My friend's grandchildren have parents who smoke pot and crack on a daily basis. She is so worried about them. I would like to have some information to share with her. Grandparents don't have many legal rights over parents, but she is afraid her grandchildren will be irreparably harmed.

Second hand smoke from EITHER of them will effect the children. How much depends on just how much they are exposed to.

Have you contacted the authorities or CPS yet? If you haven't you should.

Even if they used in a vacuum where the kids couldn't see, smell or hear their parents using, the fact is, using crack is illegal, habit forming, and above all dangerous.

That being said, the only right thing to do at this point is to report the parents. They'll get canned, not for a long time, but just enough to kick their habit and hopefully rehabilitate. Then, she can make a case before a judge for legal guardianship.

Depending on how often they use, this could be a cycle, but take whatever action necessary to get clean.

Tell her to watch High on Crack Street. D!cky (damn censor) has a kid and his mother, Alice, raises D!cky while he gets high and is in jail.

Pot is not as harmful secondhand as crack. Crack will go directly to the child's nervous system making them speed up and race around, etc. Crack in a kid can be cumulative.

Turn in mom and dad and they'll do sometime for child endangerment for sure.

You are asking this in the family law forum, so are you wanting medical info, or science info on the effects on the kids.

Or how this may effect custody or reports to CPS ?

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Originally Posted by ms.linda

My friend's grandchildren have parents who smoke pot and crack on a daily basis.

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Hello, linda:

It's your FRIENDS grandchildren.. In other words, you don't know this family at all. Certainly, you won't call the cops on what your FRIEND says. She probably didn't witness it. Why doesn't SHE call the cops? She's the grandmother... She MUST know that second hand crack smoke is BAD. She's asking YOU??

You story has holes big enough to drive a truck through - not the LEAST of which is, that POT smokers DON'T smoke crack... And, CRACK smokers DON'T smoke pot.

excon

excon, I understand all of your comments. My friend's son is an excon, now for 5 days, and is again smoking pot and drinking heavily. His soon to be ex wife smokes crack along with her boyfriend. Of course, she doesn't see them doing it-they aren't idiots-well maybe they are. They have told on the other one and she has seen lots of evidence. Filthy living conditions, no jobs, neglected kids. She tries to help by taking care of the kids. They have three wonderful kids. The two little ones have severe behavior problems and are very aggressive. The middle child is starting K and can not function in a group of children without violence or constant disruption. Her husband died in June and she is dealing with them all wanting her to fix there problems. I hope that explains the holes big enough for trucks to drive through. Now, do you have any helpful advice about the effects of their illegal activities on the kids health? She is thinking which course of action will hurt the kids least.

Ms. Linda,

The reason that the children have terrible behavioral problems and are violent is because they are being exposed to crack and are being neglected socially by their parents. If you haven't call cps by now, you aren't doing the children any favors. They're going to grow up not knowing how to deal with people in a social environment and likely will not have an easy life due to that. Imagine yourself going into a job interview and not being able to hold back your bi-polar thoughts about the person interviewing you. Imagine never being able to have anyone steady in your life because they can't stand to be around you because of your mood swings and the fact that you don't know how to hold a conversation or deal with the slightest problem without freaking out and doing something totally uncalled for or irrational. That's the life they are likely to have unless they are removed from the environment that is causing their problems. It's not only the drug abuse that is causing their behavioral problems; it's the fact that the parents are too busy worrying about getting high to focus on the health, well being, education, and discipline of the children. Also FYI discipline comes from the word disciple; it means "to teach." Whippings, though sometimes justified and necessary in certain circumstances, do not teach the child anything. A child needs someone to get on their level and explain to them why something should or should not be done and the consequences of their actions. Drug abusers don't have that kind of concern for their children. Drug abusers are also likely to over-react to situation and hurt the children while trying to "discipline" them.

Here is a helpful link about the effect of crack on a toddler. I suggest you educate yourself, so that you may be the one who changes the path of these children's lives since it looks to be that fate has thrown this responsibily into your lap.
http://www.ehow.com/info_8393606_effects-toddlers-born-addicted.html