By Nan Donovan, columnist
I can’t believe I’m writing about this, because marijuana was always something I steered clear of. It must have come from what my Dad talked to me about back in the ’50s to steer me away from anyone offering me to take a “puff” or to buy marijuana.
Whatever the case, he put the fear of God in me and I wanted nothing to do with it. Back then, I don’t know why he kept lecturing because, never once was I ever approached with anyone trying to sell it to me or offering me that “puff.” Guess I wasn’t a part of the “movers”.
Through the years I often wondered about people I thought were smoking it from the weird way they acted, but I had really never came in contact with it, personally, till I was 70 years old. As I said, I guess I don’t live a very exciting life. Suits me. I’m happy anyway.
Getting back to how it came into my life, I thought was very odd.
I met a man who went to the local diner every day for the coffee and gossip. He was very pleasant. Had a good personality and we started going out for dinner and other places quite frequently.
We were having dinner at his house one night when he took out a little box I had never seen and ask me if I wanted a “hit”. I must have looked pretty stupid because he looked at me and said, “Do you want a joint?”
I was shocked and I said to him, “How often do you indulge in this habit?” He said he had been smoking pot all his life and it was good for you.
I quickly gathered up my things and flew out the door. I guess I made quite a funny exit but I actually thought, since he lit up the joint while we were talking, he would get high and do, what? I didn’t know nor did I want to see how he acted after he smoked the joint.
I guess at his age, I didn’t think people would be interested in using marijuana because of the different medicines they took. I never associated it as a pain killer.
And now I was reading an article on that very subject. Now that it’s legalized, there are still many questions on it being a pain killer. They say in the article that you can buy sweet, tart-like cannabis treats to help with chronic pain or to help with sleep and with anxiety problems, but they don’t help much with simple headaches or recovering from surgery. It also states that regular use of marijuana links it with higher risk of heart attack and 42 percent higher for strokes.
Even if they would have said that it adds 20 years on to your life, I still would not try anything that had anything to do with marijuana. I guess my Dad did a good job when he was lecturing me on what not to do.
Thanks, Dad.
Till next time, be safe.
“The Right Age” is a weekly column written for senior citizens by 84-year-old Nan Donovan, who has lived in the Shenandoah Valley for 45 years. She has worked for newspapers, as well as radio and television stations, including WLCC. She moved to the Valley from Pennsylvania.
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