Steady, you remember in Proverbs (or conversely the Pete Seeger song TURN Turn Turn)? To everything there is a season?
That is pretty much how I see it my dear friend - and THANK YOU so much for your willingness to be so open and real.
In attempt to clarify, growing up with a raging alcoholic parent really turns a girl off on "being out of control", at least it did me.
I'm sorry for this - I had some pretty bad stuff to deal with as well. You know first hand how 'horrible' it can be once the bridge is crossed and it turns from something that could have been healthy and acceptable - to just the opposite.
Despite the fact I knew the name of the dealer in my high school and my younger brother recreated with the guy and experimented with weed (to my extreme dismay) after I left home.
Hmmm - not sure what to say. I believe you have a much deeper sensitivity and therefore perhaps a more 'painful awareness' of how destructive 'addiction' can be. I'd say you had quite an advantage over your brother in matters like this.
So no, MaryJ has never been a part of my own life, personally nor any other addictive illegal drug by choice, and alcohol you'd have to classify me as rare occasions and light use if at all.
Alevie, PLEASE KNOW - I never thought for a moment any thing different - this is completely in line with what I knew in my heart had to be true. My comments were mainly to highlight 'the bottom line' of what we both believe on the deepest level.
Again I sincerely appreciate you confirming this truth so richly.
Can't say haven't been around tokers or smelled Birchie's sweet smell, mainly when I couldn't go very far from the scene at the time for reasons I won't go into, not important to the story).
We live in the world - I guess that's a requirement that's about impossible to avoid.
However, having survived a badly mangled body for multiple weeks at a time 2x
only thanks to scheduled morphine injections which at times didn't come nearly fast enough for the pain (and yes I went through very bad withdrawals 2x also-which were nearly as bad as injuries but withdrawals not regretted a bit comared to the shortterm benefits), and had a broken nose set as in-office surgery with doctor's use of coke once (and no I didn't get high that I could tell from that either),
there is a time and place for everything that can serve a true medical purpose.
You have an incredible ability to see things and understand things that most with your background would be 'blinded to'. It takes a certain degree of humility - not just intelligence - to honestly have that kind of awareness.
From what I understand, maryj takes pain of glaucoma and nausea of chemo and allows sufferers regain a certain quality of life they wouldn't have otherwise, the trade-offs should be ones weighed between themselves, their families and their doctors, IMO, if there is no other legal and affordable drug with less side effects available. Not my place to judge, I'm not in their shoes or living with their illnesses. Those who use recreationally for "medical" purposes, well, they hurt the case for those who really do benefit medically and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.