There is no debate about minor drugs leading to bigger drugs, but not everyone who smokes pot and parties with alcohol in high school turns into an addict. We need to keep things in perspective, because no matter how much a parent may feel these behaviors are ultra dangerous, most teenagers feel it is a normal part of their young lives. Contradicting something someone feels is true to their reality will only cause conflict. The best thing to do to prevent these behaviors is to seek out a professional and let them evaluate and advise you how to proceed. Pressure and lecturing never works, but there are methods that will be more effective. Ultimately, what we want to prevent is hard drug use. This is why the counsel of a professional is advised.
I recently heard a story about a family who put their teenager into a local SCV 30-day rehab for pot and alcohol. The rehab center took them for $13,000 and the day the kid was released he went straight out and got high. This facility should have rejected this kid and allowed only outpatient family treatment instead. Treatment centers can be greedy and typically offer only generic, ineffective programs by underpaid, undertrained staff members. While inside this “safe” house, the teenager was exposed to experienced drug users and learned there how to get high and cultivated a higher interest in narcotics and developed a hardcore opiate addiction soon after. My opinion is that rehab, recovery centers, treatment facilities only work when someone is ready to quit, and if not, only make things worse! Once a family spends all that money and when the user feels nothing valuable took place for them, they lose faith in any help that might actually be effective. A good program does not try to tell people who are not ready to quit that “drugs are bad, stop using them.” It helps them grow up, mature and become more confident and self-realized. Once that takes place, positive, non-destructive choices will follow automatically. Call and consult before there is a big problem and try hard to listen to your loved ones who might be having problems and carefully question and scrutinize everything your told.
Scott Spackey is a California Registered Addiction Specialist, Interventionist, Life Coach and Clinical Hypnotherapist. For more information, call 661-299-1966, or contact Scott@Life-Mind.com .