The Cold Hard Truth by an Inmate
There’s no such thing as a recreational drug. I used to smoke marijuana regularly. I 1st smoked marijuana when I was 18yrs. Old. I had just been released from a juvenile correctional facility after having served almost 3 yrs. For aggravated arson. On the evening of my release, me and my sister visited my step-dad (her biological father). We also visited my cousins who lived downstairs from him & his family. They (my cousins) lived in the basement apt. It had been converted into a 1 bedroom apt. by my grandmother. Who by the way, was the landlord. I guess the ultimate irony, is that it was in the very home I tried to burn down yrs. Ago, I would get high in on this cold Jan. night in 1994.
While me & my sister (who was 16 at the time) were lounging in my cousins apt., my cousins boyfriend (who was about 16) asked me if I had ever smoked weed. I told him I had not. He then asked me if I’d like to try some. Now keep in mind, this is the 1st time, this is the 1st time I have ever seen this guy. I know nothing about him at all about him. He does not know me at all. Yet, within minutes of meeting this kid he offers to get me high. Just like it was nothing. Back to the story though. I told him yes I’d like to try some. Why not, I figured. I had money in my pocket. It was social security check money. I had been receiving checks since my dad’s death in ’79. While incarcerated, my granny was my payee. So she would send me a portion of the check once a month & put the rest in the bank under an account with my name. So I had about $2,000.
Moments later we would go to the local weed spot a few blocks away & purchase a dub sack. ($20 worth of weed). Then we went to a local corner store & purchased 1 package of rolling papers, 2 cigars, and a cigarette lighter. After we returned to the apt. me, my cousin, (who was 14 at the time) her boyfriend & my 16 yr. old sister all sat in the kitchen at the dining table with everything laid out on the table-top. (Also note there was no adult supervision). The boyfriend began separating the seeds from the marijuana. He then began breaking up the weed into fine pieces. Then he took a razor blade & sliced open the cigar & removed the tobacco. He proceeded to strategically place portions of the weed in the cigar leaf. He rolled it up, licked it, lightly ran the lighter across it to seal it & repeated the process with the other cigar.
Once finished, he asked me if I smoked cigarettes. I told him yes. At the time I did smoke. He told me “the same way you smoke a cigarette is the same way you smoke this. The only difference is, when you inhale this, hold it in for as long as possible.” He then told me that what I was about to smoke was called a “blunt”. So I lit up & began to puff. Within a few minutes I had completely finished one of the blunts & quickly began to feel cheated. I turned to him & exclaimed “Man, this is some bull****, I don’t feel nothin’”. He replied “Be cool, just wait a few more minutes, its comin’.” 5 minutes later I looked at my sister & fell into uncontrollable fits of joy & laughter. All I recall after that was hearing someone in the background saying “He’s blowed, he’s blowed” & going to a local sandwich stand, ordering lots of food & eating every bit of it. I’d never felt anything like it.
Not even sex could compare to the way marijuana made feel. I felt beyond good. I was euphoric. That night was the beginning of my end. My addiction would grow so strong that I could not even function on a basic primary level without it. I had to have it. To make matters worse, I had no steady source of income & as a result I resorted to criminality & thievery to support my habit. TO MARIJUANA!! I’m not talking about crack. Not heroin. I was strung out on weed. I even tried to break into my grandmother’s home on the morning of my uncle’s death. Instead, I was trying to break into his mom’s house while she mourned. I wanted to steal the tv & vcr so that I could money marijuana.
Weed is far from a recreational drug. In fact, not only is it extremely addictive but I believe it’s a gateway drug. I believe it can potentially open the door for other drug use. I know from my own personal experience it opens the door to alcohol use. It affects your ability to make decisions. It affects your memory. It affects your bowels. Your immune system. Your vision. Your taste buds. Your lungs & breathing. It’s far from harmless. Take it from a guy who knows. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A REC. DRUG!!!. Marijuana is just as addictive as any other illegal substance.
And for the record, I may have got high the 1st time solely for the sake of curiosity, but I kept on getting high on ESCAPE. To escape reality. My real life was a mess. Want to know what the drug use did for me? COMPOUNDED THE MESS! It prolonged the misery & pain. Eventually I had to face life clear headed & clean. The drugs only cover up the problem. A band aid on a bullet wound. A temporary fix. (pardon the pun) Once a person comes down from their artificial high, real life is there waiting.
So save yourself some headaches & heartaches. Don’t get high. It’ll only bring you down. If you are already using, you CAN stop. There’s no time like now. While there’s hope. Before you hurt someone you really love, like I hurt my granny. Is the weed really worth that?
Mr. Patrice Daniels – formerly incarcerated
