My brother moved in with me six months ago, and I love him to pieces. A few months in I realized he had been smoking methamphetamines, and a few weeks ago I walked in on him smoking in his room which is adjacent to mine.

I have a very weak constitution and have been hospitalized four times in the last five months for various reasons; none of which are related to each other, and am very concerned that I have been exposed to the drugs. I am currently three months pregnant and it's hard enough dealing with the hormones let alone my brothers issues. I am afraid of confronting him about this problem as he has been known to be unstable in the past.

Any advice which can be offered I would be extremely grateful for.

Unstable in the past? Wait until you have to deal with the anger and irrational behavior of a meth addict. He kicks the habit, signs into rehab, leaves, or you call the cops to remove him with a restraining order presented to him on his way out.

Taking him in only enabled him (I assume he isn't giving you a dime) to get more of the stuff so you aren't doing him any favors. You tell him you are doing this BECAUSE you love him.

Any smoke, whether from tobacco or drugs or even wood, contains ingredients you don't want to inhale, but don't even bother to go there with any arguments. He is endangering your household in other ways more important, from needing to steal, hurting someone in a violent outburst, people he owes money to knowing where you live - the list goes on.

I didn't have a chance to allow him to move in, I rent my house from my mother who is also aware of this.

I am not so worried about people coming over for money he owes as he has a very high paying job, unfortunately it was this job (I assume) where he met the people which have exposed him to this filth. I am just afraid of confronting him as he lies constantly; though not very well, but when he is caught out he suffers from an extreme temper.

Sorry, but you are wimping out all over the place. You rent the house, period, regardless of if it's from your mother, and he doesn't get to waltz in the door (unless you or your mother is collecting rent from him?? ). You want to know what to do about confronting him but won't because you are afraid... You can be afraid and still confront him. Just have family and or cops present, or arrange an intervention at your house from a rehab place that has an opening for him. Meth causes extremes of negative emotions and ACTS, and he is a ticking time bomb. You must not wait. Start calling rehabs and the cops about RO forms, and your family.

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Originally Posted by scaredsister

.... am very concerned that I have been exposed to the drugs. I am currently three months pregnant and it's hard enough dealing with the hormones let alone my brothers issues.

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The use of methamphetamine (pharmaceutical grade) is always limited to a very short time span. Amphetamines (the general class) in long term use can actually induce psychosis. Please note, this is not the state of acute intoxication which may make the user temporarily act crazy, rather a lingering independent psychosis that develops and can take years to clear up even after meth abuse ceases. I don't mean to imply that this is an inevitable consequence. Rather, it depends on continued usage, usually increasing amounts and frequency of use.

Add to the above that "meth" has become a generic description for all sorts of "home brews", chemical ingredients unknown. So we are not talking about known and measured quantities of each element. No one can project the results of consuming these mixtures.

But for your brother's benefit, and yours, it is wise to keep an eye out for deteriorating mental function, increasingly erratic behavior, etc.

As to your concern about the possible health consequences of second-hand smoke. The key to that is the degree of exposure to the smoke. Usually to be measurably affected by second-hand or sidestream smoke one would need to be exposed to a very significant volume of smoke across a long period (i.e. 4 people smoking in an automobile for several hours). You would need to be in very proximity for an extended period.

But there are other health concerns. Smoking meth creates a residue that accumulates on furniture, clothing, etc. While this residue is not psychoactive (non-narcotic) it may be harmful due to the chemicals used in manufacturing meth. That residue will be most prominent in the immediate area where the smoking occurs. There was an interesting study conducted in Colorado on this phenomenon, dealing with one room.(see Martyny, 2006) [Study is non-published, not peer reviewed but interesting]

Because of the characteristics of "home brews", as above, I would probably be more concerned with the buildup effect of chemical residue in the house than the limited direct exposure to second-hand smoke that you note. This residue may or may not have influenced your health... probably not. But should nonetheless be considered.

Overall, I would agree with Joy that the greatest potential danger is your brother, assuming the worst case scenario, and view the other concerns as distant possibilities.

Hello sister:

I agree with everybody so far with ONE little exception.. Ok, it's a BIG exception... Don't snitch on him...

That doesn't mean I don't think you should act. You SHOULD - just not in THAT way. In the first place, it'll ruin your relationship with your family forever, and in the second place, it won't do him any good... There's no HELP in jail - only misery.

What you should DO, is move, and do it as fast as you can.

excon

Of course he pays rent- as I mentioned he has a high paying job.
My issue is not his behavior or treatment toward me, it is whether the second hand smoke is going to harm me, my pets or my unborn child (as the question asks).

I agree entirely with excon, I don't want to snitch on my brother, I can't see jail being of any help to him, and in terms of his recovery I have assured him that I am always there to support him and care for him.

He hasn't been smoking the meth for very long when compared to many other cases I have seen, and he only smokes it at night. I am not saying he doesn't have a problem, but I know it isn't too late for him to help himself.

I have been searching tirelessly for a new home, sadly the rental market is not doing me any favours. I am considering staying with relatives until I find a new home. I just don't want to leave my pets behind, I'm just concerned any damage has been done to the things dearest to me already.

It sounds as though you have a pretty good understanding and plan of action. Your brother should appreciate your dedication.

Those who use meth or other drugs are not necessarily addicts in the classic application. Some use infrequently, some use abusively and then stop on their own.

The amphetamines are simply a dangerous group. Tolerance develops rapidly leading to increase in use and rapid onset of physical and psychologic dependence. They become increasing toxic the longer use continues. That is true even with prescribed but not properly monitored methamphetamine regimens. Methamphetamine has a high potential for addiction. So once again, my advice is to simply keep your eyes open to the possibilities and be watchful for progression.

Goodness.. you have several sentences here about your fear and his temper, and you want 'any advice,' yet you now say that you only want an answer to your specific question about smoke...

I am truly sorry if I was so heavy handed that I angered you; it was done out of concern for you physically and emotionally.

You could suggest that he exhale back into his pipe, which some smokers do, and apparently it's reusable. People also exhale into each other's mouths.
Meth smoking produces more of a vapor than a smoke.
In the solid phase, the ions (meth-H+) are ionically bonded to Cl- ions to form a crystal; in the aqueous phase, they are separate.

Unfortunately the original questions have STILL gone unanswered & I would like an answer to them as well. As a pet parent myself who takes the role VERY seriously (I'd be happy to share my pet parenting philosophy at a later time should anyone care to hear it) it is EXTREMELY important to me that I "first do no harm" to my beloved canine daughter who is 12 years old (though she still looks & acts like a young adult thanks to high quality food, filtered water & LOTS of pampering) & she is my heart on 4 legs.
That being said I am also, unfortunately, something of a Meth addict myself. At my worst (more than a decade ago) I was high 3 - 5 days a week EVERY week for about a year straight. Now I am able to keep my usage to a minimum of about one weekend per month - though it varies dependent upon how many other meth users are in my "immediate vicinity" on a daily basis but does not generally exceed two - three usages per month at worst. Recently though I had to move into a living situation that only provides me one VERY SMALL (think medium/large walk-in closet) bedroom in which I have privacy enough to smoke this junk. My "little girl" is ABSOLUTELY & RELENTLESSLY INSISTENT on there being NO closed doors between us & is therefore always in the room w/me when I smoke. I do crack the window & put a fan in it blowing out & am EXTREMELY careful about not dropping any of it. But still I worry for her health knowing that if I (or someone who is around me) where to inadvertently drop something or got some in her system from the smoke her little heart probably would not survive the experience. Obviously this concerns me as it would end her life & DESTROY me. Now the EASY answer (which I already know) is to stop doing the stuff - but unless you are a meth addict that HAS stopped successfully for five years or more - DON'T suggest this as you do NOT know what you are talking about. The old addage of "easier said than done" comes to mind, if it WERE easy to stop I WOULD have LONG AGO. For now I'm satisfied w/the serious reduction I've already been able to accomplish on my own (tried Rehab 4 times - doesn't work for me). So now I engage in "harm reduction" techniques for myself & just want to learn about the potential effects the second-hand smoke MAY be having on my "canine daughter" in the hopes that this information may help serve us BOTH in providing yet another motivation for me to FURTHER reduce or maybe even STOP my usage altogether. ANYONE w/info of this type PLEASE "chime in."