Two feet is not unusual for some of the more vigorous mints. Yours appears downy in which case I don't think its spearmint. Maybe apple mint., although that usually has more rounded leaves. There are hundreds of mint cultivars, not to mention various crosses which occur and are never named. There isn't a 'regular' mint.

Taste it. If you like it use it, if not forget it. There are no rules.

I have an escaped mint that is at least 3' tall reaching for the it's place in the sun behind all the other plants in front of it. (I think it's actually spearmint.)

You can cut mint back as often as you like. It will do better if it's cut back often, encouraging lots of young shoots coming up, rather than letting stems get all tall and woody.

When I've had it in pots (spearmint or peppermint) it has not gotten 2 feet tall - more like 8-10 inches max. The stems you have look like they've been growing in a really dense patch too long and have lost their lower leaves. Once they're planted, you can start cutting back the tops to encourage sprouts to come in lower down.

For culinary use, spearmint is generally what you want. Spearmint is what I use for yogurt sauce, Thai dishes, etc. Either spearmint or peppermint is good for tea.

The bare stems lead me to believe that it indeed was in a thicket. My friend did say her garden was not well maintained, and that the spearmint (If that's what it is) was very dense.

The fuzzy leaves gave me pause.

I was thinking of cutting it down by half at least. But wondered if it would sprout new leaves at the nodes...or not.

Don't worry about the fuzzy leaves. Just be guided by the taste.

Mentha spicata, Spearmint, has smooth leaves. If it's fuzzy I doubt it's the straight species. Have you looked at images of Mentha suaveolens, Apple Mint? Plus there are hundreds of named and unnamed hybrids and subspecies.

I have mint and it does get to 2 ft easily. It also has fuzzy leaves. Makes awesome tea and flavored water. It is a fearless plant. Cut it often. Like an uninvited guest, it will keep coming back.