Marijuana: A Memoir, Part 3
One thing I never got over was the day I stood alone at my grandfather’s bedside, staring at him as he slept. It was just the two of us. The room was cold, and my best friend was dying, although at the time I had little understanding of what was actually happening. I simply wanted to be near my grandfather. He had always been a father figure in my life. His biological children had flown…
Marijuana: A Memoir, Part 2
At the time, Burbank was peaceful, quiet, and enjoyable. But on March 1, 1994, my grandfather died, and the direction of my life took a wild turn. My mother, who lived in Sylmar with my father, decided that I would attend Saint Didacus, a private school in Sylmar, from sixth through eighth grade. Looking back, John Muir Middle School was literally around the corner from my grandmother and grandfather’s home. Attending school there might have…
Marijuana: A Memoir, Part 1
Marijuana was a gateway drug in my life. I know that from personal experience. Without digging too far into circumstances I never questioned and never cared to examine until now, I was taken to Burbank, California, to live with my biological grandmother, Connie, and her husband, John D. Clement. John was my step-grandfather, a British American, a Purple Heart recipient, a World War II veteran, and a UCLA graduate. He was born on June 25,…