By Alan
I grew up in Maryland. No one in my Bahá’i family drank alcohol or used drugs, including my brother. I experienced a lot of peer pressure to drink alcohol and use drugs. It was offered to me a bunch of times at parties where that was all people were doing. I easily understood the reasons for the Bahá’i laws against drinking alcohol and using drugs, so I was not tempted to try them. And my natural stubbornness made it easy for me to resist. My friends did drink alcohol. I had to say no to them about drinking for years before they accepted my decision. One time, I was about to drink from a cup of orange juice at a friend’s place, and one of my friends knocked the cup out of my hands. I was very confused. He said they had spiked the orange juice. That was pretty great. They knew my beliefs and supported me even though my beliefs were different from theirs.
