He Grew Up Mormon. His First High Came With a Side of Guilt.

In his house, coffee was against the rules. Alcohol, pre-marital anything, even the mildest pick-me-up — all of it was off the table. And cannabis? He'd been raised to believe it was a serious line, the kind of thing that got people in trouble with the law, with their families, and possibly with God.

That's the household one reader grew up in. He was raised Mormon, and he doesn't sugarcoat how strict it was: no sex before marriage, no drinking, no coffee, no anything, as he put it. When a buddy's cart came around sophomore year of high school, he went for it anyway. He'd never gotten high before and had no idea what to expect — he was just, in his words, adventurous.

The high itself was surreal. The guilt came with it. He felt like he was going against everything he'd been brought up to do, and the feeling didn't fully shake off. Looking back, he figures the whole thing was probably for the best, and he says he was careful. His parents, to this day, have never found out about any of it.

He stopped practicing the faith at 18, the moment he could make his own choices. He just didn't believe in it anymore. His parents are disappointed but haven't pushed hard — in his telling, the religion is heavy on forgiveness and not judging people. He got out of the system mostly intact, with one quirk: his first coffee, at a Starbucks with friends, was so unpleasant he still doesn't drink it.

Guilt is the first high for a lot of people

The thing that stands out in this story isn't the cart — it's the guilt. For anyone raised in a strict religious household, the first high is never just a high. It's a test, a transgression, and a secret all at once. And anxiety makes cannabis highs stronger and less pleasant: a racing heart, a spiraling mind, and a voice telling you you're doing something wrong. The kid who's relaxed and safe tends to have a better first time than the kid who's terrified of getting caught.

Secrecy also raises the stakes. Hiding a habit means rushing, stashing paraphernalia, and panicking about smell and timing — all things that make a bad experience more likely. This reader got lucky: careful habits, and parents who apparently didn't snoop. Plenty of people in the same situation get found out, and it goes worse.

It's also worth saying: leaving a faith and smoking weed are two separate decisions that sometimes travel together. Some people leave their church and never touch cannabis. Others stay in their faith and smoke anyway — cannabis and religion aren't inherently in conflict, even if a particular tradition says otherwise. The most human part of this story is the parents: disappointed, but not judgmental.

The honest check

This is an 18-year-old's story told from his side of the family dynamic, and we can't verify that his parents never knew — families have a way of knowing more than they say. And to be direct: hiding substance use from parents isn't something we'd frame as a goal, and none of this is a recommendation for minors to use cannabis. What's worth taking from the story is the pattern — strict rules plus a curious teenager rarely ends with the teenager staying inside the lines.

What you can do with this

• Know the stakes before you hide a habit: the law in your state, your housing situation, and what getting caught would actually cost you.
• Your first high will be stronger and scarier if you're already anxious. Take it in a safe place, with people you trust, on a day you have nothing to hide.
• If you're under a strict roof, the responsible move is to wait until you're legally an adult and out from under it — exactly what this reader did.
• Questioning your faith and questioning cannabis are different questions. Don't let one decision make the other one for you.
• Parents find out more often than kids think. The honest conversations are usually less painful than the discovery.

This article is for educational purposes only. Cannabis laws vary by state, and underage use of cannabis is illegal in most states.