David Davenport, or more proper, David Ray Davenport isn’t my real name. That should be obvious. But this is the internet and it’s a good idea to keep at least one level of anonymity when talking about your drug habits.
Besides, I always wanted an alias. And in the past, if I needed one, David Ray Davenport was the one I copped. It sounds honest.
I’ve smoked weed my entire adult life, and dabbled in it before that as well. The line between childhood and adulthood is a bit warbly, and it was long, long time ago.
A caveat … There were times I didn’t smoke it. Early on, particularly in summers, growing up in a small Illinois town, there were frequent droughts. No weed to be had. Occasionally a friend would get hooked up by his dad, who grew it and had his own stash. We learned two things. First, the older generation was smart enough to plan ahead and keep a stash. Second, the shit they grew was light years ahead of what you could buy.
As more people I knew grew it, the fresher it became, and that did wonders for the potency. Cannabis is like any other plant. It loses its strength after being picked, and the longer it ages and the dryer it gets, the more it wanes.
Also, people were growing sinsemilla, which was a lot more potent than the commercial ditch weed, chocked full of seeds and stems that we normally got.
What are my qualifications to write a blog for older stoners? I remember smoking Acapulco Gold, Panama Red, Thai Stick, bong hits sprinkled with crystalized opium. Opium, though my guess it was actually just resin from a pipe. As we all know, marijuana is a gateway drug and I skipped merrily through the gate. We started with uppers … white cross and black beauties. Those led to downers … we stole Darvon and Darvocet, along with the occasionally valium from our mothers. Something called Sopers hit town once in the early eighties and time slowed down noticeably for a week or two. I bought my first Quaalude and first hit of acid at the same time. I did way too much acid and it shows. There was also mescaline, mushrooms though we never managed Peyote. Before Ecstacy was Ecstasy it was MDA. That was like swallowing a lightening bolt. The dealer got his powders mixed up once, and instead of snorting MDA I snorted heroin. It was like being strapped to the front of a locomotive, followed by a good vomit, and then darkness.
I remember smoking Acapulco Gold, Panama Red, Thai Stick, bong hits sprinkled with crystalized opium. Opium … white cross and black beauties … we stole Darvon and Darvocet, along with the occasionally valium from our mothers. I bought my first Quaalude and first hit of acid at the same time. I did way too much acid and it shows. There was also mescaline, mushrooms though we never managed Peyote.
And then there’s alcohol. Along the way you develop those skills. Because in the end, like a lot of people, I never became an addict. I just liked catching a buzz. Different highs for different occasions.
I never became a burnout because of drugs or alcohol. I got burned out on jobs, working for things I didn’t believe in. In my normal life I’m actually fairly respected. I even have one article which is linked to by the Smithsonian Fucking Institue. I once worked for the crowned princess of Serbia, helping raise funds for a children’s hospital in her country, ravaged by war. I lived for most of a decade an hour from New York City, a creative director for a Fortune 500 company. That was when I learned to drink, as I couldn’t find a good source for weed.
My last weekend in the city, I was about to catch the train back to my apartment, when a black guy came up to me, asking for a paper. I didn’t have one, but he struck a deal. If I bought a pack, and a six pack, we could smoke one and he’d give me some to take back. That was the best deal I ever had, for it kept high enough to survive the culture shock of waking up in New York one morning and waking up in my high school bedroom two mornings later.
The first time I got high, I came back to the room I’m writing this in, and fell asleep with the headphones on.
And that’s a good place to start this story.