All,
I agree, we all own our bodies, and no one has the right to tell you what to do. But for God's sake, I don't think this is hating. They're just trying to help you before it's too late.
My nephew was a 240 pound, buffed up young man (no steroids). He worked his way through school, taking 2-3 jobs at a time to make ends meet and pay his own tuition. My neph is no genius, it did take hime 6 years to get his BA, but he got it and was only the second person in my family to graduate college, me being the first. The boy smoked a little pot and drank a little beer, he was always pretty popular and had lots of friends.
Then came his demise.
He started out by taking something called "G". Maybe it's spelled "gee", I don't know, but all I know is his friends made it with household chemicals. It started there, and he eventually started using "ice", which I understand is crystal meth by any other name.
So listen, I'm not trying to get preachy, but this was a pretty confident young man. But we all started noticing that his behaviour was changing. He got fired from his first job for stealing a computer from his place of work. We still didn't know there was any drugs behind this. They agreed not to press charges if he returned the equipment. After a pretty long stint of unemployment (his reasons were depression, lack of confidence) and mooching off his mother, he somehow landed a great job at the Hartford as an insurance adjuster. He got flown out of state for intensive training, he loved the job and everyone was happy for him.
A few summers ago, he came to visit me and my fiance (we live 4 hours apart), and he was just acting damn peculiar. He kept saying the "N" word over and over when he was in my company, and my (now) wife happens to be black. Didn't even occur to him he was insulting me and MY family. Add in several other weird "ticks", like reading every sign we passed on the road out loud, and you can tell how strange this whole trip was becoming. Then he told me about his little "scam". He told me he would go to a house with roof damage (this was a couple months after a big hailstorm battered the DFW area), and he would overestimate the damage, have "his" roofing crew fix the roof at 50-60% cost, and split the leftover money with them. He seemed so cocksure and proud of himself. I told him he was breaking the law, and if he got caught, he would be fired (again) and thrown in jail.
This kid looked at me like I was an idiot. He just laughed at me, told me that everyone did, Unc, don't sweat it, it's under control. Like I'm some kind of moron.
So, you know what happened... he got caught and fired. Again.
A year goes by, doesn't even LOOK for a job, meanwhile he drops 30-40 pounds. Still mooching off mom.
Then he gets a small rental. How was he paying for it? He didn't have a job, at least one he would talk about. But when I would go over ot his house, he would show me his big Cerwin Vega speakers and his 1000 watt stereo. And his garage full of tools. But what we all noticed most was that he just wouldn't talk. We used to be REAL close, and it's like this dude became someone else. He had cameras mounted all over his house. His shades were drawn, and he would keep peeking through them like he was watching for someone. It was about this time that he pushed his pregnant sister down in a rage. That's when we found out that he was on meth. Not that we weren't already suspicious.
Then, on Thanksgiving a couple of years ago, he calls his mom from the police station... he had broken into an office building, and was caught stealing computer equipment. Then it turned out that every single thing in his house was stolen. Computers, tools, you name it, he had it. That started his year in jail, waiting for a spot to open up in a special rehab class, which IF he finished, and finished a 5 year probation, his record would be WIPED! I mean, this kid had a chance to come out of this without ANY record!
He did good for a while. His dad hired him in his private CPA business, he stayed clean, and stayed employed. His personality had returned, and we all felt like he had been gone for the last 10 years. It was so refreshing, and we were very proud of him.
Last year, his dad died and he started using again. Didn't look for a job, nothing. He missed several meetings with his PO, then failed a drug test, so he was supposed to go to jail for 30 days, all on the weekend.
Dude just didn't show up. Next week, he goes to jail for a long time. He's still deluding himself, he thinks he go to rehab and get out soon. He's just a damn junkie now. He lies, he forgets, and he's stolen his mother blind. He's had EVERY opportunity, but every time he went back to the meth, he just sabotaged himself.
I am devatsated. His mother is devastated. Our whole family is in shock. My hephew is dead, as far as I'm concerned. I love him, but I hate him. Every time I began to believe in him, he fucks up. He a stranger, I don't know this asshole anymore. He's weak, but he thinks he's in control. I have disowned him for life now. He has taken every fucking penny from my sister, who is now 61. Her house was paid off, but she had to mortgage the house to pay his legal bills. Now, she's broke at 61, and for what? Because he couldn't be halfway responsible, and kicked her in the teeth.
Now before you go, "oh, he's just an irresponsible punk", which is true, the key point here is the meth. When he was off of it, he was a great, hard working guy. When he gave into his demon, he became the prototypical junkie. Lie to you, steal you blind, and lied to himself. You want that life? Do meth.
No one's hating on you for taking meth. If you don't believe me, well, I don't know what to say. We're just trying to save your ass from this kind of fate. It's fucking insidious, man. The drug makes you think you are in control, but you're just not. It's got you before you know it, then all you can think of is the drug. You become someone else, someone that is willing to steal from your own family.
I pray for your soul, bro. Stick with pot and mushrooms, man, stick to nature. This shit is cooked up with nasty, harsh chemicals, and it's pure fucking evil. Quit while you can bro.
I can't save my nephew, maybe I can save someone else with his story. Be careful, brothers.