The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a met amphetamine lab had been found in an old farm house in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question, ”Why didn’t we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?”

I replied: ”But I did have a drug problem when I wuz a kid growing up on the farm.” I had a drug problem when I was young: I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to church for
weddings and funerals. I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather.

I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults. I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher. Or if I didn’t put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me. I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profane four letter word. I was drug out to pull weeds in mom’s garden and flower beds.

I was drug to the homes of family, friends, and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline or chop some fire wood. And if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the wood shed.

Those drugs are still in my veins; and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say, and think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin, and if today’s children had this kind of drug problem, America might be a better place today.

Nice.

Hey hey good to see ya again been a long time hope life is treating ya good...


Lmao, have read this one before and ohhhhhhhhhh how true it is but actually the drugs are in your face a hell of a lot more now days then they were when I was growing up......

It's sad but so true drugs are being passed out in our elementary schools now when I was a kid we never had our lockers searched for drugs the most we heard of was kids smoking pot not the meth that is so fluent as it is today.....

Even back in the day (I graduated in 85), there was a pretty significant drug problem in our junior highs and high schools. I went to school in a smallish town, fairly rural at the time, not an urban setting, too. I don't really think it's any worse now than it was then. What I think is that it's far more open now. Getting high then was something every "class" of kids did, not just the "stoners." Not everyone did, of course, but it wasn't relegated to just one clique, if you will. But, it was definitely hidden and getting busted was a BIG deal. Now, not so much.

I think it was just as bad in the 70's and early 80's as it is now. The police were less strict about drugging/drinking and driving too. They would just take the stuff, keep it and tell you to go on your way.

I remember going to a new school in my 3rd year of high school. It was the first day and I get off the school bus and somebody offered me a joint. I was too surprised. lol I knew people that were doing acid during school hours. Coke was at every party.

Oh, yeah, the drugs were there.

Re-hab for you, my man, would be called therapy!

Not saying it was not around but within the area I went to school and the friends I hung around with it was not as available as it is today. And yes I would have graduated in "77"

I was already 19 before the first time I was somewhere that coke was at the party which we had actually left the party and went to another persons house saw what they were doing and walked out....

And sure there was drinking and driving but the bars did not back then do $0.50 cent drafts to promote drinking even more and back then if you were not of age to drink you were not allowed in the main bars to party now days if your 18 they were still letting you in but you were not suppose to drink yeah like that really works...

And as far as pot hell I never knew what that was till I was in the 8th grade and heard about it. But it was still not floating around the school I was in or at least I was not aware of it.....

uh yeah, now get to a meeting.

TxsGal,

I live across the river from Illinois. I graduated from high school in '77 too, btw. Well, Illinois let people 18 and older drink. Yep, the Missouri kids were getting the alcohol from Illinois and bringing it home. I could drive 15 minutes and go dancing in a bar at 18 years old. There were dollar ladies' nights and Happy Hour too.

Ditto, I grew up across the river from Canada, drinking age was 18 but 16 to get in the bars. They would stamp your hand with very cheap ink that you were underage, you got your hand stamped then hit the bathroom immediately to wipe it off. We couldn't bring booze back but getting drunk and coming back across the border? Piece of cake. And the exchange rate then on money was very favorable, what cost $2 in the states cost 1/2 that in Canada.

I've seen this before, too. America WOULD be a much better place, like it used to be. Unfortunately, too many people have succumbed to making society too liberal and unaccountable.

I had this kind of drug problem too which is at least in part the reason I never had the other kind of drug problem.

In my time it was mostly cigarettes, pot, coke, LSD.

The drugs the kids are using now are scary and they are starting at a lot younger age. Lot of messed up kids out there, a lot of messed up adults for that matter, raising those messed up kids.

Word.

Now thats a post!

Hi Christy, I was in your neck of the woods a few weeks ago (Grapevine/Fort Worth). Yeah, Drugs were around in the 70s & 80s just look at any Disco movie about Studio 54 or the Rocking 80's. Damn, I remember experimenting with Pot when I was in 3rd grade (1973) then by 7th I remember looking around a class and thinking I was the only one that doesn't get stoned.


I think the Difference is that those that were raised getting a Boot in the A$$ when they did something wrong did Not get "Out of control" with Drugs....

Well hell wish I had known you were in the area hell could have meet for lunch or a quick hello. Ohhhh well maybe next time......

Yeah not saying the drugs were not there for they were but maybe it was where I lived or as you said had a tight rein on my arse and that is the last thing I wanted to get involved with. Sure I knew those that smoked pot but as far as I know that is as far as it went besides drinking....

When your raised in small towns hell it is hard to get away with anything everybody seems to know when you farted heck and to get away with hard drugs well plus it did not help my step mom was a nurse and came home from the Hospital telling us all these Horror stories of those kids that did LSD back then and what happen to them. The last thing I was thinking of doing were hard drugs....

But will admit I partied hardy when I turned 18 and the laws were not as bad as they are today we got a slap on the wrist verse a slap in jail now...

Wasn't heroin more popular back in the 60's and 70's then now?

Sure it was in the 60's which I was only a kid then and heck back then did not even know what pot was. Guess I lived a sheltered life so to speak. Cause it was around the 70's before I even heard of pot and the LSD era and speed or angel dust oh and paper acid those are the only ones I can even remember hearing about.

But not saying we did not have the drug problems back then just seems that the drugs were not as available as they are now. Hell back then we were worried getting caught taking a drag off a cig not taking hits off the meth pipe.

Good post but somehow it doesn't acknowledge the reality that somewhere in that whole church community that a lot of people, and their kids, were left out so the problem just kept growing.

I was raised that way too. Nice post.

nope... don't u remember all that mess that happened in plano, lots of federal indictments, lots of people sent to prison, lots of dead children. and now, some of the funniest PSA's on the radio in english and spanish (the spanish one is the funniest), about the "new drug going around called cheese". it's too funny tho, especially when they say it in spanish. : blah blah blah, parece que tu hijo tiene un resfriado o gripe todo de repente? puede ser que esta sufriendo los efectos de no tener la nueva droga "cheezs". "cheezs" es la nueva forma de heroina ... blahblahblah but it's the way they say "cheezs" on the radio. like in english but with a spanish accent. too much!!

thing is, kids don't listen. chester cheetah for cheetos done told 'em already. "it ain't easy bein cheesy". dang, now i want some cheetos.

when are kids gonna learn? where's the belt?!? hahahaha