No Need to try these:

For those of you curious about what drugs are like you won't have to try them. I already did. I can tell you what you need to know about everything but heroin. It was the seventies and all the friends I had were growing long hair, running the square, playing frisbee, drinking, and scoopin' the loop with daddy's cars. Runnin' with no real purpose. Waste of life.

I can still hear the sound of us teens asking where we can get this and that. We thought it was exciting to find out which cool friend could supply us. Hey! I heard so and so has some whatever... there's a party at the river... Senior Party!

It was daily for marijuana and whenever we could find the harder things we'd buy them with that precious money our parents gave us for pinball. (usually home-spun chemicals we thought were so cool)

You could say marijuana is a gateway drug not in the sense that it physically makes you want to try new things but that you happen to be in the crowd that will be doing other things.

Cruising the gravels before school became a special treat. When reaching the school in the morning going to class stoned was really kind of scary when I look back. The paranoia feeling being in a public place and knowing that most of the other classmates knew. Focusing at this point became difficult as you were stressing about getting caught somehow though everyone knew and you were aware of that fact. Sometimes the (creeper reefer) as we referred to it would hit hard and you would find yourself really high and trying to keep a composure and a normal attitude.

Downers:

It was 10 am and I am in the bathroom... a friend I knew was (cool) walks in and I ask if there's any smoke to be had. He said "no smoke but try these." He held out five little pills. What are they? They are downers! "There's five of them, I had better not take them at once" I said. "Ah you'll be just fine, I do it all the time, you can handle these, come on" he said.

I took them and went to class. Fourth period, I was a little groggy, fifth sleepy, and sixth I finally gave in to them and layed my head down. The teacher and the class kept trying to wake me. They were laughing and the teacher was angry. I tried to stay awake but did not. The bell rang and it was time to go home. I don't remember anything but somehow waking up and running into one side of the hall lockers and then the other. I was lead into the counselor's office and kind of remember them sending me home and suspending me. It took forever to walk home. I kept falling asleep sitting on different things. When I got home my parents were frantic. They couldn't talk to me and I kind of remember going to bed. A day or so later I wake up and it all starts to come back to me. Of course my parents reminded me of everything and informed me the school had notified them of my behavior and resulting suspension.

Downers in Des Moines

We were at one of the concerts and staying overnight in a tent at someones house a few blocks away. One of us had some prescription downers. Why did I want any more of these? I took a couple and this batch was really strong. I remember waking up in the middle of the night with the cops and flashlights around our tent. One of the people in our party apparently spent some time up there and had broken into a house nearby and stole something. All I could do was look into the flashlight and mumble something. I don't remember much of anything from that point.

Acid trip #1 We are in my parents house and my friend has taken four hits and is uncontrollable. No five. He is in the basement with his arms in the fish tank while the electric light at the top ready to fall in the water. He is laughing and pawing his hands in the gravel. We are not sure what we should do at this point so we go upstairs. We don't know where he is anymore and we spend the night trying to see the tracers and things that are supposed to happen. It's low grade poison so all it does is make your heart beat fast and give you a sense of hallucinating that you kind of had to help along. I can see colors soon. The next day you see a picture of our neighbors garage door with broken windows and blood all over the door in the paper.

Acid trip #2 There's a one hundred keg party in New London! Bands galore... all day event. I see someone at the concert. They had some acid. I watched the bands and drank beer all day. What? We can't leave our cars parked here? I had to drive out of there. There are reflections in the window. They're always there but today they are brighter and I can see them more than the road. hmmm I realize, I am heading the wrong way. I turn around on a gravel road. I go too far backwards. The car falls off the road into the ditch. I try and get out and fall into the ditch. I look up and there are cops everywhere. The lights are playing with my head. I am lead into the cop car handcuffed. They thought I was drunk. Probably was as well. On the way to jail I had to stuff the hits of acid down the back seat and wake up the next day to see my poor Dad who was surely worried out of his mind by then. My horrified Father took me home and payed the tow bill and all the fines.

Acid trip #3

Friends were going to the football game tripping. I was to meet them there. Walked up and paid to get in and stared into the crowd. I did not want to be around all those people. It was loud and it seemed like people were looking at me. Maybe they were. I left and walked out to the forest till I came down enough to go home. I thought the trees looked different but no real colors or hallucinations to speak of. Another fun night! Is there a #4 after this?

Acid trip #4 A car load of us kids were going to trip and I decided to go to lake Geode. We could hang out there and safely do our trip and I wouldn't have to be home or in a big crowd. It was cold though and everyone wanted to go home. I had taken the hits and I had to drive again! I'm doing OK but those reflections are back. There is a stop light that really doesn't stand out like the ones on the square. I'm thinking of something else and blow right through it. Everyone is yelling stop. We keep going with no real incident and make it home safe but my heart is beating so fast and we had been up all night and I felt sick. Why would I want to try this again?

Acid trip #5

At a concert in Des Moines Bob Seger will be playing. I remember wandering into the forest the night before the concert in the campgrounds watching all the buses full of kids hanging out the windows and yelling. I could not find our campground for quite some time. Finally the concert arrives and I watch Bob Seger sing. It was amazing but on the way home a truck wandered into our lane. Fortunately I took evasive action and the truck missed us. Am I supposed to be heading down this road?

Meth:

Later in life meth came out. Watched almost ten of my friends die from this. Used to stay up and drink for days on that. I never got hooked, thank God and can count the times on my hands that I did meth. Makes your heart beat hard, dry your system out, ruin your back, bones, teeth and go ahead and walk to Missouri. Get your room clean. Work three jobs and stay up for three months. Joy Joy. Get caught and spend months in jail. Hang around the wrong crowd and spend years in prison! What fun!

There is nothing wrong with doing things naturally with the body we have. It's easier in the long run and far less dangerous.

I haven't got time and you don't either to tell you all the horror stories I encountered along the way doing these things. You are young and full of energy, hope, and knowledge. Achievement is so much more rewarding than satisfying any peer pressure to be cool and do this stupid stuff. Take your time. Life is so short. Be with family. Treasure this time. Don't take what God gave you for granted. Follow your dreams if you have them. If you don't, have fun at the park. Play games. Be with your friends. Go camping and swimming! Work hard at school! Start a business! Learn something new. Read books. There are countless things that are so much more enjoyable and rewarding than what I described here today.

Now you know what drugs are like.

Dedicated to my departed or destitute friends and you.