Wa alaikum salaam wa rahmatulahi wa barakatuh,

May Allah reward your concern for your child. Parents always want what’s best for their children and to find out one of them has gotten into something such as drugs can be devastating, not just for the child, but for the parents and extended family also. There are a few steps you can take to attempt to resolve the situation and make things easier, in sha Allah.

 

• If you feel that his drug taking is a result of the people that he is hanging around with, then try and remove him from them. This might be quite difficult, but if you can get him to come away with you, or his mother, or even any extended family to get a break from being around them and around the area where he knows where to get the drugs this may be a good start. This will give him space away from it all and away from the influence of his peers. It will also give him a chance to detox a bit and achieve a mentality without drugs where he can think straight. This would be a good opportunity to talk to him as he is in a better frame of mind, and let him know how he is damaging himself and the family with his actions. This way he will feel supported by you in stepping away and understand that you are doing it in his best interests. The added benefit of this approach is that it is almost away of getting him to detox without having to attend any kind of clinic or group.

 

• Find out why he takes the drugs. Often people turn to drugs as a means to manage things psychologically that they are unable to deal with otherwise. For example, if he is under a lot of pressure at home or school, then he may be turning to drugs as a means to escape this and thereof emanate his stress. If you are able to talk to him yourself you may get this information directly from him, or you may just have to take a step back and analyse the situation yourself for now until he is ready to talk. This is a conversation you can have without the need to even directly address the issues with the drug taking so he may be more willing to open up. This may be especially so if he feels that you have a genuine interest in how he is and what he is going through. This alone may give him the support that he is indirectly looking for through drugs. If he knows you are supporting him then he can get this from you and not the drugs.

 

• Talk to his friends parents. Perhaps they are not aware that their children are using them. If they are aware of it then they will likely do all they can to get them out of it too. If they refrain from drugs then your son is likely to follow suit and stop also.

 

• Introduce him to proper who will be good company for him. Perhaps if you friends have children the same age, or if there is anything going on in the local mosque that you encourage him to join would encourage him to be with good people who would not encourage him into drugs.

 

May Allah guide you and your son and make it easy for you and for him to end his drug taking habits.