excellent idea!

I agree Bonnie...it is very unlikely he is involved with drug running.

Drug runners are trying to make money. They are transporting huge quantities of lucrative goods. They would not trust an unknown person to even go along.

Now if some local yahoos were transporting a small amount of drugs that they were going to sell...well that is a different story. But I highly doubt any real drug runner would pick up a hitchhiker, etc.

My cousin knew some young kids who were dealing a significant amount of drugs. I don't know how common it is for someone that young to be involved. But Chris would have had to be involved for several years and with reasonably serious characters to be allowed into that world, and usually only through some direct connection (like, say, an older brother already involved).

If he was with a group a people, it is more likely it is some ragtag group that found themselves hanging around together.

I was working at this job. We had a young girl, about 19, who started talking about doing heroin. That is not my scene, but I wasn't going to get involved. Then she told us that she had this suicide pact with another heroin user. That was too much for me and I got some of the co-workers there to intercede. We sat her down for a long talk.

She was involved with a bunch folks her age, a ragtag bunch of folks, devoted to depression like it was a religion. They ate little, did tons of drugs and talked about...whatever.

What you describe sounds more like that kind of group, than some drug running. Just a bunch of folks who are getting stoned together.

I am not minimizing the destructive influence of that kind of group, but it just sounds like a different dynamic. And most groups like that are just devoted to getting stoned...they don't have some kind of love of depression.

You have described him being under the influence of other people. If he were around some real predatory jerk...I don't think he would be moving around. I would imagine they are far too controlling to allow that. It sounds much more like he is hanging around with a bunch of stoners. That might not be great, but I don't think a group like that would have any malicious intent toward him.

Maybe it would help if you could get out some kind of flyer that would indicate to Chris that he is welcome back home, without any judgment?

If he thinks that, by coming back home, he will just get yelled at and asked to live a life of restrictions, he may resist. Maybe on the website and the flyers, you could post some positive message like that. Encouraging him that you guys won't tool into him and make him feel worse than he probably already does.

Maybe go farther and post something like...if you come back home, you guys will send him on a nice trip to the mountains or something, to chill out and relax for a couple of weeks....take it easy, catch his breath, etc.

I think the way out of the destructive cycle is not to "say no to drugs" but to "say yes" to some passion for life...for art, for music, for hiking...for whatever. So, personally, I think it is a depression related thing, maybe a lack of confidence related thing, feelings of failure, etc. And that is what needs to be addressed. And if he feels that he will be safe and not humiliated by coming back, he might just do that.

best wishes,

Jon