To Toke, or Not To Toke?

I remember once as a kid in high school walking past a group of kids my age and a few that were older. I knew a few of them by sight but had never really had the chance to talk to them before.

One of the ones I recognized and always thought was a good kid called me over, and as I got closer, I noticed a smell that was kind of sickly sweet, kind of like the smell from pipe tobacco.

Well, it was from a pipe all right — a marijuana pipe! I was speechless. They were passing it from person to person, and everyone was getting high.

Now maybe I was just naive, but at 15, smoking dope was the last thing I had ever thought about. Naturally, I said “no,” and they made fun of me as I walked away.

A lot of the same group continued their marijuana use throughout high school, and after high school was only a distant memory, some continued to smoke marijuana and eventually graduated all right, to even harder drugs. And a couple I learned several years later had died of overdoses, such a waste.

After all my years of life and as a law enforcement officer, I learned one major thing from all the repeat offenders: They pretty much all started out smoking marijuana. Marijuana seems to be the precursor or stepping stone, if you will, for most drug users. They think it is OK to smoke marijuana, so it probably won’t hurt to try methamphetamine, cocaine, or Grandpa’s pain medication just once, thinking they are too tough to become addicted.

If you wonder what I based “my opinion” on, when I used to arrest young and old for drug use, I always asked them what the first drug they ever tried was. I would say 99 percent said marijuana; the rest said alcohol. To take it one step further, I would usually ask them if they thought they would have ever used any harder drugs had they not started out with marijuana, and most replied that they probably would not have.

For anyone who thinks there is not a drug problem in small towns USA, they are sadly mistaken. Drugs are being sold in and outside schools and just about everywhere else our kids are.

It is way past time to start putting a crackdown on not just the big dealers, but also the small ones who sell this death warrant to our children by taking advantage of the weak and talking them into trying it just once.

I talk like this because two of the kids I spoke of earlier continued on the path of drugs. One of the kids opened up his car door and stepped out of a moving vehicle after high school. He was high on drugs, and he died so quickly that he never felt the curb. The other kid committed suicide while in a drug-induced stupor, sitting in his car with a friend.

It’s not hard to see what I am getting at. Any drug is illegal and punishable by prison, fines, or community service, so if you suspect your children of using drugs, show that you care enough to confront them about it. If you think you’re missing a couple of medications here and there, be more alert and lock them up. It just might save your son or daughter.

If your children experience mood swings, including anger, violence, and other abnormal behavior, find out what is going on in their lives. Talk to them. They just might be waiting to hear from you, or maybe they are just trying to get your attention.

These are just my opinions based on over two decades of facts dealing with individuals of all ages who abuse drugs and alcohol.

Feel free to e-mail me regarding this or any other topic you would like to hear about.