Avoiding Oversharing

Yeah you know by RecklessEndangerment.

Dear Sundiver,

I hope that you can help me with a reoccuring and awkward social problem I've been finding myself in recently. As you know, every avid pot enthusiast has his cherished story about carrying in public, nearly getting caught by the police or other authority figure, and narrowly escaping through wit or good fortune. My friend (let's call him Tom) was busted for possession when he was young and spent a few years in Chino. The problem arises when hanging with people unaware of Tom's history. Inevitably, the round of "nearly got busted, but..." stories begin. It is terribly awkward knowing that sooner or later Tom will be forced to tell his story with its less than happy ending. This often leads to sour mood changes, abrupt ends to evenings, and less invitations to hang. I want to help the guy, but I'm stymied. Do you have any advice for me, or for my friend?

Bummed in Baltimore


BB, as with many awkward social situations, the best thing to do is to change the subject as unobtrusively as possible. One surefire method of changing the conversation when dealing with potheads is to bring up the topic of food and everyone will instantly get the munchies.

Tipping with Drugs

Contrejour, originally uploaded by Loutseu.

Dear Sundiver,

I order pizza from an this great little pizza joint that is obviously run by and for stoners. I offered a delivery driver a bong hit the other day instead of a cash tip and he enthusiastically took me up on it. We didn't offer him a cash tip, though, and later I felt a bit bad about that...but that just might be paranoia talking. Does etiquette require me to offer cash and a hit? One or the other? Should I offer all delivery drivers from this same shop this same option (assuming they seem cool and I'm holding)? Is this a really foolish policy on my part?


Answer:
While tipping delivery drivers with bong hits may seem like a generous gesture, it's probably better to stick to cash tips as you don't want to encourage people to drive while really high. Remember, it's all good fun until someone gets run over...

Drug Tipping

BLOW by ontheup.

Dear Mr. Sundiver:

I've tipped sources before (drug dealer is such a perjorative term) and the first two of them thanked me and took my money. But the third guy seemed a bit offended and turned me down. I've been wary of offering tips ever since then. I often tip for good service at places with tip jars. Is it inappropriate to offer a tip after a successful transaction?

Generous to a Fault

Generous, there's nothing wrong with tipping dealers, it's actually good karma. But if a certain dealer doesn't want the tip, don't offer one a second time.