Parents, Apartments And Pot

I know my parents smoked back in the day. I can safely say this because I was there.

I came of age in the sixties. Did I smoke pot? Please! I’m not sure I knew anyone who didn’t. It was a generational thing.

On the other hand the generation before mine, the one Tom Brokaw named “The Greatest Generation,” they were a little straighter… or so I thought!

I grew up in a six story building in Queens. We were in Apartment 5E. Last night my lifelong friend Dennis who grew up in Apartment 5F posted a link to a story which said marijuana “grew like weeds in 1950s Brooklyn.” He followed up by saying…

My father admitted to having smoked pot when he was young privately to me. I do not know if my mother actually ever knew. I assume my brother did, but I don’t know for sure. But he nonetheless did not want me to use it, and didn’t want it in the house

Honest – his dad Sidney was the last person I’d have expected.

I know my parents smoked back in the day. I can safely say this because I was there. It’s possible I was the provocateur (though you know how it is with pot… there’s so much you don’t remember)!

So, we’ve now established pot in 5E and 5F and I assumed that would be the end of the story until I got an email this morning from another one of my neighbors. She grew up next door on the other side in Apartment 5D. No names here as she has asked to remain anonymous.

When my parents moved to Florida and I was helping them clean out the apartment, I found a small prescription bottle with some pot in it and a package of rolling papers. I quickly shut it and thought which one of my sisters was stupid enough to hide this in our parents’ room. Then all of a sudden my mother called out to me, “By the way, did you find that pot on the windowsill?”

I literally almost fainted. She told me that everyone on the news and everywhere was talking so much about it that they HAD to try it.

They got some through a friend, smoked it once, didn’t understand what the big deal was, and left it there on the windowsill and forgot about it! It had been there for years.

Three families living inches from each other with the same silly secret. I’ll bet it’s as much as shock to the ‘kids’ from 5D and 5F as it was to me from 5E.

Memo to kids: Your parents are hipper than you’ll ever know.

26 thoughts on “Parents, Apartments And Pot”

  1. I lived in Florida during junior high and part of my high school years. A friend of mine’s father had this giant pot plant in their backyard. Her mother didn’t partake, however, she was in charge of the “harvest”. Dad, on the other hand, was a pothead. It was kept in a large mason jar on top of the fridge. Needless to say, we would frequently steal a pinch or three.

    I think that many people would be surprised if they knew who was partaking these days. Personally, I know several lawyers, doctors and even a judge that do… all responsible citizens that contribute to their communities.

    Get over it and legalize it, already!

  2. It’s funny how things change…..we did it in High School, right in the courtyard that allowed regular smoking…..now you cannot smoke in the parking lot of most schools…. My indulgence did not last long, but I have friends that still do….say’s it relaxes them. All I remember is eating way too much!! LOL

  3. In high school in the sixties, pot was surely around and like others, we smoked a few joints – no big deal really. Here’s one for you, though – Attending all-girl catholic high school, we used to go to the top of East Rock and drink Coca-Cola and put a Bayer aspirin in the bottle because we were told it would make us high. Needless to say, the only thing we got were no headaches! (:>)

  4. Notice you do not have your usual volume of comments–people are reluctant to admit to breaking the law. I commend you for your honesty! I remember telling my daughter “everybody either smokes pot or has tried it” when she busted me in the backyard. And okay the 2 of you out there who will deny this– are you going to say you were never in the room? The tax money that could be utilized for the education of truly evil drugs could easily be “harvested” and aren’t a lot of the tobacco companies pretty well set up to manufacture? Not to sound like Munch on Law&Order but is it still the cotton lobby so afraid to compete with hemp, an almost miraculous fabric?! And yes, I was actually at Woodstock. Peace!

    1. I disagree that “everybody either smokes pot or has tried it.” I have never tried it. I have been in the room. I just said no.

        1. I totally agree with Barbara S. I was a young adult in the sixties and NEVER saw, smelled, smoked or have been around anyone that particapated in the practice of using it. I was taught at a very young age what was right and what was wrong and the use of marijauna was illegal so I did not involve myself with anyone that choose to do so. I am not a prude by any means but I pride myself that I had the strength of mind and character not to be tempted by drugs. Far be it from me to condemn anyone that has indulged in marijauna but to say that “everyone either smokes pot or has tried it” is wrong.

  5. I don’t think my parents smoked pot; I don’t even think my brother did and he was class of 1969. Not that my family is or was straight-laced. They’re all nuts.

    Anyway, I made up for them. I’m certainly in favor of legalizing cannabis. That’s undoubtedly the reason my elders did NOT partake: because it is Against The Law. Here’s a cute story. I had major surgery in 2002 and issues with painkillers. The doc didn’t give me adequate pain control (and I have a big threshold for pain). My mom, who was staying here taking care of me, was discussing prescription painkillers with a friend of mine. He was telling me to just bite the pill, the hell with it. “What will happen if she does?” my mom asked my friend. He said “Well…you’ve smoked pot, right?” My mom shook her head no.

    That was 2002 and my mom is still delighted that my friend thought she was “cool” enough to have partaken!!

  6. And I think it is hysterically funny that the same generation who hid it from our parents now find it necessary to hide it from our kids!!

    1. u have 2 hide it for them …..u dont want them to tell at school how the parents roll their j,s…….and besides thats sinds its illegal u want your kids to lie for ya ….well not me so its better to hide that ……..if they ever wanna try it ..they can with me ……wich im pretty sure u will reply what kinda parent are u ……but rather with me then people i dont know !!!!!!!!!!

      and shit in my birthcountry the netherlands its all legal they dont have no issues soooooo rethink people

  7. I totally don’t understand why the “officials” won’t allow Medical Marijuana. As a nurse, you see many people in end stage diseases that you KNOW would benefit from, well, “the benefits”! Increased appetite, a feeling of ‘well being’–truly would help some folks!!

  8. Cannabis for Adult use, should never be illegal. We should follow the same regulations as Alcohol. Card everyone, Private in home use, Smoking establishments and taxed. I also believe in the Medical use as well. Let’s see, three presidents, and well off Businessmen. The only violence that is happening with cannabis is either the black market in competition with each other, or Police raids. The casual user the only violence they show is assaulting a snickers bar, and wearing out a hole in the sofa.

  9. You know something, Of every post here I hear a lot of people making their own desisions ether for doing it or not doing it. Jeeze, people actually discussing it ratiionally and not with the “Refer Madness” prohibitionist fever that they got in Washington. What I also noticed is that the people who did do it are not mindless people, in fact they seem quite articulate. Hummm. You know, I really could get used to this thing , humm what is it called….. Oh yea honesty wow, what a novel Idea.

    1. Pass the doritos. JUST KIDDING!!!! I agree with you 100% Mr. Ware. And I always respect people who use their full names.

      1. Actually I am into about three quarters of a bax of Cheez-it’s LOL. Kudos to you too Deborah with reguards to the full name.

  10. Yes, it was pretty common in the sixties and seventies. Going to college in the mid 70’s you would have had to crawl under a rock not to at least have smoke blown in your face on a saturday night but then not having smoked for twenty odd years I was quite surprised on one camping excursion to discover that pot has become significantly more potent since then.

  11. Gene, I smoked a bit when I was younger, then I stopped for a while. About twenty years as well. I recently found out they have a lot more names, and said it only pot, come on do we need to give it so many names LOL Then I tried some from a freind something called sour desiel. I was floored cooing at my toes for about two hours, guess i am a real light wieght.

  12. This conversation is intriguing…. A little over a year ago I switched jobs to one where I can get mandatory DOT tested, so no pot for me… In my own personal experience, and in watching some friends experiences I believe smoking a joint, or 2, maybe even 3 or 4 is a lot safer than downing a bottle of something or killing a 30 pack… I’ve never seen a violent pothead, not saying they don’t exist, I just have yet to see one, violent drunk on the other hand, woo yeah…. And they just recently did a study that claims people who drove after smoking pot were actually almost safer than sober people, though I’m not condoning smoking and driving, just saying…

  13. The one thing I can say that the punishment I did to myself drinking was so bad, I used to wake up places that I didn’t know how I got there, Freinds used to have either chastize me for things I did or reasure me that I didn’t embarassed my self to night before. Alcohol also strains your liver to the point where either you have to replace it or die. So I stopped drinking 20 years ago, and I don’t miss it at all. Where as Smoking pot Made me happy, hungry sleepy. Any type of Impared driving weather it’s drunk Driving, Drugged Driving, or Driving while your Exaulsted is dangerous. I drove from Fla to Ct. I tried to drive it straight through and I got so scared because I couldn’t keep my eyes open, I was trying to find a rest stop. I acually Cried when I found one, I was that tired, I slept for about six hours straight, and I will NEVER try that again !

  14. In Mass, Roade Island, and Washington State are considering Full Legalization useing the same regulations reguarding alcohol. Carding at local Package stores and Taxing it. If people want to get rid of the violence from drug gangs and cartels, have a system that can compete with the illegal market, and you will see that we can starve them out, there would be no profit in it. It would hit them hard.

  15. Hey, Dr. Oz had a full show on Medical Marijuana. A true Scientific discussion. You should look it up very Educational.

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