The Bad Guys

When our children start to spread their wings in the drug world, it seems as though they are headed for a life that I am not so sure they truly understand. Tv and movies glamorizes the drug world and the drug scene ( a good example is Breaking Bad, the TV series, movies like The Pineapple Express, even though these movies are great I think that they sometimes make that world seem interesting to our youth). I am not really sure they understand the very real dangers they are putting themselves in when they get deeper and deeper into that scene. 

 There are some REALLY bad guys in that world. Unfortunately when they find themselves getting into heavier and heavier drugs or larger amounts,or they start selling to support their habit,they are sucking the people they love into that world too. When someone wants their money for drugs, they don't care how you get it, they want it, that is it. I have known many parents to pay thousands of dollars to get a "bad guy" off their child's back (me included, not thousands, but hundreds). We think we are helping them, maybe saving their life but it just never seems to end. What are we supposed to do? If we pay their debt, they just go back for more. How long can we continue this cycle? 

 The other night after midnight, a couple of those "bad guys" sprayed bear mace into the room that my son and his girlfriend sleep. The police and fire department had to be called and they had to clean the mess before it would be safe to re enter the house. My son's girlfriend's twelve year old brother was asleep and had to be woken up and taken outside. This is pretty scary. This is not some random event, people don't randomly spray bear mace into people houses, whats the connection? What kind of trouble are they in now? 

 At times I feel like I live in a bad movie. People are always saying to me that their lives are so boring compared to mine. Oh, how I long for a normal life without all this drama. I am grateful that I could put my boundaries up and keep the "bad guys" out of my house and my ten year old's life. I feel horrible to think that another family is now involved and another child has to learn about the "bad guys" too soon in life. 

 How do we keep our children safe? How do we stay safe ourselves? How does a person become a "bad guy"? At what point in their life do they take a path that leads them to darkness? How do we keep our children from taking that path?