Subvert -- now, I AM a pot smoker so hopefully this won't sound hypocritical, but hear me out as to why drug counselling isn't a bad idea. The problem isn't so much pot vs other drugs, but rather why you need to be 'set free'. Free from what? The other problem is that you are pretty young. I don't mean that as a slam, but as someone who was once young myself, I know that when we use substances (alcohol, drugs) at a young age, it makes us much more susceptible to addiction and lowers the standard for what other substances we are willing to experiment with.

Our concern as parents seeing a young person do things like drink or try drugs is that we worry that if we DON'T intervene, that it may turn into a lifelong substance abuse problem. If we had some kind of crystal ball into the future and could guarantee that our teenagers would always be responsible with regard to pot or drinks, then we probably wouldn't freak out as easily. But worst case scenario is that your mom doesn't do or say anything to you about it and then next thing you know the situation has gotten completely out of control and you've messed up your life. THAT is what she is probably worried about -- not the fact that you smoke a little pot now and then. Think of all the guilt she would go through if she ignored it and you ended up a drug addict.

Can you see it now from her perspective? She doesn't have much choice as a parent than to do something about it.

Here's what I recommend. Tell her that you are willing to see a therapist for 5 sessions, and if after 5 sessions the therapist recommends that you need drug counselling, that you will go without complaint. Therapy is great -- you'll find that everyday problems are easier to deal with if you have a 'team' of people to help you work on them, so you might as well get the free therapy while you have the option. If you really don't have a drug problem, then the therapist can tell your mom that and get her off your case. But if the therapist DOES think you have a problem, well, then you owe it to yourself to get the drug counselling.

What do you think?