Letters to the Editor
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What about the boy?
Leaving aside the issue of the mother's drug use, some thought needs to be given to her son.
Yes, teenagers can be awful, insufferably smug know-it-alls at times, but their emotions are issues with family are real. Whether the mother's drug habit is truly harmful or not, her son sees it as harmful as, as such, it is harming him. If nothing else the poor kid needs some space from his parents in order to go through some of the uglier phases of maturing. Perhaps the letter writer would be better served by offering a place for her friend's son to crash when his family is bearing down on him. It would be good for him, good for his mother and, in the long run, probably better for their relationship. I credit the frequent school vacations I spent staying with my grandmother with saving my relationship with my parents.
15 year olds are still learning the emotional tools they need to survive in a world of contradictions. A space apart from these stresses would do much to help him develop those tools. And, frankly, if the son really is threatening to move out, better he move out to the home of a trusted family friend than to God-only-knows where.