Growing up in Brownsville meant exposure to all sorts of discussion about drugs. I remember in elementary, fourth and fifth grade, kids like myself and others would say we’ve smoked before. Of course it was all to look cool when I hadn’t really even touched any form of drugs myself, the same couldn’t have been said for a few others.<\/p>\n
However, drugs were present in the household. Especially when I was in middle school and my older brother was in high school. He smoked marijuana pretty much everyday really. I don’t remember when it began exactly but he did it and he eventually ended up dropping out of high school because of it.<\/p>\n
Now I never expected someone who I looked up to, to do such a thing. I can’t blame him though. He did always hang around with the wrong crowd and my parents were often at work, and when they were home they were usually drinking and fighting, usually just arguments unless my mom had too much to drink.<\/p>\n
Of course, most will assume that growing up in this environment must make the decision of either being for or against marijuana an easy decision. It hasn’t. How can that be you might ask? Sure it wasn’t the best thing around for me growing up but I can’t simply make a wise decision without having all the proper information.<\/p>\n
That’s not the end though, because at times I do feel like going against the legalization or use of marijuana. The reason for that is because I saw first hand how my brother got into a few other drugs after marijuana and how it has affected him. Then hearing that my best friend used to smoke made me worry that she might end up like him.<\/p>\n
With the two people closest to me being users in the past and hearing information about marijuana other than the negatives that our schools are required to tell us as a form of the war on drugs, picking a side hasn’t been easy. My position has become one of being smart about it. Don’t just do it because everyone else is. Really think about whether or not it’s something you need. Use it when necessary if you have to. Being in control because it is possible to slip into other drugs and from there it can get worse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Growing up in Brownsville meant exposure to all sorts of discussion about drugs. I remember in elementary, fourth and fifth grade, kids like myself and others would say we’ve smoked before. Of course it was all to look cool when … Continue reading