Anecdotes from Avi

 

Prev: part nine                Next: part eleven

Introduction

During the last anecdote, we discussed the fact that some folks are more prone to addiction than others, this is our genetic makeup and there is little we can to change our genes.  However, we can influence our environmental makeup, we can deal with the causes of isolation, hopelessness and trauma.

Enabling

As a parent, you will need to walk a tight rope between protecting your child and not enabling your child.

Let’s exemplify this tight rope with a scenario, in general financing the purchase of the drug for your child would be considered enabling.  However, if you feel that your child is in danger unless your child obtains their drugs you may consider financing the purchase of drugs in return for some safety.  An example of safety is: your child needs to use the drug in your presence only and not obtain drugs otherwise.  (The use in your presence is so that you will be able to act in case of an overdose.)  In addition, your child may need to agree to work with you on a new set of friends that do not use drugs.

If you have a daughter and you are afraid that she will prostitute herself to obtain her drugs then you may consider this option.  If you have a son and you are afraid that your son will engage in criminal activities to obtain his drugs then this may be something that you may be willing to explore.

Purchasing drugs for your child is not a recommendation!!!  I brought it up to illustrate a point.  Creative thinking is most important at this point.  Please use your Directed Free Association, the Master Mind Alliance and professional addiction counseling to think about your actions.

A contrary story to purchasing drugs for your child, is a dad who tried and succeeded to have his daughter committed to prison so that his daughter will not have access to Heroin.  This was his first step in helping his daughter stop using Heroin.  I lost frequent connection with this dad, but I understand that he succeeded in getting his daughter off Heroin.

Intoxicating with your child

Under the guise of relationship building, your child may invite you to use an “acceptable” drug with her/him like Marijuana or to engage in excessive drinking of alcohol.  I, personally, believed that I would be better off if I did not participate in any drug use with my son, especially when I advocated against the use of drugs.  I felt that getting intoxicated together is not the best relationship builder.  Especially when I did not engage in intoxication with my son in the past.

Overdosing

If you suspect that your child is using drugs, you may care to carry Naloxone with you at all times.  Naloxone is an antidote to Opiates, it nullifies the effect of the opiates in our body.

Opiates, in our body, slow the functions of our body down, functions like cognitive ability, heart rate, breathing, digestive systems, etc.  A person ultimately dies from an opiate overdose because the person stops breathing.  This process of overdosing takes anywhere between half an hour and four hours depending on the level of opiates in the body.  During that time, during unresponsiveness and before the person stops breathing, is the time to administer Naloxone.

Administering Naloxone requires training, which is a few hours’ worth of training, usually takes place on a Saturday.  These training are usually free of charge and many times Naloxone is provided at the end of the training.  Please do not hesitate to travel a few hours to reach a training session.  They are well worth the effort.

Opiates are not the only drug out there and Naloxone is effective only on the opiates.  But if you suspect that your child is using drugs and you are not sure which drug your child is using or you suspect that opiates are used, then Naloxone will nullify the effects of the opiates and will not harm your child if opiates are not involved.

Closing note

Overdose from opiates is more likely if opiates are mixed with other drugs.  Educate your child about the risk of mixing opiates with other drugs.  If a person used a different drug on a particular day, then that person should not use opiates that day.  Let the other drug exit the body first.

In many ways, you are fighting to buy time.  For as long as your child is alive, you have a fighting chance of saving your child from the drug and from death.  Statistically, folks who use drugs will stop their use, on their own, with or without rehabilitation efforts, after approximately 10 years of use.  The trouble is that the impurities in the drugs purchased from illegal dealers, drug-users’ lifestyle and our authorities many times kill our children before our children had the option to quit using drugs on their own.  (See: Chasing the Scream by Johann Hari, https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chasing-the-scream-johann-hari/1119439492?ean=9781620408919)

 

Next Anecdote: we will wrap our discussion in the next anecdote

Prev: part nine                Next: part eleven

You are not invincible—Stew Birbrower

Together we march towards a destiny