Family braces for a high holiday
Dear Amy: As my home state prepares to legalize recreational marijuana, I feel as if a lot of us are unsure of what to expect in certain social or familial situations.
As a middle-aged adult who saw both harmless pot smoking in college alongside plenty of truly frightening problems with marijuana and other substances, I am not a big proponent of using drugs for recreation.
In our family, we have an out-of-state close relative who is a daily user of marijuana, and from what we see on social media posts, he appears to be using from the moment he wakes up, to right before falling asleep -- seven days a week.
In his mid-20s, he is unemployed, lives at home, and relies on his parents to purchase his drugs (legal in his home state.)
When he visits relatives in states where recreational use is not legal, he insists on bringing his drugs and being allowed to smoke and consume them in our homes, or he threatens violence.
His parents do nothing to stop this behavior and appear to be detached from the issue, while clearly enabling his use of drugs.
We don't want to tell his family they are not welcome on major holidays, nor do we want to further exclude an adult child who appears to have mental health issues on top of problems with drugs. Nor do we want our young children (or our homes or ourselves) exposed to constant drug use during a multiple-day visit.
What is a good (and healthy) way to approach this and other holidays where this is always an issue?
-- Worried Relative
Dear Worried: Many people don't allow smoking of any kind inside their house, so that is one boundary you can easily establish.
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