got to balance this one-as an alcoholic for years i have had numerous relapses-i keep having them-my family etc are sick of telling me what i'm doing-maybe he just needs support-i've got support on here and now, from a.a-i know its not the same situation but he must have a hole in his life somewhere-and i dont mean familywise or anything-it could be something thats gtot to him in the past and keeps recurring-i know i can go for weeks and weeks dry and then i hit the floor-i'm trying to work out what triggers me-maybe he needs to talk to someone to see what triggers him-if he's just using it for recreation purposes then that's one thing-if he's using it to black out/mask underlying things then the sooner he adresses them the better-i have been using drink etc to make myself feel better about things that have happened to me-and after a while the dark thoughts come in and you think-oh f**k it-theres no point-it's never going to go away-i'm waiting for psychotherapy to help me resolve my issues-maybe he needs to actually sit and talk to someone outside of "the box" i mean, someone that doesn't know him or you-someone he can open up to without fear of any repercussions-i know when i see my shrink i come out feeling drained-but a little bit of weight is lifted off my shoulders each time-and knowing what i tell him is confidential-and he doesn't know me or any of my closest anyway-so he can't really disclose what is said, makes me feel better.
i know this may be not what you want to hear but dope him up on meds as much as you want-as proven, he's been in rehab-come out-and gone back to his ways.
sounds to me (armchair psychologist lol ) like he does need to speak to someone over this, before he goes too far.
good luck and keep us posted.
john.