I don't know why I feel compelled to write this but here goes.  My point here is to motivate parents, family members and friends to do something to help a drug addicted person.  What to do, don't have teh right answers?  Just do something.

My brother had a meth (speed, crystal, glass etc..) problem for about 4 years according to him.  He came from a "well-to-do" familiy and had what most would consider a privaledged upbringing.  I am not talking about some abused poverished individual here.  My parents tried to deal with the problem the best way they could (tough to describe), but essentially what I consider a soft line approach.  I choose the hard line approach, some might call it a tough love approach.  Anyway, last October while my parents and I (and my wife and kids) were in Kalifornia visiting family I recieved many calls on my cell and home phone, family and my work trying to track me down.  I finally reached my cousin and she told me that my brother had died from a gunshot wound to the head.  I was waiting for something like this in a strange way.  A brutal thing to have think about on a six hour drive home, not much was said in the car between my wife and I.  

The bottom line here is that if you know of or suspect that someone you care about is using drugs, please do something.  If you think you are being too intrusive in this persons life, so what.  If you piss people off, so f'ing what.  There are no right answers here when dealing with an addict, but the one thing I do know is that if you do nothing, you will loose that person in one way or another. In my case, my brother took a .357 CorBon round to the back of the head.

Deepest condolences.

Thanks bro.  He had only been 18 years old for a few months.  It is tough for me think about how to tell my 3 year old and my 10 month old what happened, I know it will be the truth.

Sorry to hear about the loss of your brother.

You did all you could for him, Idah0Bound.
But sometimes, and no matter how hard you try, you just can't save some people from themselves.  Particularly with an addiction, they can only save themselves.

Don't beat yourself up for doing what you thought was best for your brother.

I agree 100% Yankee. When it comes down to it individuals can only help themselves no matter what society, parents, firends, family or anyone/anything else wants.  

At least you had a brother worth being called a "brother"...

I'm sorry to hear about you and your families loss.