Annie's mailbox

DRUG ADDICTION HURTS FAMILY

Dear Annie: I've been married for six years and have two wonderful
young children. My husband, 36, is a good man and a great, playful
father. He has a wonderful job that has enabled me to quit mine and
stay home with my children.

The problem is my husband has a drug addiction. He smokes marijuana
every day, all day, before work, after work and during his breaks.
When he goes without, he has mood swings and screams and shouts at the
boys and me. Our second bathroom has been turned into his personal smoke
room. The kids and I are not allowed in, nor do we wish to use it, since he
makes no effort to hide his drug paraphernalia.

I knew about his habit before we married, but we were young and I
thought he would outgrow it. It is getting harder to cover for Daddy
when he goes to the bathroom every 30 minutes. You wouldn't think he
would want this kind of environment for his children. He would never
volunteer to go to rehab. I don't know what to do. Addict's Wife

Dear Wife: An addict must be willing to quit before progress can be
made, and your husband isn't there yet. Plus, this is illegal, and if
the authorities find out, your children could be removed from your
home. You may need to ask your husband to leave until he gets clean.
There are support groups for families of drug addicts. Please contact
Families Anonymous (familiesanonymous.org) at 1-800-736-9805 for
help. And when your husband wants to rejoin the real world, suggest
he try Marijuana Anonymous (marijuana-anonymous.org) at 1-800-766-6779.

Annie's Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime
editors of the Ann Landers column. Please email your questions to
anniesmailbox@ comcast.net, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, P.O. Box
118190, Chicago, IL 60611, U.S.A.