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Posted: September 15, 2013, 9:33 PM
Where Does the Gateway Lead? | ||
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Posted: September 16, 2013, 1:30 AM
guest
Good observations. Some quick thoughts. I just got done watching football. Alcohol is available in the stands, during tailgating, and the New Orleans game showed several people out in the street holding beers.... But I didnt see many cigarettes....nor cigars. Get rid of alcohol, we get rid of our main culprit to drug addiction. But we tried this once - and it failed miserably. The same thing could be said of pot - an absolute failure that enriches only the criminals. Just like you obtained harder drugs by going to a 'drug dealer', future people could be spared from this problem. The 'gateway' problem is one of compromising morals. Once you compromise and take a drink....or smoke a cigarette...then much harder things can follow. If someone smokes MJ , which has an illegal status, then they can go on to do other illegal drugs - not the case in countries where it is decriminalized.....something I have found interesting. When I was in high school it was understood amongst guys that if a girl drank, or smoked, then she was more likely to be 'easy'. Today , certain tatoos or piercings relay the same message. It doesnt matter if it is true or not. It is a perception that it is true which is similiar to the same reasons which underlie the gateway theory. Once a compromise is made, others soon follow.... The brain is chemically changed by alcohol - just as it is with nicotine - and with cannibis as well. This is information people should know when they are taking that first drink , or smoking that first cigarette. Because both of those things almost always proceed that first joint. But once a joint is smoked, and 'other' drugs are available? Then more compromises are likely. We can either attempt to control it the way we do with these other 'legal' drugs, or we can keep allowing the harder drugs to find their way to younger and younger kids through the criminal means. By the way, I am agreeing with you:) This post has been edited by DAC on September 16, 2013, 1:30 AM | ||
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Posted: September 16, 2013, 8:25 PM
DAC
I noticed in your various posts that you come across as extremely articulate and write very well. May i be so bold as to ask you what you do for a living? Judging by your timely and lengthy posts i would imagine you to be self-employed or a temping instructor in your spare time. Do you possess such acumen when you are stoned as well? When i smoked pot i recall being rather insipid and in a state of protracted lassitude while under the influence. I was more coherent and in control when i drank. Both abused substances led to personal ruin eventually and so i stopped when nothing lay beneath the state of bottom i had slid into. I had to recently extricate myself from a long standing relationship with a woman whose face i could no longer discern due to the eternal haze of pot smoke that obfuscated her lovely visage. thank you for putting yourself out there for others. | ||
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Posted: September 17, 2013, 2:42 AM
guest
Yes, I am self employed. Married with 5 kids. There is a lot of my story on the thread I started "off and on pot for 30 years" that is on this board. But I wrote most of my material on the 'other drug' board under the synthetic weed thread that is some 59 pages long. In that one I actually did write while stoned at times.....I can tell a great difference between the two. When I smoke, I get lazy, my memory isnt that great, and I will put important things off till the last possible moment. I cant mix running my business with smoking and be very good at it to be honest. So I dont....But I did do these things on the 'synthetic' version of marijuana because it was much stronger and would actually keep me up during times when I needed the energy. I turned to it as a sleep aid when I was extremely stressed a little over a year ago. It only made things worse. Like now, It is 2 am where I am at. I cant sleep - too much on my mind. So I come here and write to get things off of my mind. It's wierd , but I would never have done this type of thing without ever having the experiences I had with the synthetic (spice). It seemed to make me want to reveal things that normally would have been locked away from others. It made me share TOO much. But , now that I've started to write these things out - I see a big benefit in doing so. When smoking pot I do not want to write at all. I just want to eat, watch movies, and basically just pass the time. I have used MJ to make my work more bearable, and it really does help me sleep - like a baby! But the price is that I am more content to be on my own, withdrawn, and I become very unproductive.....more of a slacker. So I have always smoked in my off-season ( mowing business - 4 mos off) and quit every Spring for the 8 months that I ran my business. This is why I maybe downplay pot as addictive and dangerous. For me it has always been very controllable. But the spice/synthetic?? It made me think I was working better in that state....mostly because I worked more hours - but I wasnt accomplishing as much even though I worked more. I only thought I was getting more done. The big lure for me with pot was the social experiences. I am very fun to be around when stoned. Very talkative - the life of the party type. I have been depressed for the past 5 years or so pretty bad because of some financial issues related to my business. Pot helped me take my mind off these things, so did the synthetic. But in the end it was only going to work that way if I remained high indefinately.. Because once I would quit , my normal depression combined with the depression of quitting smoking made life really seem dire. The synthetic I talk of has been found to mimic the THC in pot to the tune of 20 - 800 times as strong. I actually cant even enjoy real pot much anymore - and that is being honest. It does almost nothing for me.....And I have always LOVED to smoke pot. This is why the illegality thing strikes a nerve with me. The synthetic used to be sold right at my local gas station - 2 minutes from my home. It started out very weak, and was available when I wanted something for relief. I had been 7 years away from marijuana.....even still, I gave in and tried it. I could stay away from pot no problem.....but this other stuff is highly addictive - and a very big problem - and very hard to stay away from. I guess I feel that real weed wouldnt appeal to me even if legal. I could get it any time I wanted it anyway - I just didnt. But this other stuff ONLY came about because of how they exploited the laws. It wouldnt even exist without the pot prohibition. The synthetic is much more dangerous , and even if they completely make it illegal....it will just go underground the way pot did. We have entered a new age of designer drugs that are so much more powerful and dangerous that by comparison - pot seems benign. So when I have been conflicted about things.....I read about them. I research the internet, Youtube, read current news articles. Whatever I can to further my knowledge about what is really going on with myself. There is a TON of information out there. And when I read these things, I pass on the highlights in these posts. Recently, there has been a lot about the Department of Justice, medical correspondents, politicians and state legislatures changing their attitudes on marijuana. I have written some of these things here because it was helpful to express opionions I had long held, but now others were validating as well. I didnt mean to upset anyone. I have written most of the stuff about the nature of addiction in the 'synthetic weed' thread I spoke of. That drug was truly addicitive, and so I have kind of seperated the types of things I write between here and the other board. Read some of those stories....you would think the people are smoking something like crack mixed with heroin by how desperate some of them sound. I was not much better. Only I was just denying how bad it was really affecting me while I was smoking it. I didnt have the experience I do now - nor the understanding of it. But since I have much experience with both - I do try and tell others as much as I can about the differences. And with alcohol? I have had my experiences with it over the years. No problem with addiction though. It was not my drug of choice. But it was my FIRST drug experience. And I got high as a 17 yo the first time WHILE drunk.....another reason why I go after alcohol so hard in my posts. To me, it is the true gateway drug, and one which society seemingly gives a pass to! Hope I explained myself better - writing helps - now I'm sleepy! | ||
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Posted: September 19, 2013, 10:45 PM
DAC
Thank You for your lengthy response...guess you are burning the midnight oil or are just having trouble falling asleep. You mentioned you have 5 children but did not specify their ages. My question is do any of your kids use drugs and if so what is your reaction. If one of your kids was smoking pot would you chastise them or allow them to do so as you have made a liberal stance on the use of recreational marijuana. Would you go so far as lighting up with them? Call me old fashion but i will not give a cigarette to anyone under 21 years of age. Also i know that cigarette smoking is an expensive and insidious habit. Have to turn in | ||
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Posted: September 20, 2013, 9:48 AM
guest
Their ages are 25,20,13,8 & 7. It has come up . With alcohol , and with marijuana. What I have told them about marijuana is this....I read a study about how marijuana lowered the IQ of people who used at 19 and younger. After 19 they found no noticeable decline. So I have said that I will not tolerate their use of it under my roof because it will make them stupid if done at a young age. I've also made it very clear that because of my experience I can spot someone high a mile away. If they are old enough to think they can smoke or drink....they are old enough to be paying their own bills and living somewhere else. Which is the same attitude I have towards having sex in the house. No using MY house to carry on in that manner because I never disrespected my parents in that way...I just will not give my stamp of approval for it. I dont consider this hypocritical at all. I waited until later , and on the things I didnt wait on I never did them at the house or got caught. I guess what I am saying is if I screwed up - I owned it! So I will expect them to do the same. But I have let my older son drink a few shots with me at a Van Halen concert...he was 19, I was driving, and I wanted to share something with him that I had done at that same age. But I will probably NEVER do this with marijuana... I dont want this for myself - I only know of if from years of experience, and I wish I had never tried it. So I will use my experience to deter my kids use! When I argue pot should be decriminalized, it is not because I want to smoke it legally... I just know how the prison system works - The states have signed contracts to keep private prisons full. As crime has fallen, Mj users are the ones they go to to fill the gap. Almost 700,000 arrests a year! Nothing will ruin a life like going to prison....it just makes drug use even harder to escape for those that have experienced this....but that is not an argument for this forum. My kids never saw me take a drink in their presence....and until last year were largely unaware that I had smoked anything. People in my life who became aware that I was smoking (it was the synthetic and legal not MJ) actually TOLD my kids I was as a way to curtail my behavior......Which by the way was private, and not something I wanted to discuss with them at the time. Writing this STILL makes me angry when I see the level to which they stooped!! But because of this , it has become an open subject between me and my kids. Not that I hid my opinions prior to this. But an opinion grounded in actual experience has MUCH more weight than one that does not. So I believe I have greater credibility , and opportunity now to at least keep them away from the destruction that can befall young teens who fall into the drug/alcohol trap. Mine are not empty words...when my oldest daughter got pregnant in her first year of college , to her boyfriend of 4 years and got married. I stopped paying for college. My 20 year old son moved out for similiar reasons last year, girlfriend, lifestyle...etc. And had to join the military to pay for his college - because now I WONT! It may sound harsh , but I have 3 other children watching all of this. If you are on your own - do what you want. If you are dependent upon me - listen to my advice....or be prepared to pay your own way. The decision to drink, use drugs, and have sex are adult decisions. The only thing that makes a person an adult is by paying for their own mistakes. Or paying for the right to make the decision in the first place. It's not as harsh as it sounds. I will forgive once, but then I will back it up even if to the point of making them move. So if I come across as opinionated at times, its because people used what they knew to not only hurt me - but hurt me through my kids.... So the people in my family who like to drink, give their kids ADD medicine, and take antidepressants on a daily basis just to cope?? Dont like being in my presence much right now.....because all my secrets are known - theirs arent. I can say I am completely drug free - they cant. I am not against people on this site who have these things in their life.....but to the ones in my family who threw these stones? I have a chip on my shoulder with the whole drug/alcohol topic and am more than capable at throwing said stones back...... Which is why I have always said - people in glass houses should not throw stones! | ||
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Posted: September 20, 2013, 9:03 PM
DAC
Just wondering how your kids react to the stiff penalties that you have imposed on them for what you deem their misconduct? Are you close with them or have relations been strained? Do they respect you or do they feel some of your reactions are a tad hypocritical. My gf thinks that my censoring of her excessive pot use sports shades of hypocrisy as i need prescription medication to be able to function normally. They are legally prescribed psychiatric drugs and i do not get high on them. My gf however believes them to be mind altering all the same. I have never tried synthetic mj and after exploring all the posts on this board i am glad i never indulged. LSD was too synthetic for me thank you very much. Peace | ||
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Posted: September 21, 2013, 12:05 AM
guest
I have great relationships with my adult children. My older son is in the marines and is doing very well. I have really good conversations with him about everything under the sun. My oldest daughter just got her degree in psychology and is going for her masters. She currently has 2 jobs, and has 2 kids while going to school. Both are overachievers and very motivated to get ahead. Sometimes lighting a fire under their butt produces good results! I think a lot of people try and keep their kids from suffering by absorbing the consequences of their bad decisions. They fight their battles for them. My older kids have not had it easy, but they know they have the capability to do anything they put their mind to. They are not spoiled rich kids who think they are entitled in life. As for being hypocritical. I have paid a heavy price for what I have done. I have made many mistakes which I readliy admit to. They can learn from my mistakes. As far as telling them what they should or should not do at their age now? I express my opinion, but they are adults and must pay the consequences of their bad decisions. I dont judge them - but if I am not happy with them I let them know. I would be a hyopocrite if I still smoked and told them not to. But I dont , and had quit smoking everything for some 7 years prior to this last spell, so I just try and explain what I think went wrong with my relapsing the way I did. As for the antidepressnts? Not really my area of expertise. I only have some bad opinions towards the people who judged me , and did not believe me when I needed them to. They spread rumors about me that were not true as well.. But I do know that smoking MJ while on the antidepressants can be very unpredictable....MJ is a depressant in and of itself. | ||
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