I won't take sides here; it's already been said that only one side of the story has been presented. But I've been around too, and have witnessed more than a few situations where the parents were indeed out of whack. There's no way for us to know, really.

Rachel, we've talked before, and I know you're an intelligent person with a lot going for her. I know, too, that you've had your difficulties. It's would be easy for me to speculate about what's the right thing to do, but I can remember what it was like to be 17 - 18, and know that I had a long way to go before I started getting my act together. So, no holier than thou here, just a bit of understanding based on personal experience. You can't control your parents, but you can control yourself, and maybe find some middle ground where everybody's at least at a level of mutual tolerance. Sometimes you have to bend a little, but if anybody had told me this when I was 17, I'd have had a hard time relating to it. It's probably impossible for your parents to understand you completely, but it's not their fault; they had parents and problems of their own, no doubt, when they were young. They do the best they can with what life's taught them. Sometimes life is an unworthy teacher. That goes for us all.

You're a beautiful, intelligent girl. So if you can focus yourself on living within certain boundries, the ones we all have to deal with, you could have quite a good life.

If I can just add one more thing, it's that the more substances and wild lifestyle stuff we do, the more confusing and difficult our lives become. Sometimes it helps a lot to take a vacation from living on the edge, just to get your head together.

Good luck.

you know who