Should you ever tell other parents when you learn their kids are into hard drugs?
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Anonymous
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My 18 year old daughter talks to me a lot - probably more than a lot of other teens do - and I am so happy about that. Our relationship is far from perfect, but I think it says a lot that she talks to me. Although that part makes me happy, I feel so burdened because I know so much about what her friends do and their parents apparently have no idea. Just wondering if anyone else deals with this and what to do about it.
So for one friend who is suicidal, she told the mom so I didn't have to say anything myself. Some of her other friends are experimenting with hardcore drugs. She said she won't do anything unless they start to OD or start dealing. But should I tell anyone what I know? She doesn't think they are at the point of addiction, but just messing around with some scary stuff. I feel really burdened by this, and feel like I would want to know if it were my kid - but I only know the other parents superficially and feel like I would be betraying my daughter for confiding in me. I also don't know if it would do any good anyway. Any advice? |
Anonymous
| Absolutely! You should tell the parents. One hit is enough to start an addiction. Do you really want them to lose their child or at the very least be out $30,000 in rehab bills? |
Anonymous
| What is more important? Not betraying your child or saving a life? It's as simple as that. |
Anonymous
| If you want to remain your daughters confidant I would tread lightly. The kids are 18. Presumably they'll be in college soon. This is not your business. |
Anonymous
| Given your daughter's age, you should speak to her about what it means to be a responsible adult. That sometimes you need to make hard choices that have painful consequences in order to help others in life. This is one of those times. In the long run, she will be very grateful to you for pushing her and proud of herself for acting. |
Anonymous
| I would say nothing. |
Anonymous
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Yes. Absolutely. Hard drugs can lead easily to an accidental overdose. Better that you tell the parent now, then have to comfort them later because of the loss of their child.
As I parent, I would absolutely want to know. |
Anonymous
| If they are doing heroin, they are addicted or close. That stuff is bad news. And there are drugs now (Narcan) that can immediately save their lives from overdose. Some families have them on hand for potential overdosing. If this is one that's being used, I'd discuss with her how addictive and deadly it is, and maybe she will tell the parents herself since she's done it before. She could be saving a life. |
Anonymous
| Yes. I really hate this myob attitude. It takes a village. |
Anonymous
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I would encourage your daughter to act responsibly, but i would not tell the parents over her objections. That would destroy your relationship with your daughter.
I have known many people that experimented with hard drugs - coke at least - and emerged none the worse for it. Of course, some people emerged screwed up, but generally that is a very long process. It is not up to you to solve all the problems of the world. |
Anonymous
It is not that simple. |
Anonymous
| There must be other ways than just confronting parents. |
Anonymous
See this is what we were talking about in that thread about DC moms talking about money all the time. What a weird fucking place to go with this. |
Anonymous
| Please tell me if my child is doing hard drugs. Please. |
Anonymous
| I would approach the parents and tell them that you are helping them to save their child's life but you don't want to risk the relationship with your own child. I would tell them to keep your daughters identity confidential, it's not an important factor anyway. |