Chapter 29: The Plant

Carson was only in town every year for four months or so. When he went back up North, we had to rely on getting weed from dispensaries.

One year right before Carson headed back North, he asked me to come over to his house. Since his house was near the beach, I rode my bike and planned to go for a beach cruise afterwards.

When I got to Carson’s house, he tells me he is leaving to go back North in a few hours. He has been growing this special weed plant in his back patio. It's a new cross breed he made himself up North. A mixture of Snowcap and Sour diesel. He called it Snow Diesel. Now that he was leaving, he knew his family would not take care of it and he did not want it to die.

Carson offered me the weed plant. I could never grow weed at my house. I must admit though being around Jason and Carson made me wish I had a few plants of my own.

I knew John had a big backyard and his mother never went back there so I called him up and talked him into taking the plant. John’s younger brother Matt also had a medical marijuana certificate so in the eyes of the law he could grow at least six plants. At the time Matt was away at college though.

I had to take the plant right then and there. So, I put the plant in a garbage bag carefully and then rode my bike two miles to John’s house.

It was a mission to say the least. Technically I did have a medical card so legally I could own a weed plant. Could I legally ride around in public on a bike carrying a weed plant in a garbage bag? Probably not.

I made it there safely with no trouble. It was hard to ride a bike one handed up hills though.

John handled the daily care of the plant, but I tried to come over as often as I could to help out. As I started dating Sara I had less and less time to spend with my friends.

When I cut back on drinking after quitting taking my medication years ago, John continued to drink the same amount. In the time that had passed he had only gotten worse. He lost his baseball scholarship. The minor league teams stopped calling him. His life had fallen apart, and he just fell backwards into an endless bottle. The two of us drifted apart in this way because I was no longer drinking the same alongside him.

The plant grew tall. We had lots of good advice from Jason. We took regular photos and emailed them to him.

Four months in John’s brother came home from college and decided the plant was his. He cut the plant down without telling anyone and used it to make edibles. It had barely flowered.

When I asked John what had happened, he defended his brother.

"These edibles are bomb! Matty will give you a good deal if you buy some!" he told me.

John and I stopped being friends after that.

Chapter 30: Tangerine