THE NEWEST DOOBIE BROTHER

This is an article I never thought I'd write for any number of reasons. I suppose it has more to do with not wanting to be judged than anything else, although I've always been pretty unapologetic about it. I've just never brought it up before. As I get older and see the world around me changing at break neck speed, however, I'm beginning to care less and less about the judgment of others. To the list of things that describe and define me - devoted father, faithful husband, legendary radio god......you can go ahead and add: pot head. Yes, I publicly admit it. I like to smoke a joint after a hard day or an easy day or a rainy day or a sunny day........ Let me explain a bit of the metamorphosis of this odious choice. The first time I tried nature's most versatile herb was when I was 19. It was 1966 and I was stationed outside of Nashville. A bunch of us shared an apartment in town that we called “the flop house,” where we went to relax, hang out and do just about anything we wanted that wasn't military related. We would keep our refrigerator stocked with wine and would joke that “we didn't drink that cheap $1.00 shit. We paid $1.09” for wines with names like Ripple, Twister, Gypsy Rose and Bali Hai. Nothing but the best for our crew. I was seeing a girl from one of the local colleges and had picked her up one evening to bring her back to the “flop house.” She knew what was on the mind of a 19 year old G.I. who spent most of his waking hours around a bunch of guys, but informed me that it was “that time of the month,” but said she had something else we could do, as she reached into her purse and pulled out a joint. I had never tried it but didn't want to look like the proverbial pansy. I liked her and didn't want alienate her by appearing as though I was clueless, which, I might add, I truly was. She lit it and I, being ever observant, copied what she did. I remember not really feeling very different other than the fact that it didn't seem to bother me that it was “that time of the month.” I felt pretty normal yet, pretty good, if that makes any sense. I dropped her off at the school and was driving the 30 miles back to the base when I saw a tree seemingly turn into a lion and start to jump out at the car. The suddenness of the beasts appearance caused me to pull off to the side of the road. That's when I saw the little black & white cartoon clown doing flips across the road in front of my car. At this point, I realized what was going on and I laughed all the way back to the base. In all fairness, that first time was the only time I ever had a hallucination from smoking. It was obviously spiked with something, but it was the mid 60's, I was 19 and I liked it. I even found the visions to be pretty entertaining. I was always in full control, completely unstressed and suffered no hangover effects at all. I felt like I had discovered the holy grail. I continued to smoke pot throughout my military life. Tennessee, the Philippines, Vietnam...it didn't matter where I was, it was available all the time. I also tried some other things while I was under the purview of Uncle Sam. Actually, I tried everything. I make no bones about it and have always been brutally honest with my kids. If they asked, and they have over the years, I told the truth. I told them about how, when experimenting with heroin, I passed out and woke up laying on some railroad tracks outside Angeles City in the Philippines. I told them about taking way too many pills and finding the bodies of two of my friends who had overdosed after taking a whole jar of Seconals. All of the lurid details were there for the asking and I pulled no punches. None of my kids has ever done drugs. After my discharge in 1970, I entered the world of radio. Rock & roll radio in the 70's was a virtual smorgasbord of every drug imaginable. It was also a time when payola was still in existence. I served as program director, for a short time, for a small English language network in Puerto Rico and one of my most vivid memories was of a particular artist who I won't name, who would personally bring me his latest LP's which would be stuffed with money and drugs. I was young, dumb and having fun. By the time I got to Philadelphia in the mid 70's, I was fully ensconced. Pills, cocaine, weed, booze....name it. And, it was almost all free. Like the party with the Little River Band where their road manager went from table to table with a rock of pure cocaine and a razor blade trying to make sure the latest record got some air play. It must have worked. They had some pretty big hits. The next morning, my partner and I sounded like we had plugs in our noses which ran continuously into our beards for the entire show. Not long after that, I had done some cocaine (which, by the way, I never really liked but did because everyone else did) and went out to mow the lawn. I suddenly began to turn gray and I passed out. I was taken to the ER and the problem turned out to be an issue with my heart, caused, it was determined, by my abundant use of cocaine, alcohol and tobacco. Being the complete lunkhead that I can sometimes be, I didn't pay attention to the severity until the second time I ended up in the ER with the same issues. It was then and there that I quit doing all of the drugs. No more pills, coke, heroin, acid or mescaline. No more alcohol. I still, however, smoked weed and tobacco. I quit using tobacco products when I was diagnosed with diabetes about 20 years ago and, other than an occasional good cigar, have remained tobacco free. The one constant throughout it all has been marijuana which, as I learned for myself with no help from a media who has perpetuated the “Reefer Madness” stereotypes, is completely harmless. I have had a great career, contributed to my community and raised 5 productive and amazing human beings without a single pot induced mass murder or night of madness to interrupt the flow. I have learned, for myself, that marijuana is not only completely harmless but quite beneficial in so many instances. Residual pain from a number of my age related maladies is eased tremendously when I smoke, the nausea that can go hand in hand with some of the meds I take for those age related maladies is curbed when I smoke and stress, be it day to day or exceptional such as when dealing with the likes of the VA or the IRS is noticeably lessened. It is a harmless weed that grows wild and has dozens of beneficial uses from paper to pain reliever.....from clothing to rope......the list goes on. Like I said, I never thought I'd be writing this article but, the rest of the world is now beginning to find out what I've known for many years and the “evil weed” is now legal in 20 states and on a fast track to full legalization which could, conceivably, settle the national debt. There are a tons people just like me who are still in the proverbial pot closet which is, slowly but surely, beginning to open it's doors to the realities of this this wonder plant. As for me, I hope that when you read this you don't drop me as a friend or “take me to task,” but if you must, before you become too judgmental, sit down and smoke a joint, and then.....have at it. I'm certainly not going to change. It's been nearly a half a century and I still like to smoke a joint after a hard day or an easy day or a rainy day or a sunny day..........