My parents are the straightest, most down to earth people I've ever met. All through my life my friends have been saying OMG, you have the coolest parents - or something to that effect. They're only young, 39 and 44, mum had me when she was 19.
However, drugs was a weird issue with them, it was a pretty big no-go zone. My uncle had to go to re-hab numerous times when he was younger and one of my grandfathers friends (yes that's right, grandfather) had a brain hemorrage last year, which is thought to be caused by a combination of years of alcohol & drug taking and the fact that he had just returned to Australia after a 3 week visit to Amsterdam with no sleep involved. (The most commonly accepted theory, even docs can't pinpoint exactly why it happened.)
Before Advent*jah last december, after much deliberation, I sat them both down and told them about my 'recreational activities'.
I was living with them at the time, and I was taking my younger sister with me as her 18th birthday present, and they had approached me, worried about the rave environment and the fact that drugs would be available. A needless worry when it came to this one of my sisters - she is a little anal about the whole 'drug are bad' thing - she doesn't mind anyone else doing it but if they even start to offer her some, she throws the biggest fit about her personal choices and how they should be accepted - and good on her! My other sister (who is even younger) is a whole other story though.
Anyway, I've gone off track.
The main factors in my decision were:
Mum and Dad still go clubbing occasionally, and many times they've come across me on their travels (the Gold Coast is a small place)when I've been chopped and i'm sure they knew something was up. (Helloooo Pupils!) Rocking home at 10 or 11 am the next day, still bouncing to the beats in my head wasn't helping my sweet and innocent image either
I wanted them to know what to do if I came home all fucked up and needed help, at least they would be able to tell the medics what I was likely to have taken
I wanted them to understand that it's not all deadly and that I am extremely careful - actually anal about being sure i'll be ok - to the point that I won't drink any alcohol at all when on other substances and I test everything that goes in my mouth or up my nose (not 100% safe but better than nothing)
I wanted them to have a bit more of a clue when it came to my younger sister, the one who is naughty and very much like me, than they did when it came to me
and
for me lying to my parents about what i was doing was just not an option, I respect and love them as friends as well as my parents.
I was very lucky. They were really cool about it, Dad asked to see the tester and see how it worked and mum asked for any literature I had on what I take. Now, obviously this isn't the way it would/has go/gone for everybody, but on the whole, I'm glad I told them.
It's quite funny, now that I've moved interstate from them, if they're silly enough to ring on Saturday morning, I can just say: "mum, I'm kinda comming down, can I call you later or tomorrow?" and she accepts it.
Good luck, whatever way you decide to go, from what you say, you have a good realtionship with your parents. Telling them could either make it stronger or cause a few speedbumps in this road we call life, but even if it does, it sounds like they'd soon come round.
Let us know how it goes if you decide to tell them
------------------
Find happiness:
live like there's no tomorrow
work like you don't need the money
love like you've never been hurt
dance like nobody's watching
and fuck like you're being filmed.
[This message has been edited by PsychoKitten (edited 28 June 2001).]