Hello Seeker, great you have been able to be a support to your young person, now that they have  come out of jail. Our son had contact with the justice system as an 18 year old and fortunately he did not go into custody. He is now in a residential program for his addiction to Cannabis. Things got pretty bad and through this we decided to get him into a program. It took some time for us  to arrive at this decision, we thought he could self manage, however he started to experience psychosis.. If you intend to continue to be there for your young person, you need to find out about all the support services out there. Doing it alone is isolating and often overwhelming. You need to look after yourself, or you can get lost in their issues. Hope things start to get better. ... View more

Hello Maggiecoco, sorry to hear your recent happenings with your son. My son is 20 and he started smoking around 16 years of age. We encouraged him to go into rehab after quite a long time of tolerating his addiction- and he agreed when he got suspended from his apprenticeship.  There has been a long period when he did not want to have anything to do with what was rational or for his own good.  He has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and has struggled with impulse control issues also for ages, and is easily led- unfortunately!  Sometimes it is a bit about letting go as a parent, but I hear you are worried. No quick solutions I'm afraid.  Getting some support for you and your partner is real important. ... View more

Hi Taylor Thanks for your reply.  We have attended some support sessions through the rehab provider and had the option to attend further fee for session support.  Our son is returning to a rehab facility for another 28 days.  We also have received some good advice from our psychiatrist which has helped as well. Could you help in clarifying how the posting of info is viewed by members of Reach Out.  Did my previous post go into a public space or just to the Addicted to weed poster? Thanks again   ... View more

Hello Melinee I am new to Reach Out, my name is Keddie and I too have a son who is working on recovering from a cannabis addiction. My son is now 20 and has been smoking for 3-4 years.  He was admitted into a 28 day residential rehab before Christmas, and unfortunately he has recently relapsed after a month being back at home.  Deciding to take him to rehab was one of the best decisions we made.  We have struggled for years and wanted to re-claim some of our life back, having spent so much time focusing on our addict.  Enrolling our young person into rehab didn't come up in a big way with our GP.  In the community quite a lot of our friends and work colleagues didn't see cannabis as a illicit drug, regarding it more of a party drug and people can get off it when they like. I totally get that you often feel like your are floundering doing the best you can.  Setting boundaries for us was very important  and sticking to it. Our son wasn't always good at hiding things, and he did have periods of high use, which was awful.  Without going into all the detail it resulted in him having contact with the justice system, relationship breakdowns and him mixing with a bad crowd.  For some cannabis users, it can cause psychosis and unfortunately that is was what we experienced.  Having an intensive program is great, seeing an addiction psychiatrist is so helpful.  I encourage you to get a referral from your GP and take some steps today to start getting your life back and lightening your load. It can get better with the right help. ... View more