<p>My heart goes out to you - but not for the failed semester.</p>
<p>Nitrous oxide abuse is scary. I worked with a previously athletic young adult who abused nitrous oxide and now staggers around with permanent nerve damage causing ataxia, muscle weakness, and poor coordination. Nitrous abuse is also know to cause fatal respiratory depression. I hope your child will accept help. Please consider talking to drug counselor to get some guidance.</p>
<p>He is blaming YOU for his own bad choices? Oh, H*LL no. I’d end my contribution to his college experience right here until such time as he demonstrates sufficient maturity and direction.</p>
<p>There are two huge red flags here, either one of which would be sufficient for me to pull my financial support for school with or without the agreement that he must get a 3.0. First is his refusal to take responsibility for his own performance and choices, and second is the nitrous oxide use. I would look into having him take a leave of absence while he gets help for the nitrous oxide issue. Only when that was under control would I discuss whether going back to his original school is the right path. I think to allow him to return to his school for the spring semester at this point would be enabling the nitrous oxide abuse, and that could have deadly consequences</p>
<p>I’m confused, is he a Freshman in college?</p>
<p>The only kid I ever knew who did ‘NO’ was doing all kinds of other drugs too…alcohol, pot, etc. He was a student at Ole Miss, was under a parental microscope and hated his school. He is now serving a 25 year sentence for intoxication manslaughter and another family is grieving over the loss of a son and a daughter. This family is crazy if they are negotiating GPA and reimbursement. Their son should be in rehab.</p>
<p>
Nitrous oxide, unfortunately or not, is a common drug these days, and if many parents are posting with similar experiences from the 70s, I think it should be noted that if it was a comparatively “wild” drug whose use implied the use of many others then, it is considered a “mild” one now, with many of its users taking in no other drugs at all. Another poster noted that it is legal, at least for now, and that all materials for its use are readily available on Amazon. Doubtless, the description the OP gives of her son’s use sounds like he is in abusive, dangerous territory, but I think it should be noted that the perception of nitrous, as well as its user base, seems to have changed.</p>
<p>A few boys I know - relatives, family friends - have had similar first semesters at college. For them, the addiction side of the issue was directed toward alcohol, or even video games and the internet, rather than the typical “drugs”. But their parents responses have been similar. The offending student was either brought home or lived with other relatives for the next semester, while proving their maturity at inexpensive local colleges. Being with parents or other loved ones keeps the student away from all the temptations that so often come with college campuses - sex, partying, alcohol, drugs, or just the freedom to play on the Xbox all day now that mom can’t say otherwise.
Going to a cheaper college obviously also means that the parents are risking less of their money; were they to simply put the financial burden of the more expensive school on the student, he or she might get into a deep financial hole that only adds to the issues at hand.
The boys were usually promised that, while they would need to work to recoup the looses of their wasted semester, good grades would be rewarded with returns of privileges; eg: after two semesters with, say, a 3.25 or above, they would be able to move onto the campus of the local college.
This is what I would suggest for the OP’s son. Don’t let him stay at the college, bring him home where he can be in a less tempting environment. I would recommend counseling, and if the counselor suggests it or if the issue is severe, drug treatment. Let him attend a commuter school in town. (I recommend commuter schools over simply leaving the college and working because I know how common it is for students who take time off to never come back, or only come back after a much longer time than they ever intended.) If he proves he can perform there, then consider him leaving home, for say, an apartment near the school or dorm housing if they have it. If his performance is good enough and his counselor recommends it, perhaps transferring back to a traditional campus school will be possible.</p>
<p>I know people who did whipettes in college. It wasn’t a big deal, frankly. It did not rise to the level of anything I would call addiction.</p>
<p>On the other hand, this student’s statements about “bad parenting” are ludicrous. Clearly, he is troubled. Time off from college with therapy would be an excellent idea.</p>
<p>Are whipettes like poppers/crackers?
Reportedly they were popular with the disco set in the '80s.
This site has info about things I’ve never heard of, but I don’t think OP is coming back.
<a href=“http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/nitrous/nitrous.shtml[/url]”>http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/nitrous/nitrous.shtml</a></p>
<p>No, they are different. Poppers were originally amyl nitrite ampoules, broken under the nose of a person with severe angina pain. Whippettes, or Whip-its, were little canisters of nitrous oxide used to make whipped cream. One could release the gas into the cream maker, and inhale it. I heard of people using nitrous oxide with a mask, as in the dentist’s office. That is really dangerous, because one could potentially knock oneself out and die from lack of oxygen. I never saw anyone do it, though, just heard about it. (This, BTW, involved all of those engineering students and pre-meds at MIT that some CCers love to idolize. Some of them were even–gasp!–ROTC members and actual veterans!)</p>