed, am I smoking you out or smoking you up? Ray:

Up.

OK, definitely not out?

Smoke goes up.

Do you smoke a lot of weed?

No.

But you'd say up as opposed to out. Where are you from?

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From Vancouver. There's lots of marijuana there.

Oh, I know. Can I take your photo?

You're not going to make it look like I smoke weed, right?

If you have weed and you let your friend get high, are you smoking him out or smoking him up? Paul:

Smoking him up.

Why up as opposed to out?

It was a total guess. I don't smoke.

But you'd still say up.

Yeah, but I don't know. Maybe if I was in that scene I'd know that immediately.

Are you from New York City?

Originally I'm from Connecticut.

Is getting someone high called smoking them up or smoking them out? Amelia:

Smoking them up.

How so?

I dunno, I've never really thought of smoking them out. Like, you don't smoke out, you smoke up.

Where are you from?

Australia

Do stoners say "smoke up" a lot in Australia?

That's an American term. In Australia, it's a whole different weed smoking vocabulary.

So what do they say in Australia?

I don't really know what we'd call it. Just "getting someone high," I guess.

Do you smoke someone out or smoke someone up? Alicia:

Out. Out, not up. Definitely.

Peter:

I say "up." Because I'm not taking you out. We're staying in the house—we're going up, getting high.

Alicia:

Well, it's also taking you out of your brain.

Peter:

I think you're still in your brain, just a little bit up. That's my rationale.

Alicia:

That makes sense.

Where are you guys from? Alicia:

California.

Peter:

I'm from Maryland.

I think it's an East Coast/West Coast thing. People from the East always say up. Peter:

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Which do you say?

I say out, but I'm from Seattle.

So what do you think, out or up? Dan:

See, I think it depends. If you have pot and I don't have pot you're going to smoke me out. But if I have pot and you have pot, we're just going to smoke up.

So "smoke up" means you're smoking together, and "smoke out" means you're doing me a favor. Dan:

Right, you're doing me a favor, it's like, "Hey, smoke me out." It's not "Hey, smoke me up." If we're gonna smoke up we're just gonna smoke up, it's just smoking. Cause it's smoke up, get high, get lifted.

Conclusion:

Smoking up is clearly more prevalent on the East Coast, but the small sample size, as well as the number of people who lied to me and told me they didn't smoke weed makes this data suspect. My hypothesis remains that the further West you go, the more likely you will get smoked out and not up. On a personal note after concluding my research, I will admit that what with lighting up and getting high, smoking does seem like a vertical activity, and Peter's "you don't leave the house" argument was persuasive. Nevertheless, I still enjoy the sound of "smoking out." If you would like to report on which direction you smoke in you can email [vice@viceland.com](mailto:vice@viceland.com?subject=Smoking Up/Out) or just hash it out in the comments per usual.

HARRY CHEADLE