Don't think how didn't I know, I know this is hard to do. Trust me when I tell you that there is not one 20-something I am friends with who didn't do something incredibly dangerous that their parents never knew about.

I agree with you when I you say tht you know this "I've learned my lesson thing" won't last. I remeber as an RA in a dorm how many times we'd send people to the ER and then a month later we would see them drunk again.

It's hard when you have to send them away knowing what's going on. I don't know how well a contract will work, but I would enourage him to do some other things to get him involved at the school, possibly getting him away from the people who have influenced him since he went off to college. He should see a counselor and I would urge him o see someone at school. It's free, there is always someone there and they are usually well-versed in these types of problems.

The one thing I wouldn't do is talk to him about drinking every time you talk to him. Make your concerns known. Let him know what it's doing to you to know that he has this problem. Let him know what you would like him to do about and then let it go. I know he's still in school and he's your child, but if he's on his own, he needs to know that this is something he has to do for himself because he respects himself. You'll be there to help, but it is up to him.