AIBU to have gone ballistic of DS16's joint

[YourQuirkyBird]

I was searching DS16's wardrobe and found a bunch of rolled up joints. Initially I assumed they contained weed but upon closer inspection and opening all of them up I realised they were all filled with some kind of herbs. I asked DS to tell me what the herbs are and to show me the where he stores them. The joints were filled with damiana, blue lotus, mullein. AIBU to have gotten very upset at DS16 over smoking? This whole herbal joint idea seems bizarre and I suppose its better than smoking weed or tobacco. Nevertheless smoking of any kind is harmful. How should I punish DS?

How did that go? I imagine they burned quickly.

Oh stop it 😂

Haha. I think it tasted awful and gave me a headache. I learned pretty swiftly it was a preposterous idea. Not swiftly enough to have not done it though obvs. 🤪 X

I suppose it’s better than smoking weed or tobacco.

How is it better than weed or tobacco?
I would definitely prefer weed.

Vaping is just flavoured air, it’s still ridiculously bad for you.

Smoking is smoking and have gone ballistic over any of it but I would focus on how addictive and unattractive it is.

smoking releases tar and carcinogens, weed gets you high, so i suppose herbs that dont contain nicotine are the best for you

It was totally cool to smoke herbal teas when I was a kid in the 90s. 😆 I think back in the day you could get herbal cigarettes from Holland and Barrett too.

I couldn't get too excited about this. I'd rather my kid smoked weed or herbs than got pissed or did other stuff, but obviously it's worth having the chat about the effects of smoking anything. I did horrible things at 16 and nothing my parents did could have stopped me. I found that being able to talk to my mum made things a little easier. When I got caught smoking we shared a bottle of wine and a few cigarettes and just talked. Core memory right there. 😁

Are these legal highs? If they are, dont let it slide, that shit is horrible.

Snorting cumin? WTF. I have led a sheltered life, evidently.

I’ll never look at my spice rack the same way.

Once as a teen I made a rice pudding for Sunday lunch pudding. I grated a whole nutmeg over the top. Everyone said it was delicious and no one had any hallucinations that I know of.

You missed a golden opportunity to leave a pregnancy test "lying around" ...

Only the dim ones who can't read and don't know how to Find Things Out.

We smoked crushed up peanut shells (1970s)

You would be surprised (or shocked) to learn how much of nature is psychoactive and/or psychotropic. (A look at the exemptions in the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 makes for illuminating reading.)

Well, some did, naturally. However I doubt they experienced any cosmic truths. Whether or not that is a good thing is debatable.

At my secondary school there was a lake surrounded by bullrushes.
Everyone knew that smoking them, like a large cigar/joint, gave you a fantastic high, no one dared say how it made you vomit like Regan and left you so breathless that there were frequent blue light trips to A&E for suspected pneumothorax.
It was in 1965 and as someone said teens will try any old shit, it's in their nature.
Interestingly, DH who was at the same school but a few years older than me, remembers that it was just a few kids who were known to be 'maladjusted misfits' (a term frequently used in the 1960's). He still teases me about my penchant for smoking 'weird shit' as he's never smoked as much as a cigarette in his life.
We're now in our 70's and like to 'one up' the kids and grandkids when it comes to tales of schoolday derring do.

Our sixth form was opposite a woods, and there were the odd forays by some (not including me) to scout for magic mushrooms. Which are so common, it's almost like they grow on trees apparently.

I always worry about these things but have never come down too hard on DS so keeping the lines of communication open (and to be honest we did far worse as kids and know that hiding it is worse). I have now discovered, thanks to him discussing it with me, that we have lots of magic mushrooms growing in our fields, I had no idea!

I don’t see the point in bollocking at this age, all it will do is make him think you couldn’t possibly understand him and he’ll be more careful to hide stuff from you. Do your research, explain the dangers and why they may be even more dangerous on a developing brain (I don’t know about this, obviously thinking of weed, maybe they’re not?!) and your responsibility to keep him safe. You want him to talk to you so you can guide him, not push him away to try whatever crazy shit the internet throws up.

Yeah you need absolutely loads. Like a kilo or something ridiculous like that!