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My 16 yo has been a real handful lately. Most recently he has been hanging around with the wrong crowd.
Some of his friends came over the other day and one left a backpack behind. I went downstairs to lock up and found the backpack. It was a thin backpack-one of those bags on a string. I felt around on the outside of it and felt a prescription bottle. So I opened up the bag and found a prescription for "sulfameth", two lighters, some cigarette rolling paper and a small end of a plastic bag. I opened up the pill bottle and the pills were cut up and pieces had been chopped off. Not cut in half like you would only take half, but cut up like chunks taken off.
I don't know if the kids were smoking the pills or inhaling them. I don't know if you can even do that with those.
So what do I do with this? Do I notify the parents? The child lives part of the time with mom, part time with dad and part time with grandma. I don't know who I would call. Do I contact the police?
And before anyone says I shouldn't have looked through this bag, I feel I have the right since it was left in my house. Also my son has told me that in the past this boy has done marajuana.
Wow. I guess I would start with the parents. If they are responsible, caring parents I'd let it go, but if I felt they were not, then I guess I'd go to the police.
I'd pull the plug on my son's contact with the kid, too.
Well if it's really sulfameth in the bottle, I'd be surprised. I just looked it up on a few websites and they all state that it's an antibacterial medicine used to prevent kidney stones in people who are prone to it (among other things). Kinda like internal bacitracin, and definitely not a "drug" that drug abusers would take. It doesn't get you high, but it can cause nausea and headaches as a side effect.
The problem is, whatever's in that bottle, is probably not sulfameth. What I'd do...IF this bottle's prescription does NOT have the kid's name on it:
Let the parents know that their kid left their open pack in the yard and it spilled while you were picking it up. And you put everything back in, but you wanted to let them know that one of the things was a prescription bottle that isn't prescribed to him. Let them know they can pick up the pack, or you'll bring it to them.
If it IS prescribed to him, you could just play the nosey parent and ask if everything's okay, if their son is sick, tell them the same thing about picking up the opened pack and the contents spilling out and you putting everything back in and noticing the medicine bottle, and you were just concerned and hope their son is feeling better soon.
Let the parents have that opportunity to decide what, if anything, to do about it, and most importantly what, if anything, to tell you about it.
Well if it's really sulfameth in the bottle, I'd be surprised. I just looked it up on a few websites and they all state that it's an antibacterial medicine used to prevent kidney stones in people who are prone to it (among other things). Kinda like internal bacitracin, and definitely not a "drug" that drug abusers would take. It doesn't get you high, but it can cause nausea and headaches as a side effect.
The problem is, whatever's in that bottle, is probably not sulfameth. What I'd do...IF this bottle's prescription does NOT have the kid's name on it:
Let the parents know that their kid left their open pack in the yard and it spilled while you were picking it up. And you put everything back in, but you wanted to let them know that one of the things was a prescription bottle that isn't prescribed to him. Let them know they can pick up the pack, or you'll bring it to them.
If it IS prescribed to him, you could just play the nosey parent and ask if everything's okay, if their son is sick, tell them the same thing about picking up the opened pack and the contents spilling out and you putting everything back in and noticing the medicine bottle, and you were just concerned and hope their son is feeling better soon.
Let the parents have that opportunity to decide what, if anything, to do about it, and most importantly what, if anything, to tell you about it.
The prescription is in the boy's name. I looked at the pill description on the side of the bottle and it matches the pills inside.
Okay, if it is in the kid's backpack, the parents can look in it just as easily as you did. So calling them and telling them what you discovered in their kid's backpack will only make you look bad.
If the teen is doing something illegal, then he sure wasn't hiding it - so it wouldn't be that difficult for any of his various guardians to check it out. If they haven't bothered, then why would they be anything other than angry at you for bringing it up?
Now, that is what I am thinking - others may disagree.
The bottom line is - if you don't feel good about who your son is hanging out with, then you need to enforce rules that will at least limit their interaction (not much one can do about school time together).
There are websites that will give you the description of any legal drug by color and shape and markings, codes if you will ub/144 or what ever is marked on tablet. Whatever is in the bottle may well be something else. If it was cut up and chopped up it is very unlikely not prescribed to him. I would call the police.
People, kids, whatever will take anything that's available. Doesn't matter if it gets you high. There are people who will take it for whatever side effects it gives you. The fact that pieces were cut off does not sound good. Plus the rolling papers..... And the fact that your son has told you this guy has done pot...
If it were my son, I'd come down on him like a ton of bricks with the "We do not do drugs and we do not hang out with druggies in this family. You are better than that and I expect more from you. I do not like this kid and believe me he isn't a friend" lecture. My son's butt would be on the couch for 20 minutes while he sat and listened to me. And his ears would be ringing when I was finished.
Then I'd sit and listen to him. (After I told him I'm not buying any snow jobs so out with the truth buster.) Listen to what he tells you. You know your son.
Sixteen year olds ARE a handful, but part of the job of being a parent is making sure they don't become a 30 year old handful who has been in rehab three times.
Since the "friend" with the pill bottle is bouncing between homes I doubt his parents/grandmother are going to be any help. But I'd absolutely contact them anyway. You'll probably get the "but it's perscription medication" story from them.
Don't be afraid to be the parent. You might also want to let "Mr. Pill Bottle" know that you're on to him. Don't let HIM snow you either. And make sure he's persona non grata in your house.
Good luck. Millions of parents have been in your shoes. Stay strong.
p.s. Make sure your son knows that you LOVE HIM more than this friend ever will.
Well, he's definitely not rolling cigarettes with those papers, but at worst, he's probably a pothead. As for the sulfameth chunks, is it possible that he bites his pill in half (if half is the prescribed dose)? I've done that with pills in the past when I've been prescribed a half dose. If the pill description and the pills inside match, then it's likely a legitimate prescription.
Trust your gut. None of us knows the situation as well as you do.
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