Substantial evidence is accumulating which emphasizes the significant role of the family for drug abusing adolescents. To investigate the influence of the family on adolescents (N=17) involved in heavy marihuana use, interviews with family members, case studies of each adolescent, and psychological evaluations were conducted to determine the seriousness of the adolescent's drug use. Even for those adolescents who were no longer heavy drug users, the drug use experience led to lower aspirations. Many adolescents, once excellent students, used drugs as a means of withdrawing from the demands and pressures of school and the expectations of their families. Family dynamics clearly contributed to marihuana use. Conflict with non-drug-using siblings preceded drug use and was often a contributing factor. In all its functions, marihuana served to detach adolescents from the problems of the real world. The findings suggest that family psychodynamics contribute to adolescent marihuana abuse and work to shape the specific meaning such abuse has for each adolescent. (JAC)