Vice Squad
Sunday, February 06, 2005
 
A Parent's View of His Son's Addiction
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 5:44 PM

A sad and moving story appears in today’s New York Times Magazine: “My Addicted Son,” by David Sheff. It’s about, well, Sheff’s son, Nick, a recovering methamphetamine addict. Nick tried meth and, for him, its appeal was irresistible. The result? Addiction, arrest, dropping out of college, emergency room visits, failed rehab attempts, and disappearances. And for his parents, helplessness and self-deception, the nurturing of unrealistic hope in the face of a terrible reality,
and a constant lowering of the bar:
Through Nick's drug addiction, I learned that parents can bear almost anything. Every time we reach a point where we feel as if we can't bear any more, we do. Things had descended in a way that I never could have imagined, and I shocked myself with my ability to rationalize and tolerate things that were once unthinkable. He's just experimenting. Going through a stage. It's only marijuana. He gets high only on weekends. At least he's not using heroin. He would never resort to needles. At least he's alive.
It’s a superb, disturbing article.

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