ASK A TEEN

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A TEEN ASKS:
A few of my friends have been dropping acid and "shrooming". I know it's dangerous, but I'm so curious to try it with them and I don't want them to think I'm a geek. What should I do?

Stay strong. Don't do it! It's addicting, it's gross, and extremely dangerous. Look at how stupid a person looks when they're on drugs, how repulsive they look. Then look at the side effect. Move on to a different group of friends and be a better person.
--Katie W., 17, St. Petersburg, FL

Don't do drugs! Drugs ruin your life, especially the chemical onces because they damage your brain. If someone offers you a drug, just say no. It's not as easy as you think, but just do it. Tell people that you don't want to end up dead. There are many drugs that are mixed with rat poison, ammonia, and alot of other things that can kill you. So remember, don't touch them and if you need help, search the Internet for a way to get help, or tell a teacher of family member.
--Anonymous

Hallucinogenics are one of those things that you shouldn't do if you don't want to. The effects of acid and mushrooms put you in such an altered state that if you didn't want to be there, you wouldn't have a good time anyway. If your friends are the kind of people that would scrutinize you for not taking acid, then you don't want to do it with them anyway.
--Alexandra L., 17, New York, NY

Don't do drugs. You might only do it once, but it will become a habit. Be smart and safe.
--Pamela A., 16, Las Vegas, NM

If they think you are a geek for not doing drugs, then they are not really your friends. Tell them how you feel and they should understand.
--Ashley J., 17, Detroit, MI

Well, acid is a serious drug. You can never know how you will react to the drug. It can be a really scary experience for you. So you should think about the chance that you might get a bad experience out of it. You never should feel pressured to take any drugs either, and if you have good friends they won't pressure you to take the drugs.
--Camila D., 15, Miami, FL

They will respect your decision if they are your friends.
--Amanda O., 15, Las Vegas, NM

ASK AN EXPERT

A TEEN ASKS:
I have a friend who had an Acid "Flashback" at school and it was pretty scary. What is that?

Dr. Alan Leschner, National Institute on Drug Abuse, responds:

One of the things that happen with acid is that it actually gets stored in fat tissue, and there's a lot of fat tissues in your brain, so you're storing LSD and it can sit there for a long time. The LSD starts to leak out of these fat stores and, as it leaks out, it gives you a little pop of LSD and you could have a hallucination that occurs quite a bit later in time.