[justcoophere]

Here is what you do:
Stop smoking dope
Obey your parents
Stop going to festivals
Pay attention in school
Graduate high school
Get into some therapy since you have been dealt a pile of shit larger than most young men can handle and it appears alot of this may have stemmed from that.[/quote]

I have to agree with this guy. First and foremost do what you have to do to graduate high school. College can wait or maybe you aren't into that, thats cool.But get through the year successfully. Its worth it. Your best days in life are ahead of you in less than a year.
This is coming from someone who was incredibly fucked up as an adolescent and had no positive parental encouragement. I've been busted by my folks a number of times, usually around the time the DEAD were in town too. Therapy may not be a bad idea either, it could help you sort all your issues out to talk to someone. Just some food for thought.
Hpe it all works out.

[jackr]

It's kinda funny reading all the responses it seems that pretty much none of you followed your own advice growin up.

1) I followed my own advice growing up. My advice told me to party, sell drugs and tour with the dead. The only ones telling me not to were my parents. I certainly wasnt going to listen to them. They freaked out at me for things as small as trading dead tapes. I had no access to people who would have steared me down a different path that woundn't have almost killed me.

People usually have to go through their own changes and figure out life their own way.

For the most part that is true, but along the way there will be influences. Choosing the right ones is challenging. However it is made easier when people with no altirier motives who have been through the same things can guide you a bit.

You can't really tell a kid to just stop smokin weed etc.

Of course we can, especially when we know that using is causing termoil in his life as it did in ours.

hell what if jerry took your advice.. yea he might be alive today workin as an insurance agent but lol no grateful dead.

If Jerry had taken our advice he may be alive. And he probably would have been making some kick ass music as many straight musicians do. There still would have been another band to go see and trip for those who choose to.

[strumminsix]

It's kinda funny reading all the responses it seems that pretty much none of you followed your own advice growin up. People usually have to go through their own changes and figure out life their own way.

Umm, ya I did. I partied so hard in college but pulled out with decent grades, in 4 years, and stopped all partying when it was getting out of control. It's being diciplined and that is the best lesson that can be learned from all this, IMO.

You can't really tell a kid to just stop smokin weed etc..

Why not? It's obviously hurting him now.

ok nancy reagan

Is that supposed to be some kind of insult? I find that statement to be horribly ignorant. If you find it so wrong to insult somebody who advocates a young man to stop smoking dope when it is hurting him then I don't know what to say.

You condemn a person for advocating not smoking dope when it hurts their life. How pathetic.

[dre]

Like nancy reagan your "just say no" campaign will be an utter failure. And imo it's foolish to think anything more will come of it.

If you think I'm ignorant for pointing that out then all I have to say to you is.. lol

you really need to take a chill pill maybe smoke some weed..

[dre]

It's kinda funny reading all the responses it seems that pretty much none of you followed your own advice growin up.

1) I followed my own advice growing up. My advice told me to party, sell drugs and tour with the dead. The only ones telling me not to were my parents. I certainly wasnt going to listen to them. They freaked out at me for things as small as trading dead tapes. I had no access to people who would have steared me down a different path that woundn't have almost killed me.

People usually have to go through their own changes and figure out life their own way.

For the most part that is true, but along the way there will be influences. Choosing the right ones is challenging. However it is made easier when people with no altirier motives who have been through the same things can guide you a bit.

You can't really tell a kid to just stop smokin weed etc.

Of course we can, especially when we know that using is causing termoil in his life as it did in ours.

hell what if jerry took your advice.. yea he might be alive today workin as an insurance agent but lol no grateful dead.

If Jerry had taken our advice he may be alive. And he probably would have been making some kick ass music as many straight musicians do. There still would have been another band to go see and trip for those who choose to.

I was talking about the advice people were soapboxing on the boards.

The extremes aren't necessarily the norm and won't apply to every kid in a little bit of trouble.. he obviously isn't doing too bad if he's still got above a 3.0 gpa. I really don't think weed is ruining his life lol..

tbh I can't think of any great "straight" musicians and jerry himself said he would have never been the person he was without getting turned on to teh mary jane.

in the words of the great Bill Hicks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J10w3FuCwfQ

[Oscillation]

Nobody would be who they are without any of their past experiences, not just drugs.

I personally was bored fucking stiff in highschool, the classes from junior high had become repetitive to the degree of nauseation. My freshman biology teacher in highschool was teaching creationism. So when I did go out to smoke weed, which was often, and usually started upon arrival to the school parking lot, I really didnt want to go back to school afterwards. And besides me and a great group of friends were having a blast taking LSD and running around in the woods for a few years. I would never want to replace those years with any others, they were truly magic times.

[jackr]

tbh I can't think of any great "straight" musicians and jerry himself said he would have never been the person he was without getting turned on to teh mary jane.

The list of great straight musicians is so long that I am not even going start to list them. Many great muxicians also cleaned up thier act after they realize drugs were killing them and remained great musicians.

If you dont know any of these fine players, may I suggest you try to expand your horizons.

I am not saying i am against drugs, in fact I feel that most should be legal and regulated, (that is another topic altogether that may be an interesting discussion) but if they are affecting someone's life in even the least negative way why take them unless you "cant stop"?

[strumminsix]

Like nancy reagan your "just say no" campaign will be an utter failure. And imo it's foolish to think anything more will come of it.

If you think I'm ignorant for pointing that out then all I have to say to you is.. lol

you really need to take a chill pill maybe smoke some weed..

Firstly, no matter how high I was, I'd still think you were ignorant. Me smoking pot is not the solution to your ignorance.

Your claimed "point" wasn't made in your first post. Your insult was a mere, "ok nancy reagan". A chill pill won't make your posts merge into a single post with your point made.

What's wrong with just say no? Firstly, how old are you? Do you remember the over indulgences of the 80s? Do you have any clue how much coke was going around? As far as I can tell the popularity of coke has taken a huge downfall since the 80s. Was the campaign the reason?! Can't say. Was it a good start with something different, yes. Most programs and compaigns were written in a pamphlet or book this was simple and to the point to meet the attention span of the intended audience. Brilliant I say!

I don't advocate against drugs to the masses but I 100% advocate against drugs/alcohol to anyone whose life is in a state of dissarray or if they are deeply troubled or struggling with mental challenges.

BTW, I'm not on any soapbox here. In the future you can keep your sly points directed at me in a reply to me.

A 3.0 average may be on a 5.0 scale or may be by taking classes at levels beneath him or maybe a person is cheating. A GPA almost means nothing and only a sucker is impressed with it based on the number alone.

Weed is not the source of his problems but it could ruin his life. But you may not think that a possible expulsion from school & possible criminal record would ruin his life til he straightened it out?!

[jackr]

Strum,
I am thinking that argueing with dre is not worthwhile. He obviously doesnt care about Gumbo and that is what this thread was really about. dre seems to be concerned only with dre and if he really feels that his advice (that is contrary to everyone else) is really helpful to Gumbo then his thinking is very much clouded.

That being said I am sure Gumbo is clear enough to not heed dre's words.

Helping Gumbo get through a rough time that many of us have gone through is the point to this thread. I want to keep my focus there, and I am done with dre's silly comments.

[gumbo]

A 3.0 average may be on a 5.0 scale or may be by taking classes at levels beneath him or maybe a person is cheating. A GPA almost means nothing and only a sucker is impressed with it based on the number alone.

Not cool, I'm sort of offended by this. We can kill this thread, it is only creating more turmoil between me and my peers. Thanks for everything...

[dre]

Like nancy reagan your "just say no" campaign will be an utter failure. And imo it's foolish to think anything more will come of it.

If you think I'm ignorant for pointing that out then all I have to say to you is.. lol

you really need to take a chill pill maybe smoke some weed..

Firstly, no matter how high I was, I'd still think you were ignorant. Me smoking pot is not the solution to your ignorance.

Your claimed "point" wasn't made in your first post. Your insult was a mere, "ok nancy reagan". A chill pill won't make your posts merge into a single post with your point made.

What's wrong with just say no? Firstly, how old are you? Do you remember the over indulgences of the 80s? Do you have any clue how much coke was going around? As far as I can tell the popularity of coke has taken a huge downfall since the 80s. Was the campaign the reason?! Can't say. Was it a good start with something different, yes. Most programs and compaigns were written in a pamphlet or book this was simple and to the point to meet the attention span of the intended audience. Brilliant I say!

I don't advocate against drugs to the masses but I 100% advocate against drugs/alcohol to anyone whose life is in a state of dissarray or if they are deeply troubled or struggling with mental challenges.

BTW, I'm not on any soapbox here. In the future you can keep your sly points directed at me in a reply to me.

A 3.0 average may be on a 5.0 scale or may be by taking classes at levels beneath him or maybe a person is cheating. A GPA almost means nothing and only a sucker is impressed with it based on the number alone.

Weed is not the source of his problems but it could ruin his life. But you may not think that a possible expulsion from school & possible criminal record would ruin his life til he straightened it out?!

seems like it's not gumbo who needs the therapy... you got probs bud.

[dre]

Strum,
I am thinking that argueing with dre is not worthwhile. He obviously doesnt care about Gumbo and that is what this thread was really about. dre seems to be concerned only with dre and if he really feels that his advice (that is contrary to everyone else) is really helpful to Gumbo then his thinking is very much clouded.

That being said I am sure Gumbo is clear enough to not heed dre's words.

Helping Gumbo get through a rough time that many of us have gone through is the point to this thread. I want to keep my focus there, and I am done with dre's silly comments.

on the contrary jackr I do care but I'm in the boat with the people giving intelligent and worthwhile advice like hmm "moderation is the key" and "be more careful what you bring to school"..
not "JUST SAY NO TO DRUGS - OBEY YOUR PARENTS - GET THERAPY"
honestly saying that kind of stuff is not helpful or realistic. I'm a bit apalled by the way some people were talking down to him and becoming preachy. Doesn't seem like the deadhead spirit to me at all. The lack of respect in this thread is ugly so I spoke against it..my comments are perfectly valid and I have every right to disagree with you..strum and whoever else.

[Django]

The author asked to kill this thread...

[dre]

A 3.0 average may be on a 5.0 scale or may be by taking classes at levels beneath him or maybe a person is cheating. A GPA almost means nothing and only a sucker is impressed with it based on the number alone.

Not cool, I'm sort of offended by this. We can kill this thread, it is only creating more turmoil between me and my peers. Thanks for everything...

I don't think strum realizes how condecending he is towards people.. by the way he is attacking me you can see that his anger is not just directed to you at least. Anyways I know you will be fine, keep your head up bud.

[strumminsix]

A 3.0 average may be on a 5.0 scale or may be by taking classes at levels beneath him or maybe a person is cheating. A GPA almost means nothing and only a sucker is impressed with it based on the number alone.

Not cool, I'm sort of offended by this. We can kill this thread, it is only creating more turmoil between me and my peers. Thanks for everything...

Sorry, Gumbo, that was not said to insult nor insinuate anything against you! It was in response to Dre saying that with a 3.0 you are doing okay.

And, my high school used a 5 point scale which resulted in confusion with college applications which is what I speak of when I say the number alone means nothing without qualifiers - ie 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.