I suspect that at this point your knowledge of the topic is reversed, he clearly looked into it and acquired quite a bit of information, though his skill at drawing reasonable conclusions appear to be lacking, given your description, which is less than surprising. So, consider switching the roles here: let him educate you on what he learned, patiently and carefully listen to him, go through the links and literature together, and ask questions, don’t argue with conclusions.
If anything, this is a fantastic opportunity to bond with him over figuring out a difficult to navigate issue together, so treat it this way. Put your preconceptions aside, ask him to set his current views aside, and make it a regular thing to figure stuff out together. Now it is psychoactive meds, another time it will be something about politics, or technology, or gender issues, or career… Some day it might become an end-of-life decision he has to make on your behalf, which, I assume, he’d rather make responsibly and not based on preconceptions.
So, avoid the trap of sticking with a pre-written bottom line “Drugs are Bad”, and take this chance to learn more about the world, about your son, and to learn how to communicate with him effectively. Good luck!
I suspect that at this point your knowledge of the topic is reversed, he clearly looked into it and acquired quite a bit of information, though his skill at drawing reasonable conclusions appear to be lacking, given your description, which is less than surprising. So, consider switching the roles here: let him educate you on what he learned, patiently and carefully listen to him, go through the links and literature together, and ask questions, don’t argue with conclusions.
If anything, this is a fantastic opportunity to bond with him over figuring out a difficult to navigate issue together, so treat it this way. Put your preconceptions aside, ask him to set his current views aside, and make it a regular thing to figure stuff out together. Now it is psychoactive meds, another time it will be something about politics, or technology, or gender issues, or career… Some day it might become an end-of-life decision he has to make on your behalf, which, I assume, he’d rather make responsibly and not based on preconceptions.
So, avoid the trap of sticking with a pre-written bottom line “Drugs are Bad”, and take this chance to learn more about the world, about your son, and to learn how to communicate with him effectively. Good luck!