Dear Brodie,

It can be very challenging when a friend needs help for a substance abuse problem. Especially when the friend doesn’t realize the seriousness of their drug or alcohol problem.

A good place to start would be to be honest with your friend and share your concerns with him. Let him know that you care about him and that his substance use is not OK. Ask your friend if he would be willing to talk to someone about it. This might be a school counselor or another trusted adult. Offer to go with him to talk to someone. If he refuses, it probably means that he is in denial about his substance abuse problem. If this happens, you need to consider letting someone know yourself. This might mean talking to an adult that you trust at school or possibly even his parents.

This is very difficult for a friend to do, but it is important for you to try and protect him from himself. If you let someone else know who can get him the help that he needs, you would be doing him the biggest favor—even if he doesn’t appreciate it at the time.