Growing up I had learned at a very young age what “Marijuana” was and how people would abuse the use of it. Although people see it to be harmless, that statement is far from the truth. I've seen and have watched it tear families/friends apart, and I have also seen it turn good people into monsters.

This is a rather huge issue today in all varieties of age groups, differing between adults, young adults, young teens and in some cases even younger. Pretty sad right? You walk into a high school and you are either  going to hear kids talking about marijuana, see red stoned eyes, kids distributing it or the more common one; The musty smell of it through the halls. I knew what “weed” was when I was in elementary school, I’d say 3rd grade was roughly around the time that I began to understand the basics of that it was and what it could do to a person. Everyone just assumes it only affects them, because it’s their body but that is another untrue statement. It affects everyone around them and in this story it affects my entire family & me for the rest of my life.

My dad, a heavy user/distributor is someone who abused this substance for many years, and still does today. My mother divorced him when I was three and we had visitations with him every other weekend. How grand! Yeah… not so much, this isn't the ideal childhood stories I’d like to share of my dad; who I now call Jason. Because that is his name, and because he lost the right & respect that comes with the name “Dad.” So when I say Jason, I’m merely referring to the sperm donor/biological father of a legend, or myself.

Normally you’d think that when you go to visit your dad growing up, that it would be a time to go out and have fun right? Spend time together, doing fun activities like going fishing, rollerblading or getting ice-cream?  Well not for my sisters and I. We got more of the make your own lunch, learn to fish yourself and do everything yourself because he was always too stoned to do anything. There were countless times that we, little kids, had to call the police to the house because there were instances where Jason would go into a rage and left everyone scared. Going to his house was the worst! I always dreaded it because it got to the point where it wasn't to really see him on those weekends but have to go there to take pictures for evidence so that the three other kids he had weren't under his custody. Jason had been growing pot plants in his house for years and he kept them behind the flat screen TV. He’d keep little baggies of his pot, or hash oil in random places around the house and usually this wasn't much of an issue until my younger brother got a hold of a baggie, bringing it to school. He was going into the 1st grade. Shortly after this event, cops had been called for a disturbance; it was my dad and step mom fighting. We heard the sirens so Courtney and I grabbed Fe-breeze to spray the plants with because we wanted to kill them so that he wouldn't get into trouble. I remember Jason grabbing his plants, putting them into the car and driving off. My sister and I sitting inside, crying get pulled into the back by my step mom so we could talk. She said

“If the cops question you, you saw NOTHING, and if you say a word you’ll be sorry!”

There was a knock on the door, and the cops came inside. They took us into the entryway to ask us questions in private. They asked about pot plants, and where they would be. I recall answering the questions with “I don’t know” because that’s what I had been told to do. They peaked around the house, didn't find anything and left.  Later on in the night we were on our way home to my mom’s house and after telling our mother what just happened, we had to get the cops involved again. The next visits we had with him, we had to take pictures of his plants, his stash and anything else we could find to be illegal. It was really hard at first, because I didn't understand why they couldn't just do something about it then without the pictures but after a few months of having to do this it just became a habit.

Now that we had numerous pictures, we all sat down with child protective services and a few police men. Scrolling through the pictures on our phone I remember the girl’s face, almost saddened because the pictures weren't clear enough to use as evidence. All that hard work and nothing came out of it.
After some time went by, going to Jason’s house became a drag. He would sleep all day, scream and yell over little things. He just became a lowlife. Finally I reached the age of 12 and was able to decide if I would see him or not, and I chose not to. If he was going to put his substance abuse and alcohol over his own kids then I didn't want anything to do with him. Now, father of the year only comes around on birthdays and Christmas, sometimes only Christmas. Lucky me, I get a Facebook message saying “Merry Christmas!”

So thoughtful. Jason used to be a very good man, he was smart! Was going to college in the med program, but then got into some bad habits. Now?  He’s living off of welfare, in a crappy trailer park/house with a crappy relationship with his kids. Substance abuse has many different effects on a person, and some people are oblivious to those effects. It not only can cause hallucinations, but it does impair your eye sight. Driving, while intoxicated with THC is actually very dangerous. Most wouldn't want to drive after having a couple drinks right? So why would you want to risk driving after having a couple “hits” of the substance, knowing the side effects. It’s just as dangerous as drunk driving. Jason in many cases would have difficulty driving us home safely after getting high, leaving us to call for rides by my mother 45 minutes away. Substance abuse affects the brain in multiple ways, and really affects the way you act. It slows down your reaction time; that’s an affect that can really injure you in certain situations; especially if you are driving.

My motto has always been- -just because you are curious doesn't mean you have to try it. Besides curiosity killed the cat right? What if that cat ends up being you? Was it now worth your curiosity? I think not. It’s illegal in this state anyways. Yes I know- -it’s a natural plant, and it can be used for great things but does that mean you need to abuse it? Many of the reasons I look down upon substance abuse is because of my personal experiences, and I’m really hoping that a few of my stories makes you think twice before you try it. It only takes a matter of seconds for something to go wrong. The question is, are you willing to risk it?