Question by JUST ME: How can i make my 17 yr old niece stop using meth and go to detox/rehab?
my 17 yr old niece is a meth addict and has been regularly for over a year now. my older sister (her mom) says that she has done everything to get help for her daughter but i disagree. she collects my niece’s child support even though she is not supporting my niece. i just received a text from my niece saying that she’s in big trouble: it’s nighttime and she is filthy and has only a tank top and shorts on. and is somewhere lying on a bench with a fever from a cold. i am so afraid for her and angry at my sis but i desperately need to try and find some kind of help for my niece. she shoplifts and commits other crimes but is never arrested. why? i have NO idea. i think that would be the best, if not the only way to get her into rehab. Please help, I don’t want to lose my niece!
Best answer:
Answer by Maeberry
I’m very sorry, but you can’t. A drug addict needs to quit for themselves first and foremost or they will never stay clean. It’s a very hard thing to deal with and I’m sorry for you.
Add your own answer in the comments!
Honey, the best thing for you to do is to be supportive but not judgemental. Supportive, but not enabling. You may feel that you know what your Sister has done (or hasn’t) to help her own daughter, but you really don’t know. She could “not be helping” for many reasons that are beyond your knowledge (hopefully she’s not an addict herself!).
As the old saying goes “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink”. The same goes for your niece — especially with an addiction. You can force her to go to rehab but the bottom line is UNTIL SHE RECOGNIZES AND ACCEPTS THAT SHE HAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM AND IS READY TO MAKE A CHANGE you could very well be moving at 100 miles an hour. The only problem is that you’re stuck in neutral and you’re burning your clutch.
Its all about readiness on the part of your niece. If she’s not ready to make a change all the rehab in the world isnt’ going to help her (think Britney Spears). Unfortunately she may not get out of this completely unscathed……… but hopefully she will get out of this with life and limb in tact and enough sense to look back on it and say “God, I’m so glad I don’t do drugs any more, and I’m so glad I had an Aunt that truly cared for me”.
you need to call the local community outreach program at the crisis center and or take her directly to a hospital and tell tyhe intake she needs to find a detox and then give the info for her mother she should have a medical card for the child if not just drop her at the door of the hospital and she can be a grant patient i dont know your city or state it varies i am a recovering meth addict and drunk i was a drunk for 13 years and drug addict met meth in the army and did it for 4 months every day look in the phone book for outreach programs like narcotics anonymous shes gonna need a crew to get off this craapp
it may sound harsh but prison is probably the best way to get off meth. Those detox places usually just prescribe you with other drugs to try to help you kick your old drug addiction.