Quote Originally Posted by Tim Morton View Post
You don't think that might be a tad heavy handed?
It is all in how you approach it.

But first, let me say that, where there is smoke, there is fire. I cannot help unless I have all the facts. I cannot count on the drug user to provide me with all the necessary details. Therefor the drug test is pretty much required.

If I had to order drug tests, I'd simply explain it thusly: "I don't like it any more than you do. But drugs are a powerful motivator and users will lie, cheat, and steal. I don't want to put you in the position where you feel you have to do any of those things, so we're going to do the smart thing and get some testing going."

Thankfully, I have never been put in this situation, but I know quite a few others that have.

Without getting too political I feel all drugs are gateway drugs.

I watched as my very first best friend (friends from the time we were two or three years old) became an alcoholic, then started using marijuana, then started using all sorts of prescription pills, then started using all sorts of other drugs.

You see, his parents thought it was cute to have him mix their martinis starting at about ten. By twelve he was a secret alcoholic. By fourteen he was smoking pot, and it just got progressively worse.

He died from an overdose three years ago. He had been clean for several years, but pain killers after a motorcycle accident got him going again.

His parents were unable to cope. He manipulated them like a virtuoso playing a violin.

I've noticed that most of the kids I've known that have become heavily involved in drugs had/have parents that were completely ineffectual. Probably the single biggest failure I've seen is that the parents attempt to reason with the children. IMHO, there is really very little reasoning with someone addicted to drugs.