My son and drug taking....

[justin44]

So last week I was posting about how proud I am about my son, Just turned 16, started a job and got great exam results.

This week end he went with his girlfriend to the Sundown festival in Norwich. His girlfriends mum picks them up at the end of the night only to notice that both look a bit “odd” pupils wide open. Tunes out that they both took drugs, if I had a pound for every time I warned him and every time he said he wouldn’t. What do I do, I’m more disappointed than angry but I don’t know what to do, if I punish him he may go on to do the same but just not tell us, and at 16 what can I actually take away that he can’t get else where?

Ground him? He still has to go to work and after that he goes to gym.

I get the feeling his girlfriend is going to get real punishment from her dad.

I suppose one of the real things that is getting to me is that one of his group of “friends” took drugs to the festival and then distributed them to my son.

It was MDMA a quick google says it’s basically acid, anyone else in the same boat? How do I punish but educate my son.

Regards

A very disappointed dad.

[Rodder]

In all honesty I wouldn’t worry too much. He’s hardly a hardcore rebel if he’s still getting a lift home with his girlfriends parents ( not exactly a weekend of carnage).

If it’s taught him a lesson, and nothing bad has really happened let it be.

Silent disappointment may be the best course of action. If driving lessons are coming up you could find a way of making him earn them back.

It’s tough with children, I find the values we instilled in early childhood are at odds with later life. In primary they’re taught to be humble, kind and respectful. Come secondary school and writing cvs, they’re to told to sell themselves, let everyone know how great you are, killer instinct etc.

You don’t want you’re kids to try drugs etc but you don’t want them so wet they don’t want to experience the world. It’s a no win situation.

To me the key thing is they respect me and can always talk to me. That way I can always help and influence them.

[Foxy100]

That's a tough one. I tried a few things when I was 16/17 and they weren't for me at all. It's quite possible he'll work it out himself. Equally I have no experience as a father with a son caught on drugs so I can't give any real advice. It's possible if you make it very very clear what you think he may well be ashamed enough to not do it again. At the very least he'll know you're watching.

[JasonM]

MDMA is ecstasy, tough one, I would just be open about your disappointment, punishment is not going to do much, it’s happened, it may be a one off, it might not, lots of youngsters experiment with drugs, as long as it doesn’t progress to a lifestyle choice they will grow out of it, just reinforce the implications, health wise and legally.

[Boss13]

Sorry to hear about that. Very difficult to give advice on it, as I am sure each relationship is different. But I feel you should talk to him. At least let him understand your disappointment.

[Chris_in_the_UK]

Drugs are synonymous with music festivals - even those who police it well do not really achieve what they set out to do. For me it should be about education and the potential consequences. There are plenty of other drugs in circulation with potential for harm (or worse). I would have a chat along those lines - ‘blowing your stack’ with him is probably not going to help the situation other than you getting some anger out.

[Iceblue]

Be open put it talk to him about the experience of why he done it , how it made him feel and the bad side off it , if you give him what for he will just do it behind you back and you will never know if their was a next time ,that’s my opinion only you know what’s bests

[Papa Hotel]

It's really difficult as a parent to move away from real discipline towards allowing a kid to make their own mistakes and learn from them, but at 16 he hasn't a f**king clue who he is and needs to figure it out himself. No-one, in the history of the world, has EVER taken on board the lessons of their parents, we only learn by making our own mistakes.

Me, I dabbled in things I shouldn't have dabbled in, I recognised it as something not for me and moved on. No number of parental lectures or Grange Hill songs were going to make a difference, only create interest.

It's going to be tough, but instead of busting his chops, at some point you'll have to quietly express disapproval and disappointment and allow him to be daft anyway. I suspect his head is probably screwed on pretty well and while there will be several more stupid episodes he probably won't end up a homeless junkie.

[leechman]

Definitely no anger or punishment . I echo the education piece ( yourself firstly ) and then him.
It's about making the right choices and staying as safe as possible.
Highlight the danger of unknown supplies , what may happen.

It's not really a big thing , and most do dabble for a short period of time.
End of the day , he's growing up and if you go nuts, a rebellion is possible.

As a side note, the 'war' on drugs jusy say no is an outdated approach. It has to be about education and transparency.

This coming from someone who has dabbled hard.

[fordystar]

Used to do pills as a youth in Ibiza and weekends, a roasting from my parents wouldn’t have made a blind bit of difference, festivals go hand in hand with drugs and they will never be stopped, most youngster dabble with X but most parents just never find out, it’s a tricky one, make them aware of the risks and obviously try to hand down some sort of punishment.
Oh the joys of parenting, I feel for you.
My Mrs lad is 17 and I’m pretty sure he’s been doing it, she doesn’t see the signs but I do.


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[Passenger]

i wouldn't worry too much, sounds like he took it to be part of the group at a festival and this in an environment where typically a bit of moderate/ 1st timer drug use is de rigeur...given what you say about his having a Job, regularly attends a gym/ so he'll be getting an endorphin fix there, he sounds like he's got a sensible head on his shoulders. And quite obviously a father who gives a monkeys. Stress the legal/health risks and keep an eye on him but moderate use of certain things is not necessarily a barrier to success in life.

MDMA's the happy/ uplifting bit of an E's, makes music more intense, colours brighter and promotes intense feelings of joy/ happiness, social connectedness/warmth. It's not something you'd typically take in circumstances other than a night club/festival/concert where it suits the environment.

[ralphy]

My thoughts for you, Justin.

Keep the line of communication open with your son - possibly the most important piece of advice here.

Praise him for admitting he took the drug and that you hope he can always feel free to talk to you.

Sit down with him, look up the drug together and discuss the effects and dangers of it.

Sit down with him, look up FRANK on the internet and discuss that with him too.

Talk about the fact that drugs will always be available and that it will be solely up to him how he deals with them.

If he felt the peer pressure over taking the drug was too strong to deal with, tell him he can pretend to take it but not do so and then the next time he can decline them on the basis that he hadn't liked how they made him feel.

Good luck.

R

[Sinnlover]

It’s a difficult one, I don’t have kids so have never been in this situation but I do remember not giving a jot when my parents got angry with me as a kid.

However when they told me that they and my grandparents were disappointed in something I had done it was a real eye opener. It made me re-evaluate my actions and I never repeated the mistake.

I agree with earlier posts, I would explain your disappointment to him but treat him like an adult. He has to learn that he is responsible for his own actions. Let him know that you don’t stop caring for your kids but you can only do so much to keep them safe. As such he has to grow up a bit. It worked for me!

[village]

Tough one.

I don't think anything will be achieved by bawling him out. If anything it's more likely to have the opposite effect what with home being 16.
If it was me I think I would sit down with him and reiterate strongly why I am so disappointed in him for his action. How you would do that best only you know.
I disagree with the comments saying that there shouldn't be a punishment. There definitely should be a punishment but again,you would know best what punishment to apply. Perhaps the removal of a treasured privilege?
When it comes down to it,whatever you say and do, if he really wants to experiment he will and that's a scary fact!
Good luck and hope it all goes well.

[mtagrant]

No point in punishment or anger as others have said. Better is to have him sit with you whilst you watch a documentary or two on how drugs have ruined people’s live or even taken them (shouldn’t be too difficult to find on YouTube). Better he is educated about the possible risks, but then it will still be his choice and you can show disappointment

[Omegamanic]

He is 16, he is making his own choices in life. I wouldn’t have listened to my parents too much at that age - as they just don’t “get it”.

He will be an adult in two years. I would always keep the conversation open.

At some of the clubs I went to in the 80’s some parents were there with their kids!

Just remember its it’s not unusual for kids to experiment with either drugs or alcohol - it’s just of those things. The vast majority do not go on to be a long oholics or druggies/drug dealers.

You say you are upset that one of their group got the drugs - but that’s usually how a group of obtain them.

For me it wouldn’t be a big issue - I’d warn him of the dangers and tell him to be very careful in what he is doing and where - and remind him that it’s still illegal, and if caught it could really affect his future. Plus make it very clear that under no circumstances are drugs allowed in your house.

[AM94]

A lot of good advice already on this thread and imho it really boils down to his view on 'risk vs reward'

We were all young once and most (all?) of us did things that we probably look back at now and recognise could have gone horribly wrong but didn't; however, I'd also wager that most of us know people who weren't so lucky. I view most chemical and manufacturer drugs as a gamble and therefore they never appealed to me but I knew plenty of people who took them regularly.

Miss AM, is very close in age with your son and I've tried to be open minded with her and discuss what I did in my youth, the risks and the potential pitfalls. In essence, I've tried to give her the facts (effects of drugs, possible damage and side effects. etc) and the tools to make 'educated' decisions for herself. That, obviously, is easier said than done when you are in the thick of your peers and outside the home environment; however, I'd like to hope that the tools she has at her disposal (knowledge and witnessing the real-world effects of drugs gone wrong) will allow her to make grounded decisions.

Knowing someone who lost their teenager to an overdose at a festival also sent not only a strong message to myself but also to her. I never sugar coated the story and being someone she knew made the reality of the situation, and their pain, all too real for her. Secondly, visiting a close family member at a physical rehabilitation centre (family member there for a stroke) and seeing young patients there, needing both cognitive and physical therapy, as a result of drug overdoses and 'taking things they thought were one thing but turned out to be another' hammered the point home further.

With all of that in mind, and seeing as he is intelligent, a clear cold presentation of the facts, risks and dangers would be a good start. Nancy Regan and her "Just Say No" was a load of old cobblers... faced with the peer pressure "you'll feel great" upside, they really need to understand the negative flip side to counteract that positive sell. When you understand the Russian roulette nature of many drugs, they suddenly become far less appealing imho.

[seadog1408]

He is young and experimenting don’t break his balls!!, I have had mdma a few times and in my opinion it’s not addictive, let the lad make his own mind up about whether to dabble in drugs or not.

mikw

[100thmonkey]

Its never easy but once you drop a pill the odds go up! That said I am sure he has been raised right and he and all his friends will know the risks with pills and made a choice. Throughout life we make decisions once we fully or partially understand the risk so apart from having a relaxed mature chat to reinforce the risks the decision it not something you will ever control or change.

[Dave O'Sullivan]

Educate, don't preach.
Discuss, don't admonish.

Also, possibly explain the absolute sh*t that drugs are mixed with these days. Rat poison anyone?

[raptor]

Educate and take him a visit to a rehab center if visits allowed


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[Andyg]

I agree with earlier posts, I would explain your disappointment to him but treat him like an adult. He has to learn that he is responsible for his own actions. Let him know that you don’t stop caring for your kids but you can only do so much to keep them safe. As such he has to grow up a bit. It worked for me!

This ^^^^^^^

i would add, look him in the eye and ask him to promised not to do it again.

I have a 16 year old son as well, so share your concern. Pills are worse that weed in my book simply because no one knows what's actually in them.

[kevkojak]

Hi Justin.

Sadly drugs are very readily available and we're in an age where drugs are seen as part of the festival culture (I guess Ecstasy and MDMA started in the 90's rave scene, but acid was the 70's and weed was the 60's - it's nowt new.)

I came from a very good home but still ended up taking plenty of that stuff in my early 20's when travelling the country clubbing. I know it's not what you want to hear but it's a very very very common thing, I would say at least half (and probably quite a lot more) at that age are taking stuff. If you're shaking your head and saying "not my child", I'm sorry to say there's a good chance you're wrong.

The best thing you can do is educate. MDMA is a party drug and makes you feel on top of the world for the few hours you're on it, but is far worse than alcohol while coming down off it and can cause some really serious problems in later life, depression is a key one.

Do as much research as you can and sit down for a chat, not a rant - do it calmly.

At his age this is probably one of those things like the first beer or the first puff of a cigarette. Now he's tried it, let's try and talk him out of making it a regular thing.

The most dangerous thing is if the stuff came from a stranger. As silly as it sounds, buying from an unknown source is what usually costs lives, festivals are rife with dealers selling really low grade rubbish.

Not sure what else to say on this but really, don't lose sleep over it. It's a disappointment but it's done now.

[Omegamanic]

This ^^^^^^^

i would add, look him in the eye and ask him to promised not to do it again.

I have a 16 year old son as well, so share your concern. Pills are worse that weed in my book simply because no one knows what's actually in them.

I really wouldn't put one of my children in that position. You could be asking them to lie to you, which will only cause more/future issues.

[Andyg]

I really wouldn't put one of my children in that position. You could be asking them to lie to you, which will only cause more/future issues.

If they are not prepared to make the promise, then that tells you that it possibly might happen again, but at least they are not trying to hide it.

If they do make the a promise (which THEY knowingly don't intend to keep) then THEY at least know that a) you don't approve of their action and b) you will be seriously pissed off and there might be further sanctions.

But the OP knows his son better than we do.

[100thmonkey]

If its an comfort the deaths from Ecstasy are the lowest of all the drugs I believe.

[Kingstepper]

It’s very hard to sanction someone of that age.

Drug-taking at that age is a lot more common than many imagine and If their circle of friends are involved unfortunately there’s probably not a lot that can be done to dissuade him.

[Rod]

Educate, don't preach.
Discuss, don't admonish.

Also, possibly explain the absolute sh*t that drugs are mixed with these days. Rat poison anyone?

Yes that next pill might be his last. Plenty of kids taking risks with drugs and dying.
He needs a clear warning that it's not worth the risk and to avoid peer pressure.

[-Ally-]

Par for the course at festivals.

[Snoopdong]

Havent got there with my kids yet, eldest is 7, and I am still dilemma'd as to the right message to provide as they grow up. From my past experience I am leaning to a liberal approach and I do believe the war on drugs can only be won through legalisation and regulation (indeed a massive income via tax could offset the harm and demand on our health service). However, as time goes on I do wonder about long term impact on the mental health of the nation... dropping dead from drugs is a smaller concern, but very news worthy hence feeling like the big issue.

As others have said, this is very normal growing up behaviour, he has been honest and is by no means off the rails!

One titbit of info for your discussions, if you chose to have open dialogue, is that issues around MDMA doesnt typically relate to low grade / bad batch.. quite the opposite, the pills are too "good" packing in >4x the active ingredients than in the past, leading to some being overwelmed by the experience or indeed do themselves some serious harm... seems to be a trend due to Dutch laws and also one-up man ship on the part of chemists... gone are the days of "double dropping", sounds like these days a nibble of a pill is wise to see the effect over the coming hour or so......

Info here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AY2pwvcGVs

[VDG]

First, educate yourself about drugs, so your son doesn't piss himself laughing when you talk to him about mdma being acid.

Second, say that you and Mrs do acid and smoke spliffs while he is at work and doing 2-3 g's and K on the weekends when he is shagging his gf. Complain about dillas and too much fentanyl in h and that its not what it used to be in the 70s. Tell him that he can bring his gf and his friends over and you will get some good stuff from your man as long as he promise to bring a good DJ.

That will be the last time you will have that sort of conversation with him and him going anywhere near droogs.

[JasonM]

As has been said, actual physical harm from party drugs are very rare, but do happen, the more pertinent risk these days is legal, society and the Police are much much more aware of use these days and the fallout for a possession or a drug driving conviction has far more reaching implications.

[Phil Lee]

I just saw this in the BBC News app:

Boomtown Fair drugs death victim 'absolutely irreplaceable'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-45370112

May be worth getting him to watch it.

[tedsmart4]

Hello mate, if it was me, firstly I would try and talk to him openly and honestly about the situation. If he has taken MDMA ( basically pure ecstasy ) I would want to know what other recreational drugs he’s using. I say this because that’s a pretty hard drug for a ‘first timer’.
I feel like honest, open and non judgmental communication is the best way forward. Let him know that if he isn’t honest you can’t help him. Also, tell him in advance that almost certainly won’t approve of his actions but you won’t judge him either. Tell him it isn’t about punishment but rather about protecting your son.
Don’t let this change how you feel about your Son. These festivals are an utter nightmare for drugs and general illicit behaviour, why they aren’t over 21 I will never know. Keep your chin up


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[johnthemull]

If its an comfort the deaths from Ecstasy are the lowest of all the drugs I believe.

Not quite. LSD is the safest. Seriously. Google drug harm chart. Alcohol tops the chart by the way.

[rabbitinheadlights]

Hard to give advise as it's your son. However, he's 16 and discovering about the world around him. It's very common to try out different things and personally I feel nothing to be worried about. Being angry won't help grounding him also won't help, as others have said dialogue is the most important thing. I grew up in and around the rave scene where exctasy was as common as drinking Tea. There is always a risk with any drugs but very low with exctasy. I would rather my son sit down and be honest with me so that we can discuss the risks etc rather than feel like he had to hide it.

He sound like a good kid with good values but again just experimenting, which seems pretty normal.

[wombleh]

Just talk to him honestly. If you're worried then say so. I would avoid saying you're disappointed, no child needs to hear that from a parent. By 16 he's making his own mind up so you're just there for support now.

Personally I wouldn't worry if he's got a job and a girlfriend then things sound ok. Yes there are drug deaths but you're far more likely to get life changing injuries on a night on the piss. If you want him to stop then go to the same club, drop a few pills and get your best dad dancing up on the stage.

[justin44]

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to put their thoughts and words of advice down, it’s been a pretty un-eventful day he spent most of it in his room avoiding us, he knows he has let us down and we are disappointed in his lack of judgment. What has surprised me is he admitted to smoking weed in the past and his general attitude to how he doesn’t think that is a big deal. Let’s get him back to work tomorrow and see how the week works out.

Again thank you all.

[Volvomanuk]

Ask him

Does he trust his friend that the drugs don’t contain or been mixed with dangerous substances.

Does he trust his friends dealer.

Does he trust his friends dealers supplier.

At a music festival five people overdosed on what they thought was MDMA after leaving a club. Speculation about the deaths at the time pointed to fentanyl as the possible cause.

Widespread media attention has focused on fentanyl, a drug 40 to 400 times stronger than morphine, in street heroin.

Basically it’s Russian roulette would he play that at a festival.

Also ask him to get his basic first aid certificate just in case he needs to try and keep one of his friends alive after a bad hit.





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[JasonM]

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to put their thoughts and words of advice down, it’s been a pretty un-eventful day he spent most of it in his room avoiding us, he knows he has let us down and we are disappointed in his lack of judgment. What has surprised me is he admitted to smoking weed in the past and his general attitude to how he doesn’t think that is a big deal. Let’s get him back to work tomorrow and see how the week works out.

Again thank you all.

You need to see it from his perspective a bit, to him and his friends its not a big deal, its pretty normal, telling him of examples of death and destruction just won't work as his real world experience is different, he will have had one of the best experiences of his life at that festival, its not called ecstasy for nothing, the problem we have in this country is all illegal drugs are lumped into one bad lump, from weed to heroin by people who don't know any better they are in the same category, there is a world of difference in each one with different implications for using each, using recreational drugs occasionally definitely needs to be managed, especially as a responsible parent, Im not advocating a free for all, but you need to recognise its at the benign end of the spectrum. People don't automatically progress to harder drugs.
As I said earlier, one approach would be to emphasise the implications for his job if he ever got tested or had a accident or if he discussed his weekend with the wrong guy, or even if his social media feed was compromised by photos or comments.

[bond]

It’s tough this, the OP wants his son safe and informed . The son wants his kicks as do most kids . In fact it seems all of the kids have an affinity to do the ‘glasto’ type festivals that seem to be up and down Britain in a mainstream way more than they were in the 90’s . So of course it’s par for the course these drugs are in circulation -it’s just a given . As mentioned it’s probably just been a bucket list thing for your son , he’s ticked it off the list and come out unscathed . I’d just educate him on the potential risks as mentioned with many playing roulette with untested batches of mdma/ecstasy. I knew regular sixth form lads in Liverpool who started clubbing off them turn into well something else , lose weight , gateway to other stuff and lifestyle choices . It’s not all a bed of roses . They are rare the deaths as people’s tolerances to these drugs vary .There are many cases of deaths not just the Leah Betts case and I’d be showing my sons and daughters those.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.l...rs-6222228.amp


Glad he’s ok btw ! Probably just a mild phase by sounds of it .




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[chicaneuk]

I think a frank conversation about your feelings on it, the dangers of it, and I guess the establishment of some ground rules if he really wants to do this stuff.. like, occasional recreational use in a safe environment, yes.. if you absolutely must. But touching anything more serious that is known to wreck lives (Heroin..) is flat out "you'll be out of the house"

The naievity of youth means he can't possibly understand how it's so easy for this stuff to utterly wreck lives and even entire families. Hopefully he's a sensible enough kid that a conversation about it will wake him up about it.

[VDG]

Seriously though, there are some excellent points made above. And the main one is just be honest with your son, tell him how you and Mrs feel, nothing had changed, he still your son, you still love him to bits and he loves you both, so there is nothing wrong telling him that you both are worried and care about him.

As with all drugs, esp synthetic ones no one knows what is really in there (unless you have a specialist test kit) so it's all based on blind trust even with weed which can be sprayed/spiked with THC/Fentanyl or God knows what ie solvents, herbicides etc etc for whatever reason. And that would be the main point I'll be making along the one that you both understand that you as a parent cannot police what he is doing when he is going out/partying and that drugs will be always there alongside peer pressure you just trust him to exercise his best judgment, he has all the life and opportunities ahead of him and you do not want him to ruin it for the sake of 2 hours of great time fuelled by dope, E or whatever as there much more to life than drugs..

I also think it's a great suggestion for him to do CPR course, at 16 we all think that we're immortal and unbreakable, unfortunately it's not so, so again I'd not make him but would ask him to do it for your piece of mind as it can save a life of someone he care about like his gf, his mates or you and Mrs.

Keep your cool, it's not the end of the world, just something all children and parents go through

[Captain Morgan]

Just my view,

Obviously there is absolutely nothing wrong with you being concerned about your sons welfare and I'm sure that if this is your first child becoming a young adult that some of this could be troubling or shocking. I'd suggest considering keeping an open mind, at the moment you have what seems to be a relatively mild case of experimentation that is not unusual.

I'd suggest the key is to keep an open dialog with your son, ensure that he feels that you and his mum will always be there for him to talk and discuss any issues / concerns he has.

I'm sure that you'd rather have that kind of relationship going forwards than a secretive clandestine one where you are really unsure what is going on.

Obviously there are risks attached to his behaviour, personally I think the risk of death while real is often overstated, in your son's age bracket mental health issues leading to suicide are the biggest killer with traffic accidents and murder second and third, drugs don't make the top five.

I'd warrant that he has a young adults view of his own mortality, in that at 16 he'll feel indestructible the concept of russian roulette is likely not a consideration for him, likewise talking about your fears that he could die, lose his job, lose is driving licence if tested positive for drug driving once he passes his test while valid and real to you could seem very different to him. I'm not suggesting you condone his actions just allow space for you to have a reasoned and calm dialog.


Looking at the positives here, he has the ability to communicate with you, he has a job and takes care of himself re the gym, he's not told you your going to be a grandpa (I hope ;-) )

Work with that and remember that while you see the negatives, he is seeing the positive experience, people take drugs like cannabis and mdma (party drugs) because they are fun and enjoyable, if they didn't have up sides there use would be greatly reduced.

Should this become long term heavy use and/or use of harder drugs then open communication becomes even more vital

[catch21]

It's not the end of the world but it probably feels like it right now. I'm going to pm the next bit I think.

[Gestarp]

I would discuss with your son that if he is going to take mdma is to get a testing kit they can be bought cheaply. https://www.reagent-tests.uk/product...iABEgLzMvD_BwE If taking mdna try to take it in crystal form as you can control the dose better. Tablets can vary wildly in strength. The testing kit doesn’t tell you the potency of the drug just what it is.

[thfccambs]

In all honesty I wouldn’t worry too much. He’s hardly a hardcore rebel if he’s still getting a lift home with his girlfriends parents ( not exactly a weekend of carnage).

If it’s taught him a lesson, and nothing bad has really happened let it be.

Silent disappointment may be the best course of action. If driving lessons are coming up you could find a way of making him earn them back.

It’s tough with children, I find the values we instilled in early childhood are at odds with later life. In primary they’re taught to be humble, kind and respectful. Come secondary school and writing cvs, they’re to told to sell themselves, let everyone know how great you are, killer instinct etc.

You don’t want you’re kids to try drugs etc but you don’t want them so wet they don’t want to experience the world. It’s a no win situation.

To me the key thing is they respect me and can always talk to me. That way I can always help and influence them.

Think this is spot on.

[monogroover]

Definitely no anger or punishment . I echo the education piece ( yourself firstly ) and then him.
It's about making the right choices and staying as safe as possible.
Highlight the danger of unknown supplies , what may happen.

It's not really a big thing , and most do dabble for a short period of time.
End of the day , he's growing up and if you go nuts, a rebellion is possible.

As a side note, the 'war' on drugs just say no is an outdated approach. It has to be about education and transparency.

This coming from someone who has dabbled hard.

I agree with this. The good thing is that as far as we're aware the young man has only dabbled at a festival, it's probably not something he does every weekend. I would probably be more concerned if he was off his head on Newcastle Brown every Saturday night. I would calmly encourage him to understand the risks, especially of taking something that is unregulated and not subject to any sort of credible quality control. And hopefully it was a one-off.

[Rod]

Not quite. LSD is the safest. Seriously. Google drug harm chart. Alcohol tops the chart by the way.

When I was on Road Traffic we attended a call to some tower block flats in Billingham where a youth jumped from the top of one (on LSD). Luckily the nearly 100' fall was broken by wet grass and he survived that (amazingly). He said he felt he could 'fly'.
No drugs are safe in my opinion. An aquaintance has had two serious crashes because of cannabis smoking.

[CardShark]

Some very sound advice already given so I'll only add one more.

A good friend of mine is a drugs counsellor and has worked with not just those that use drugs or are addicted/reliant on them (there's a huge difference between the two!) but with their families as well. You may wish to google your local area for someone to speak to, they're out there and are willing to help.

As it stands you're understandably concerned, perhaps some educated and real world face to face advice would ease your mind and help you understand the situation. I'm presuming, by the way, that you yourself OP haven't tried anything classified yourself. If you have then perhaps you do actually have a greater insight into the situation than you think.