YOU'RE SELLING PIPES TO KIDS!

By Name withheld

Sir,

Today I have faced something that, I believe, most parents pray they never
have to. I found a case in my son's room that contained a lighter, a baggie
(empty), a glass pipe, and a vial containing some little sticks covered in
black stuff. I can't truly describe aptly what I was feeling at that moment
although some of the feelings were fear, anger, disappointment, hope and
sadness.

My 14-year-old son: I have tried everything to keep him from this. I have
talked to him straight up, I have kept it an open topic, discussed the
dangers and how to say no. He is a graduate of the DARE program and knows
how to say no, but he still didn't.

I have given this a lot of thought and am dealing with it on the homefront
here, with discipline, speaking and listening.

To his benefit he did not beat around the bush. He was caught, he admitted
to smoking pot a couple of times, and from the look of the pipe (it isn't
very dirty) I can believe that in part. I know no one is holding a gun to
his head and making him smoke it - but what I am concerned about is the
availability of two things.

It is the listening part that is the most frightening, especially when I
asked him these questions:

Question 1: "Where did you get the pot from?" Answer: "You just ask around,
it is everywhere, people sometimes just give it to you."

At this point I am not going to "name names", but I am concerned when a
14-year-old kid knows he can just blatantly ask around and find drugs for free.

Question 2: "Where did you get the pipe from and what are these little
'sticks' you have?" Answer: "I got the pipe at a 'head shop'."

Question 3: "They sold you a pipe, did anyone ask you how old you were?"
Answer: "No, all the kids go there to get papers and pipes and stuff, they
never ask anyone for ID because, 'cause well, you know, it is for pot."

What I am concerned about is: 1. Where are these drugs coming from and why
are they so "available" and so inexpensive that people just give them away?
And 2. Why is the shop that sells drug paraphernalia selling this stuff to
kids?

Maybe it isn't illegal to sell this stuff, but jeez, didn't anyone maybe
think that 14 is a little young?

My son looking older than 14 could be an argument, but he certainly doesn't
look 19, which I thought was the legal tobacco purchasing age.

Even if the shop isn't legally obliged to ask for ID, do they not have some
social responsibility; how about some common sense?