Alcohol (at around age 12), then cigarettes, as my dad used those, and in the 80s it still “made you a man” if you smoked and drank, although girls could do this too because of the influence from the Germans (and nuns!). Then benzos (these too “borrowed” from Dad’s stash (as he had at least 240 on his script every week in 1988) followed by amfetamine (a friend from high school was prescribed these for a potentially life threatening condition, so he also had a big oversupply) – those were proper Dexys as in the name of the British pop group Dexys Midnite Runners.
Not all at exactly the same time (or I never would have survived the 80s and as it is that is not a time I would want to repeat); but with the controlled/diverted pharms not too far apart either in 1988, just before I was 16, I didn’t experience cannabis until late 1988 when I started 6th form. (note to parents: this is what pushing your kids too far for exams can do to them. at least if you chill out a bit they might even wait until after University before starting with the harder stuff…)
