My 17 Yr Old Son Smokes Weed Everyday & Comes Home Higher Than a Kite. Basicially He Is On Another Planet

by Shannon
(Ontario)

My son is 17 & for awhile had turned over a new leaf but now he is right back into smoking weed & he seems very addicted to it. We just had a fight about 5 minutes ago. I told him to leave to get out of my house but am worried about him, but I have 4 other kids that I have to worry about & I don't need this crap around the younger 3.

I don't smoke weed & I don't expect my kids too either. He has ADHD so I know some of his constant behaviour is due to that. I don't know what to do anymore, can I force him into rehab? Do they do rehab for weed? I'm beside myself with this.

Alcoholism-and-Drug-Addiction-Help.com Answer

Plenty people get addicted to weed and even though it isn't perceived as dangerous as some of the other drugs, for people that smoke it all day every day, it can have damaging consequences.

Your son is still a minor and under your guardianship, so you could in theory force him to go to rehab. Whether using that approach however is the way to go, is debatable. Because if your son simply resumes his old habits after leaving, nothing will have been achieved.

Ultimately he needs to want to change for himself, because that's the only way lasting change will come about. So you need to start holding him accountable for his actions, and putting in place consequences if he gets out of control.

That however is difficult to do with a 17 year old. If you're overly strict, he rebels further. If you don't do say/anything nothing changes either. So on one level you need to get through to your son and try and communicate on a level you guys connect, so that he'll more likely be receptive to what you say.

Try get inside his head and find out what's going on with him. So it's about finding a balance where you're firm and hold him accountable so that he begins to understand about personal responsibility - while on the other seeing him as an adult who is trying to find his way in the world.

Shouting and screaming doesn't usually help. Best to try and talk to him in a calm, controlled manner because your message will hold far more power. It's a tough one, because 17 year olds are hard to deal with at the best of times, and smoking weed is unfortunately not all that uncommon at that age.

Put boundaries in place and make sure your son is held accountable if he crosses them, so that he understands that poor choices create undesirable consequences. The sooner he learns that and begins to understand the concept of personal responsibility, the sooner he'll likely change.

Best of Luck

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