When my wife and I returned from our weekend getaway to the beach, we could tell right away that our son Ed had thrown a party.
He did a great job in cleaning the place up, and nothing was broken, but I could still tell there had been a big party. I could tell because of the odor, a distinct blend of teenager sweat, stale beer, and pot smoke. I remember that smell from my teenage years. I wasn’t mad at Ed, because after all he’s just a teen boy trying to have fun, but I did have to talk to him about drinking beer and smoking cannabis. I had a private chat with Ed, and told him that I knew he had been smoking marijuana, but that I wasn’t angry about it. In a world filled with dangerous, addictive pills, something like smoking cannabis seems quaint and harmless. All teenagers go through a period of experimenting, and having beer or cannabis is a natural part of that. I went on to tell Ed that just because I sprayed some Febreze around did not mask the scent of cannabis, and that he had to be more careful. At no point did I tell Ed that I myself enjoyed cannabis on a daily basis. One day I will be honest with him about my cannabis use, but not just yet. He is a teenager, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he snuck into my cannabis supply to steal some. So for now it’s best that he does not know I keep cannabis in the house.