I'm reading a book right now called "Beautiful Boy."  It's the story of a father's struggle with his son's addiction to methamphetamines.  It starts out when Nic, the main character, is young and his parents divorce and he ends up getting stuck in joing custody with his parents on opposite ends of the state.  He's a brilliant kid, all of his teachers admire him and wonder what treasures he'll bring to the world.  One day his dad finds marijuana in his backpack and it all starts from there.  Eventually Nic is a pothead and remains his same brilliant, talented self but is changed.  His dad desperately tries to reconnect with him and even smokes pot with him in an attempt to be closer with him.  But the next daym he's still the same worried father.  Nic later turns to meth and spirals out of control. 
I'm so into the story, I haven't finished it yet but it's teaching me a lot about what parents with addicted children go through.  It's a true story and Nic is now clean and he and his dad tour around the nation talking about their struggles.  This insight is opening up my eyes to how badly kids hurt their parents when they take drugs.  Adults have so much time, love, and money invested into their children, it's like watching them slip away and they have no control over it.  I used to stay out really late and get mad when my mom told me to come home.  I'd ignore her calls and come home late after curfew.  My mom would stay up for hours worrying, thinking of every scenario that could've happend to me.  Either I got in an accident or I was kidnapped, and then I'd walk in annoyed and trying to avoid punishment.  By this time she'd already buried me, but I'd think it's no big deal.  Parents never stop worrying about their kids and they can only be as happy as their unhappies child. 

That's really true; a parent can only be as happy as their unhappiest child.  My older brother is going through a really tough time in his life.  I finally told her that he finally decided to give up smoking weed.  I've been trying to convicne him for two years to give it up.  The sad part is that he's wasted 2 years of his scholarship and probably has to forfeit the whole thing because he couldn't make the grades.  I'm not sure why he decided to give up everything.  I think he may have been so overwhelmed and just wanted to rely on pot even though he has a wonderful girlfriend and supportive family. 

I never really thought about what parents go through. I just always think about the kid and how they are ruining their lives and they should be doing better and not doing drugs. But I never thought about what parents go through. Parents love their kids more than theirselves, and I'm sure they go through so much whether its drugs, death of a child, or just their child coming home late.