Parents Talk: What Would You Do If You Caught Your Son Making a Pot Pipe?

There is actually a magazine called Parents Talk, and on its website, there is a letter from a parent who is distressed.

"I Found My Son Making a Pipe," the headline reads, and it's under the category of "Talking to Your Teen."

Basically, the parent—not certain if it was the dad or mom but we're guessing the mom based on the e-mail handle—said she came home unexpectedly and found her son building what he told her was a "volcano" science project. It consisted of an empty water bottle with hole on the side and at the bottom, duct tape and a roll of foil paper.

She did an Internet search, and it didn't take long for her to figure out the science project was most likely a homemade bong for smoking pot.

Her son had admitted to smoking pot in January, and she's certain that her son's best friend smokes and that the friend's parents have a history of drug abuse—so the parents have banned their son's best friend from their home.

Her son—who is in the marching band and has a "bright future" in his mother's eyes—assures her that he's not smoking pot, and they've even field tested him with a home kit and gotten negative results. They've taken their son to family counseling, and he insists he's only done pot a few times and isn't doing it anymore.

Should she believe him? Trust him? Take him at his word?

Is she wrong to prohibit him from having his best friend over?

Do the parents need a stronger or more direct intervention? Or is it better to wait until they have more evidence or for him to admit to smoking?

"I know I'm all over the place with my emotions—I just don't know what to do ... or how to handle this situation," she said. "Please advise. I'm desperate thinking that he might ruin the bright future ahead of him and most importantly that he might become an addict."

We know that the Tri-Cities are not immune to this problem. What would you do in this person's sitaution? Have you dealt with a similar issue at home?