growing if you have children in the home

I dont know if this is any use to you hippie but
i thought it was worth putting some thought to.

Gowing With Kids Around.


A question i see getting asked is people asking for advice and tips on
how to grow shrooms and keep everything out of sight from their children.
Well I’m going to try and write something that may be of help to parents
who are considering growing or parents who are already growing but are
feeling a little paranoid about their kids ending up swallowing a few mushrooms.
I can only write from personal experience having a nine-year-old daughter
but what you’ve got to remember is every family situation is different. I
have a fairly big house with a spare bedroom and a cupboards I can take over
anytime I get ready to grow. You may have a smaller house, less privacy
to perfect your technique but if you’ve decided your growing then number
one priority is to keep everything tidy and don’t let your kids see you doing
certain parts of the process.
As I said my daughters nine at the moment and I’ve been growing about four
years, I also use weed, LSD and the very occasional E, so the bottom line is
there’s always drugs of some sorts stashed in my house. My daughter knows
daddy loves mushrooms, I’ve a collection of over 30 glass mushrooms and
mushroom paintings on my wall, she draws me pictures of them, runs up to
me in shops with ornaments of mushrooms but she doesn’t really know what
daddy’s favorite mushrooms do to him and his friends.
First rule is to try and do everything when your family are out, swimming or
dancing lessons or if you can do your mixing and steaming your jars ect when
your kids are at school. That’s not always possible if say you have a harvest ready
and need to get your shrooms ready for drying, I always dried my shrooms in the
loft space, ban your kids from your loft, tell them its to dangerous or something.
If you chop your shrooms up as i do and its at a bad time put them in the fridge
till you are alone or and ready to set up your drying.
My growtank sits in my second bathroom just off the main bedroom, my daughter
could reach it but I explained to her that I was growing stuff you dont eat it was
plants to be planted in the garden after that she thought I was boring always
messing around with my plants, you could put your tank high on a shelf.
Same goes with the glovebox and any syringe work never let your kids see you
with your hands in a glovebox or with a syringe in your hand, infact never
let them see a syringe full stop.
If you have to move anything about the house, wet shrooms to be dried, syringes
anything like and your kids are in out the shrooms or syringe in a bag, what the
eye cant see sort of thing, it might seem little but it can mean a lot. Infact you
turn into a bit of a guerrilla farmer but it’s the best way just to make things safer.
Get a child lock on a cupboard and keep all your prints, syringes everything in there
so you know where everything is at any given time, put that child lock high on
that door.
Make the subject seem boring if your kids ask you anything, try and make them
uninterested it, but saying that it was once said to me a better way may be to buy
and edible growing kit, show your kids them growing and before long they would
become bored and lose interest leaving you to get on with it, I never tried this one
but maybe you might.
The way I find best now is to grow for a few months and build up a stash
then quit till your stash is needing topped up, that method works for me.

There’s also the famous invitro tech that can be looked into, using this tech there’s
no growtank involved and that could be a bonus to some parents.
Or maybe the cupboard you put the lock on you could set your tank up
in there, rig up a light and keep the whole tank out of sight.
Today I moved my stash to another part of the house because when I was tripping
yesterday I couldn’t remember if I put everything back into the place I normally
stash things. We were getting ready to go for a walk when I went and checked twice
that I had put everything away. The place I stashed it now is a place where
it's so remote and hard to get to I’ll be lucky to get it myself, I had it stashed well the first
time but I feel better where it is now, so make sure you’ve got the best place going,
not just a safe place an unreachable remote spot.
All the time your growing you should be thinking of better ways to do things,
better ways to hide your work but just because you have kids doesn't mean you
cant grow and enjoy your new found hobby.

[Hippie3]

feedback ?

All good points Scotsman! It is a challenge to keep them uninterested, at least my oldest one it is. But we talked and she knows I'm trying to do it without success so shes losing interest finally

I like to make jars at night after bedtime. Thats the best time for me to run the pc and do my grains etc. Another reason I soak to hydrate, its just a pot on the stove with a lid.

Drying is the biggest challenge. Storing in the fridge until they can be dried is a great way, plus it starts the drying process slowly. I have my dryer in the basement by the washer and dryer, because who else does laundry but mom?

Edibles are fun to do with them if they take an interest. You can give them to neighbors too.

Good tips Scotsman!

[spartan]

[-rude remark deleted
by admin]

Spartan, do you have kids? Do you have medications around the house? Cleaning supplies? All of these are much more harmful than a small grow op.
People can still live and partake of a fun hobby and still be safe about it. That is why the thread was started. The thread is to help people be more safe. You are helping no one.

spartan, comparing to a loaded gun, yeah I've got one of those too. Damn, I guess I won't be mother of the year! WTF???????

Passing judgement on people who choose to grow mushrooms and have children in the house isn't for you to do. You're adding nothing to the post. This is to give tips to those of us who do cultivate with their kids. And its about doing it safely.

[Hippie3]

agreed,
the point isn't to pass judgement then start calling names, being rude.
spartan has been warned via PM and his post deleted.

i think one can express their opinion in a more diplomatic way,
even if they feel strongly that it's the wrong thing to be doing.
words like fool do not help communication, understanding
but instead generates defensiveness and hostility.
we deserve better than that from posts here.

That is just rude and uncalled for, get a clue, better yet, get a life, thinking you're god????


Thats the last post you'll probably ever make!

spartan, you must be a hypocrit, I think it was you who pm'd asking for some spores???? So you grow with kids?

[laborer]

Can you smell it? Smells like someone is gonna get banned cuz everything that comes out of his mouth smells like shit!!!! What gives you the right to pass judgement on people spartan? Someone likes to grow a couple mushies as a hobby and it makes them a bad parent? You need to get a clue!!!!

[Old_Recordings]

Can you guys believe this dude? Is he here to criticize everybody and post negative feedback, I guess his repect and understanding took a vacation. I don't think I've seen such uncivilized behavior since I joined this board. Being negative is easier than being positive, in his case.

negativity like that doesn't help anyone and I guess he didn't get the point the first time. I've never seen anything like it on the boards either, at least mycotopia

[Slimlilshroomer]

I got a 3 year old and a 2 year old here and they have never seen anything. Im lucky enough to have a attic that has mold and water proof paint everywhere with 2 hepa systems in it. But just lock the room you grow in or keep it in a closet. Just use common sense.

[cat]

You know I really don't want to judge, but think of it from a practical perspective...monkey see, monkey do. All I'm saying is don't be surprised if your daughter grows up and tries LSD, weed, E, mushrooms...you're not setting a good example. Sometimes you have to be a hypocrite. Also, god forbid she gets her hands on some drugs and something terrible happens...are you willing to accept that risk? I wouldn't want my daughter to think I'm a druggie...where is the admiration in that?

Its called education, and when he/she is old enough, over 18, we can enjoy them together if they want to try them.

Its all on how you view "drugs" I'm not shooting heroin in my veins, or snorting coke up my nose in front of them. These are natural plants and I don't feel they are drugs. So I choose education. And they aren't seeing any of it. They also have no access to any of it. Locked and done when they aren't here.

Thats the point of this thread, ways to keep it safe, away from kids, not whether you think its morally right or wrong or hypocritical.

[cat]

Oh, anytihng which alters your cognitive/behavioural/evaluative dimensions as a person is a drug...now I also believe that shrooms are spiritual and not as bad as coke, crack, or heroin, but they are still drugs...I mean once you take zooms and see how great they are, then you think its thee same for every drug...every single drug has a good thing about it, and many bad...but I would just say I'm doing some scientific experiments, boring!!! so stay out! Keep it under lock and key, and never never never leave anything where they could get to it!

[Old_Recordings]

Cat, what about people that are manic and schizophrenic? Their perception and behavior is altered beyod reach. "once you take zooms and see how great they are, then you think its the same for every drug" you can have a five day debate on this opinion. If you are a junkie you simply can not resist drugs and you will cave to any substance "that has a good thing about it".

Originally Posted by cat

You know I really don't want to judge, but think of it from a practical perspective...monkey see, monkey do. All I'm saying is don't be surprised if your daughter grows up and tries LSD, weed, E, mushrooms...you're not setting a good example. Sometimes you have to be a hypocrite. Also, god forbid she gets her hands on some drugs and something terrible happens...are you willing to accept that risk? I wouldn't want my daughter to think I'm a druggie...where is the admiration in that?

Whats wrong with someone's kids growing up and trying hallucinogens? Hallucinogens have positively helped my mindstate in many ways over the years, and I see no reason people shouldn't try them when they are of reasonable age. I started tripping when I was 14. After a while, my parents figured it out. They didn't mess with me, I turned out fine. Would you rather find out your kid was eating acid or sniffing coke? The stigma of drugs being bad is a product of today's society anyway, nothing was illegal til the turn of the century. As a matter of fact when my parents did find out I was trying drugs they just told me to stay away from hard drugs. I think I came out well...so it gets back to your statement..why do you have to be a hypocrite? If you don't believe its wrong there's nothing hypocritical about it...

[Hippie3]

tough topic
everyone needs to play nice,
stay cool

[dead_diver]

I knew it was time to stop growing weed when my daughter got caught with some pot in school. When I went down to the principals office I looked at the bag and it was my stinky crystaly buds, ouch! My kid swears she got it from some other kid at school but I knew my weed. At least she didn't rat me out, phew...

[Hippie3]

Mommy's Funny Medicine
The Making Of The World’s First Children’s Book About Medical Marijuana
By Russell Barth
Christine Lowe and I are both medical Marijuana users. Christine uses cannabis for her epilepsy and post traumatic stress disorder, and I use it for my fibromyalgia and anxiety. In mid-December of 2002 we met a woman in a wheelchair on Bank Street in Ottawa. Since I use a wheelchair for most of my transport needs, we compared notes on our machines and the state of Ottawa sidewalks.
I asked her if she was in pain and she said that she was in constant pain. I asked her what she used to treat it, and she said “Ten Tylenol 3’s a day.” We then and asked her if she had ever considered cannabis. She was shocked and offended by this, comparing pot to heroin. We told her that cannabis was safe and effective, and not addictive like codeine, and that she needed to educate herself.
She absolutely refused to listen, falling just short of sticking her fingers in her ears and chanting “La la la I can’t hear you.” She acted as if even discussing it was a scandal. “What would I tell my grandson?” she asked. In unison, Christine and I replied “The truth!” The woman, whose name we never got, stormed off, quite insulted.
As Christine and I departed, one of us said to the other “Someone should make a children’s book.”
We thought nothing more about it until December 22nd, when I was talking on the phone to my father, who was in Florida for the winter. He is an avid prohibitionist, and despite all the science to the contrary, firmly believes the myth and hype about pot “warping your mind” and being “ten times more carcenogenic than tobacco”, so we didn’t discuss my medical marijuana use in that conversation.
After I got off the phone, I asked Christine how I could possibly explain all of this cannabis use and activism to him? I was miming that I was reading a bedtime story, pointing angrily into my hand at an imaginary book: “Look. See Russell. See Russell getting well with his new medicine.”
Christine and I looked at each other and gasped. The idea just popped into our heads like that, and we knew that it was something that could possibly be huge.
Most of the text for Mommy’s Funny Medicine came out that night, written in one session. We did some quick pencil sketches and showed it to our good friend, Ottawa activist Mike Foster. He got choked up from just reading the text, and said that it was a great idea and that we should do it.
We knew that a children’s book on such a controversial topic would be difficult to pitch to publishers. We also knew that there would eventually be media publicity to deal with.
We didn’t want some big publisher making more money off of this book than “the cause” would, and we didn’t want to appear on TV saying “Buy our book so we can buy pot!” We might have appeared as the “Pied-Pipers Of Pot”, and that wouldn’t help us, the book, or “the cause”.
We decided that the best idea was to somehow get it self-published, and give all the proceeds to help establish the National Capital Compassion Society. That way, if we did media publicity, we could hard-sell the book because all the proceeds went to a charity.
Over the month of January 2003, Christine did the black and white line-work illustrations. We scanned them, and I spent the month of February in front of the computer, touching up the lines, adding color, and pasting in the text.
On March 1, we did the first print on a standard home computer laser printer. Upon seeing this first print, Mike Foster said he thought it was so nice, he’d like to publish it himself.
The 2000 printed copies arrived at Crosstown Traffic on April 21st, 2003, and since then, we have spoken to TV, Radio, and print media, trying to draw attention to the fact that we need a Compassion Club with a safe and consistant supply for people in the Ottawa area.
Mommy’s Funny Medicine has appeared in Cannabis Culture magazine, on local TV, Pot-TV, and can be ordered online at crosstowntraffic.ca.

see
http://www.salvagingelectrons.com/mfm/

diver, and you know what the principle did with it,

And thats probably my biggest fear, is when they are teenagers, they will be getting in my stash. And that is why I feel educating them about it, dangers and all is very important.

And, thats why this thread is going to have so many different views and opinions is because we all do and feel differently about whats right for our families. Whats right for mine, might not work or be right for someone else. It doesn't mean either party is foolish, or ignorant, or inviting trouble.
And I'd much rather have my kids come to me to ask about drugs etc. instead of their peers. At least they will know what the good mushies look like when that time comes and they aren't out in the wild picking all sorts of mushrooms.

[waylitjim]

One good way is to buy a house with a good size storage shed out back.
This way, there's not a locked door in the house, which kids will eventually
find strange. A garage is another good option, creating seperation from the
kids leads to less questions. Where's Daddy? "He's outside working." That
probably works better then "he's inside that room you can't ever go in."

Spartan -this isn't the first time your rude remarks were edited by admin.
If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all.

[Slimlilshroomer]

There are alot worse things i can see my kids doing when there older than natural plants. Its the lab made drugs you need to educate against like coke heroin, meth, and so on. But for gods sake lock your shit up when you got lil runts around the house. No need to have your kids tripping there diapers off that would not be exceptable. As i said earlier use common sense to the environment you have to use.

[viraljimmy]

Invitro in a locked cabinet in my closet.

I got inlaws over every day, and
they would bust me I know it.

I do my mixing and pc'ing when noone
will be home.

Then don't judge. This thread is to help people be more safe around their kids. I don't want my little monkey to see what this big monkey does, but when the time is right and my children approach me about drugs I feel honesty is the best policy. If you lie all you do is create more bricks to build stronger walls. Cat, I am sure you do a few drugs recreationally. Am I wrong? Do you think you are a bad person? Do you think your children will be bad people if they grow up to be like you? Ignorance is the worst thing in the wrorld and we (the ones who have overcome ignorance and learned the truth about "drugs", we who have survived teenage stupidity) are the ones to tell the story and teach the next generation what it is like to think for one's self. I know damn good and well I don't want my children to grow up to be followers of the blind.

Originally Posted by cat

You know I really don't want to judge, but think of it from a practical perspective...monkey see, monkey do. All I'm saying is don't be surprised if your daughter grows up and tries LSD, weed, E, mushrooms...you're not setting a good example. Sometimes you have to be a hypocrite. Also, god forbid she gets her hands on some drugs and something terrible happens...are you willing to accept that risk? I wouldn't want my daughter to think I'm a druggie...where is the admiration in that?

[Hippie3]

seems Cat has taught to view his own drug use as despicable,
something to be ashamed of and therefore something to hide.
well, one is wise to hide their drug use
but not because it's shameful.
the legal ramifications are the real reason to be concerned.
not every 'doper' is a crack head living in a trailer park,
some are wealthy successful 'stealth' dopers that live in
the 'burbs as one of the crowd, not even noticed.

anyway seems to me that the medicine aspect is the way to go
if your situation requires letting your children 'in' on your secret.
even psilocybes have medical uses in treatment of cluster headaches,
so your 'drug' is my 'medicine'
and thus perception is changed from bad to at least neutral.

[dead_diver]

I'm more concerned about my daughter getting stupid drunk and coming home pregnant than I am about her smoking some weed. Alcohol is probably one of the worst drugs and it's legal. I have never heard of someone just smoking a joint and falling off a balcony to their death during spring break in Daytona but kids get drunk and do it every damn year. Shit, I'm more worried about my kid riding on the back of a motorcycle than I am of her smoking pot.

[LaughingDog]

Sticky topic. Shrooms should be legal. It's ridiculous that they are illegal. No one should be ashamed of using them. That said, in this society stealth and responsible use is the way to go!

[suckerfree]

Hmm.... my thoughts are.... as the parent you are supposed to protect your child. You wouldn't give your child cigarettes or beer, and illegal drugs go right along with that. So great, hide it all from them.... it would be sad shit for a child to eat a big bag of mushies....
BUT
just be aware of the consequences if you were to get arrested. there would be the possibility of the court taking possesion of your child. (even if the child was in no danger)

i make the same choice with loaded guns in my house. the punishment could be worse, and i understand that.

[mindovermycelia]

some tribes start giving their young hallucinogens at very young ages
small doses
I remember reading about one that even gives small amounts of shrooms to their infants
not that I would do that to my kids - I mean they don't have a choice, so I don't think it would be right for me to try to somehow mold their consciousness with shrooms
but me and my wife will probably be arguing about how old is old enough in about 7 or 8 years
I guess it will depend on the maturity of the individual child and what their interests are, etc.
I didn't trip until I was 17, but I wanted to try LSD as soon as I heard about it when I was about 9 or 10 - the idea of hallucinations has always fascinated me
As a young PK I recall telling someone I would try acid before pot cuz it seemed so cool and I thought pot was some baaad shit back then

As for my kids, I grew some eddies and my son and everyone in my extended family knows it, most of em know I believe in tripping and they all know I was a pothead until very recently, so they may have a clue
but no one wants to see me get in trouble
they know I'm very smart and they trust me
I told my son not to ever mention it to anyone cuz some folks might get the wrong idea
sometimes I might be too honest, but I'd rather gauge people's reactions in a controlled situation than to have them be surprised later
I tell them I will have a farm one day, which is something I would like to do
I acually get respect from people cuz they think it's real complicated

The best thing for folks who have to be stealthy is the invitro tek, thanks hip
Or an outdoor patch, although some kids have been known to eat shrooms from the yard
you can easily get all you need for the whole year during the summer months and keep it away somewhere

[Slimlilshroomer]

My kids have never seen me smoke weed eat shrooms or anything. Further my kids have never even seen my mushroom set up or any of the supplies. Too be extra careful my wife and I never even talk about any of it in the presence of the kids because kids are known to talk alot. If my kids are going to grow up to do what im doing and all i do is smoke weed and eat shrooms. I never drink because alchy is this countrys real problem, But back to my point my kids are going to learn on there own if they want to toke or trip they sure as hell aint gonna learn it from me. common sense is the key to this hobby as well as other illicit things.

[Jonah]

Originally Posted by freakachino

Its all on how you view "drugs" I'm not shooting heroin in my veins, or snorting coke up my nose in front of them. These are natural plants and I don't feel they are drugs.

cocaine comes from a plant too. so does cyanide.
If you think psilocybin isnt a drug, you're out of your fucking mind.

[Hippie3]

watch yer fucking mouth,
don't speak like that to us again
if you intend to stay here long.

address people in a polite civil manner
or i'll boot yer ass to the door PDQ.


aspirin's a drug, the caffeine in your soda pop is a drug,
your children's chocolate has drugs in it too
so what ?
there are many drugs all around us
and most are 'good' drugs,
acceptable to society.
her point is that there are
drugs and then there are DRUGS.
it's a valid point,
and deserves respect and tolerance for her position.

[mindovermycelia]

It seems to that folks who continue to use, such as sls, feel they are ok doing it but they don't want to turn their kids on must feel guilty about what they are doing that it isn't right but they continue anyway extolling the virtues of pot and shrooms.
There are some drugs that have been proven to be very bad for your health and finances and I don't know any heroin/crack/meth addicts who feel they are doing something good for themselves or that it is something "fun" their kids might enjoy
I on the other hand think shrooms are great and I think my kids will enjoy them if they wind up being psychologically stable teenagers and I don't feel that there is a great risk of them winding up in jail if I teach them about the dangers (along with the potential benefits for kids at least) of cops nor will they wind up addicted to shrooms and it won't destroy their bodies over the years.
I play music and I will pass that on, I love nature and I will pass that on, I love rollerblading and I've waited to teach my son that till he is ready, just like I will wait on guitar/kbds/drums etc. I will also wait for shrooms, but I will let him know and I won't feel guilty for one stinking minute.
Marijuana is a little stickier issue for me as I have enjoyed it in the past, but I have also been strung out on it as well, I'll have to see where I am at on that issue when the time comes. I still think it would be better for them to hear some truth from someone who has lots of experience than some teen peer who doesn't know shit about the potential risks of overusing the stuff. I'd also rather them to smoke a little of the good unadulterated kind bud than blunts of crappy schwag that came from who knows where.

[Slimlilshroomer]

so i feel guilty because i dont let my 3 and 2 yearold sons in on it? Thats kind of the dumbest thing ive ever heard. I believe it is right and they should be legal but there is no place for this topic and my kids untell they are atleast 16.

[mindovermycelia]

Originally Posted by Slimlilshroomer

my point my kids are going to learn on there own if they want to toke or trip they sure as hell aint gonna learn it from me

that's what you said, dude, and saying what I said is dumb is offensive to me
I didn't dis you, I just said how it 'seems' to me
I didn't even say I would give my kids something they aren't ready for
READ THE POST!

what is up with these newbies poppin in here and badmouthing everyone lately?

I may be wrong but wasn't it SLS that called PF "idiotic?"

urghh.

[Hippie3]

Thats kind of the dumbest thing ive ever heard.

i'm going to warn you, too.
don't call folks 'dumb' or their opinions 'dumb'
because they don't see things like you do.
next thing
they're calling you names right back
and there's no good reason to go there.
use less judgemental , less offensive terms
and refrain from commenting about the other person
stick instead to the topic itself.

[Hippie3]

there is no place for this topic and my kids untell they are atleast 16.

hey they're your kids
so it's your problem
but i bet if you wait until they're 16
they'll already know more than you wanted.
many start experimenting in the 13-14 year old range,
and i've seen 11 year olds that had their own weed and papers.

everyone in the thread,
esp. the ones jumping up self-righteously to condemn others
needs to understand that situations are unique to each,
some kids need more info younger than others,
some drugs are worse than others,
some activities need to be hidden while others don't,
etc.
quit trying to make up rules
and shove them down others' throats.
worry about your own kids,
you'll be doing good if they make it as far as you have.

[buddahjoe]

Man this is a heated topic. I have four kids the oldest is 7. I had to quit growing herb because they noticed the light around the closet door and the smell. I also got a lesson in being careful when my daughter told my mother in law that I smoked a pipe sometimes a "little one". That was a few years ago. I cant say she has never seen me smoke since but I have definitely been more discreet. As for my new hobby they have no idea. I dont do anything until they go to bed and everything is locked up out of reach. Still the idea of one of them eating some scares the shit out of me. So does the idea of them eating dish washer detergent or drinking pine sol or one of the thousand other poisonous things in my house but I keep them locked up and away too. I'd say err on the side of caution and keep things out of site and reach until you think they are mature enough to handle the topic.

[Slimlilshroomer]

i apolagize for any heated words but i dont feel guilty its just my way of parenting. and for the record im not a noob to this hobby just to this forum. And pf asked to be busted it is "idiotic" to grow and sell spores.

[Hippie3]

and you seem to be a
slow learner.

[buddahjoe]

I am not ashamed of what I do. I think the laws and societies views need to be changed so that altering one's consciousness is not looked down upon. When my daughter is a little older and ready for the subject I will tell her the whole truth, but for now I just correct her when she comes home from school with the information they give her (they start preaching the dare crap in pre-school) so far things have worked pretty well.

[viraljimmy]

I'm with slim on this one.

Don't tell your kids nothing.
They talk constantly and
they remember everything.

Now they even have cops
in school asking the kids
if they ever seen daddy with
this, or that.

[buddahjoe]

I know I havent been as careful as I should be kids do remember everything and they will repeat it to anyone. Since the mother-in-law incident I have been much more careful. It sucks I have to be worried about my kids being turned into snitches without knowing what they are doing.

[rockawayrooms]

I don't grow anything in my home anymore "PERIOD".When my son was around 4<he's 7 now> he asked me one day why i was growing tree's in my bedroom closet.I told him that they were tomato plants for his Grandmother and that ended that
My best friend since childhood allows me to use one of his spare bedrooms for all of my hobby's<he has no children>.He's happy he doesn't have to buy anything anymore,and i'm even more happier that i have zero worries about johnny law and my son asking me all kinds of Q's.The only thing that i have in my home are me/cactuses!!!

[anticheffy]

I would have to throw in a vote of "keep kids away from all recreational drugs at all costs and with all the effort you can muster."
We have chosen a path to walk and it was our choice to make. Most all of us have rationalized it to be a perfectly acceptable thing to do, and perhaps it is, for us.
But when I look back at what my personal choice has cost me, I regret ever taking that first toke. I turned down art scholarships because I just wanted to hang out and get high and didnt want anything more to do with school. When the airforce called and said they liked my grades and my aptitude for airplanes and they would like to put me throught the acadamy and make a pilot out of me, I told them that there was no way I could get up as early as they do. They never called again.I kept smokin'.
Now as I wish I could explore the artistic side of my personna, I have lost the ability to create sellable wares due to not practicing for 25 years and just getting high.
And as I stand next to the airbase here and watch f-16's blast off into the great sky a tear wells up in my eye as I think that could have been me but I was more into getting high when they called. Dont even get me started about missing out on the space thing.
And as I crawl into another scummy furnace to clean someones crap out of it all I can think of is why the hell am I doing this, I was meant for so much more. I could have been the engineer in the nice office designing them instead. But I chose to get high instead of go to college.
I guarantee that I would have been a much happier person if I had not discovered drugs. But when I was a kid no one realy understood what the drug sceen was about, or what it cost in the form of lost potential, and there was no education about it for our parents to draw from to keep us away from it.
And as I now take all the experimental pills and injections to hope I fall into the 40% that have had their hepatitis beat back to a near cured state by them I wish I had never put that needle to my vein, over and over and over.

Drugs? Hell ya man their great! Love them! Wish I had some.They have done so much for me my whole life.mmmmmmm yea baby. << (being highly sarcastic)

Please do everything you can do to keep your kids drug free, there are so many more opportunities open for clear minded drug free people. They're fun and all that but the cost can easily and quickly rack up to preportions that few of us really understand.
Im betting no one here ever wants their kids to hear from their doctor that theyre going to die in a few years because they chose the high life and at some party when they were all messed up they let someone shoot them up with a dirty needle because it looked like it was so much fun, and they kept doing it because it DID feel so good.

Well I need to take my morning hand full of Ribavirin and a shot of Pegalated alpha 2 interfearon ( which really makes me quite sick most of the time) and hope that the pain in my liver will go away soon.

[Hippie3]

this might piss you off
but it seems possible that your abuse of drugs
was just a symptom of a deeper problem
and even if you had never smoked pot
you life might have been the same or even worse.
it was a lack of self-discipline that kept you down,
and drug users aren't the only ones lacking in that area.
plenty of sober losers in the world too.
just easier to blame the dope
than to admit a personality flaw.

[mindovermycelia]

edit: you posted at the same time hip, and I basically say the same below, in my own plethora of words.

this may go a little off topic:

I smoked all the way through high school, then all the way through 4 years of the Navy. As did many of my peers in the Navy.

I know of many pot smokers, not potheads, that are very successful, very intelligent, very motivated, some would even qualify as workaholics although I don't consider that success.

I let my mom talk me into joining the Navy because I didn't know what to do with my life and I needed discipline - discipline I didn't learn at home - and I have mixed feelings about it now, as I look at it as four years of my life wasted-at least I learned how to play guitar and sharpened my songwriting skills- but four years that led me to where I am now with the wife and children I love. I was the Navy's bitch - the chaplain even preached a sermon about how that is true in bootcamp - and I would have stayed if I hadn't failed a piss test right before I reenlisted, to waste another four years. Thank god for that. They didn't even care about my aptitude really, although I was very good at what I did, I could have been better elsewhere. I have a college degree and a photography business now, but the only thing I know I want to do with my life is to somehow have a positive influence on as many people as I can, and you can't do that flying war machines and bombing people. Maybe I will make money as a musician. Maybe I'll write a book. Who knows. My potential was not destroyed by weed because it doesn't really have that power without your consent.

No matter how much pot I smoked, though, I would never have tried smack, crack, any of that shit that you know you're gonna love too much for that very reason. The only reason I tried pot the first time is because I was drunk, I wouldn't have ever caved in sober or stoned. Alcohol leaves you out of control and if I had continued to drink after trying pot again, I would have left myself more open to peer pressure.

Still, it would have been better if my dad would have just smoked with me like he did later instead of getting all pissed when he found out. It would have been better if he gave two shits about my grades or what my interests were back then and encouraged me to be adventurous, to find a dream and follow it, but he was and still is afraid to leave the comfort zone.

It would have been nice if my mom didn't think buying me a sixpack of beer was a good way to get me to quit smoking weed or if she told me that I shouldn't take whatever job the navy wanted to sling at me.

I can say this . . . I wish I could get rid of my addictive personallity in general and figure out what I want to be. I like weed but I don't like that I go overboard with it. Others don't. I do because I have a hole that needs filling and I'm working on being satisfied, content, happy, without weed before I try to use it again for the benefits that I used to think I couldn't be me without.

Neither shrooms nor acid have ever had a bad effect on me or my life - only positive - but that's just me. Weed's effect on my life is one I let it have. I have no drug offenses and if I did, that would be the fault of the stupid laws not the drugs.

I know there is a way to use weed and other hallucinogens to enhance creativy, commune with god and nature, and have fun responsibly. And there is a way not to. I think I should teach my kids the right way and let them have a real choice.

[anticheffy]

In a way I will agree with that , I have many flaws that I will be happy to admit, and that doesnt piss me off at all.
But as I see it , I just fell in love with being high, I wanted to get higher, move to the next level, find the answer to the mysteries of the mental universe, whatever that may be, it just felt really cool and good.

There are reasons for everything, perhaps I would have died in a jet, or been an artist and drove off a cliff drunk one night, or walked into a bus. Who knows?
Im still of the mind that I just loved to get high by any means, not to run from anything, or as an excuse for some flaw, and that made me neglect things I should have been focusing on with more furver.

I can see that my way of looking at this whole drug culture thing is in vast dissagreement with people that have justified the high life as being OK and a good way to live. Hell I have no problem with it either at this point in my life. Alcoholics dont think they have a problem , drinking to the point of drunkenness every day is perfectly fine to them. They can easily justify the behavior. Dopers can justify their habbits in the same rationalle .
And for alot of people it is a perfectly fine way to live and I would be happy to do all the drugs I could get my hands on if doc would let me, and if it wouldnt hamper my getting a job if my new bussiness should not be able to provide for me and mine. ( god , the paperwork.....)
I see you deffending the way of the partier, insinuating that I may have had or have some personallity flaw. I may believe the opposite, my personallity flaw is the same as alot of people. Perhaps the personallity flaw lies with some people needing the crutch to get through life, and take the anti drug stance as an affront to their personal way of life. I certainly dont hold anyones personal choices against them and I mean no offense to anyone.
I'm just throwing out that kids, IMHO should be kept from the drug culture at all cost, drugs are way too cool and fun and intiseing and distracting from so many other good things in life. If I had any kids I would want them to have better goals than finding some new super stinky buds.
That being said, not having kids of my own, just step kids that are grown up, Ill leave this to the real parents out there, and just ask them to not let the kids go down the path I did. Its an easy path to take by mistake and not knowing where the road leads, it can easily go to bad places.