Ezdno, so, have you told your kids of your past history with the illegal substances? Is that what you are saying in your post, about being open with them about it? Or are you saying you talk about the issue with them, freely?
I do think family communication is a key factor in helping children learn what the right course is -- but then, to follow through with that, I would assume you would have to freely tell them there might be a problem, if or when they bring home a friend who you would suspect is using. Some kids are open to hearing that, others not, and can get to a point where they consider these friends more important than their family. I think peer pressure can be a very large influence for certain kids.
I too, know a few people who experimented, and while I would say they are living productive and hopefully healthy lives with families and careers et al, they are also not as well-off (i.e. homes, careers, possessions, kids in college) as some of my other friends who never experimented. (It's an interesting question to ponder - whether the 'more well-off' friends are as happy with how their life turned out, compared to those who experimented while traveling the road of life.)
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