POV: Drug Abuse

Yeah, so I really have no idea how to start this off, but I am 15 years old and I have done so many drugs in the past year. I regret every second of it. I have had so many problems since i started doing drugs...I am now depressed and I am on medication for it. I'm not gonna sit here and say that all the times I was on drugs was bad...I have had many fun times. But so many bad things have happened too. I really wish I would have never got started doing drugs...and the worst part is, that my best friend was the one who got me started doing all this. I have even come down to getting addicted to oxycontin and yes it's true I really am. I know it's horrible but I can't stop because my body has gotten so used to having it and I know I need help but I cant get it without telling my dad. I really just want to say that to ANYONE reading this who is thinking about doing drugs...really DON'T! It is the worst thing to get into and your life WON'T be the same and if you don't believe it, just read other people's stories...Please don't get involved into the world of drugs...it's only gonna ruin your life.
--Nicki, 15, Hilliard, OH

Please whatever you do: Say no to drugs! I have seen first hand what they can do to people and its not pretty! I'm not going to sit here and lecture, but just say no...simple as that!
--Shannon, 19, Paulsboro, NJ

I'd like to give some advice. Drugs are a bad thing to get into. If you're about to do drugs, don't be an idiot and do your whole stash in one night and only do it around people you can trust. This goes out to all you younger kids in high school who think you know what you're doing. Take it from me, I've done it all and I just recently quit 'cuz the stuff gets old. That is the only way to quit drugs, by realizing that if you keep it up, years from now you'll be some burnt out loser spending your money on dope till you die. Be safe. No one wants to see you turn into a lifeless piece of trash, looking for a fix to get you through the day.
--Ollie, 20, Wilmington, NC

I feel that all drugs are bad. As a current and past user of some very serious drugs, I know first-hand some of the bad side effects of drug use, even one time use. Now, I didn't try just any drug. I heavily researched each drug I was interested in trying beforehand. I know many peole who have just gone in and tried a drug blindly and freaked out because they didn't know if what was happening was normal or not. Big mistake! Some of those people had to go to the hospital. Thankfully, none died. Of course, I know I should never have even considered doing any drug in the first place. But I was curious.
--Eric, 20, Greenville, NC

Our school is the largest school in the state and we have alot of drugs there because it's a "rich" school. I always said I would never do drugs. Well, with all the peer pressure, I started doing "triple C" or also known as "coricedin" (cold and cough). One night I took fifteen and I ended up having sex with this boy I had met only twice.
--Janna, 15

From past experiences, I've realized that drug addiction is a terrible thing to ever get hooked on. I'm only a junior in high school and already I've been to three different hospitals, two different treatment places, and I've been taken out of my public school because I only had two credits at the beginning of third quarther when I was supposed to have at least nine credits. Now, I have to go to an alternative school to catch up on my credits so that I can graduate with my class. I can't explain how hard it is to know that I might not graduate with my class or get to go to my public high school for my senior year, all because I wanted to do drugs. I just want to help other teens such as myself. I want to teach them that drugs aren't something you want to get involved with because they just mess up your entire life.
--Danika, 16, Belle Plaine, MN

Anyone that has done, is doing, or is even considering doing drugs, please don't. Besides hurting yourself, you are hurting other people in your life. My ex-boyfriend did some drugs, and because of this we broke up. I miss him terribly and it hurts me so much to watch him hurt himself. Whether or not you think so, you are hurting someone when you do drugs. I have watched friends become addicts and they are in denial. They have changed alot in a negative way. In my opinion, no matter what it is, if something is hurting your life in a negative way, then it's not good for you.
--H, 16, California

I am addicted to speed, and it's really messing up my life, so I am trying to quit. It has been a week almost since the last time I did it, which may sound bad to you, but is good for me. So my advice is: never even touch the stuff, 'cuz the first time you do it won't be the last time. Trust me. You can't just do it once.
--Kenzie, 15, Kearney, NE

I have been taking drugs since I was 13. I like doing drugs a lot but I experience depression every day. I think that it is everyone's right to do drugs. If you have enough will power to know when you are becoming addicted and to stop if necessary, then I say hell yes, you should do drugs all you want. I know that I have enough will power to stop when I need to. Right now I am in college and I don't do drugs that often, like a few times in past few months. But stay away from needles and heroin-- that stuff will totally mess your life up. I have had a few friends be really messed up from H. And I know that alcohol is the worst drug you can do because I had a friend that was taking speed every weekend and during the week, as well as smoking hash every chance he got...I got him off of all that and he turned to alcohol and there was nothing I could do to stop him...nothing. I tried and tried to help him but once he was on that stuff, he was lost in the bottles.
--Denise, 19

No. People shouldn't try drugs until they know all there is to know about them, like what their side effects are, and what can happen to your body, and so on. My boyfriend is still stopping drug use. He has been doing them since about 9th grade, and he knows more now about what can happen to him. He knows how much I don't want him doing that lame stuff, and he knows how much he means to me and how much he means to everyone else that loves him just as much as me. With our help, he will surely stop completely.
--Mallory, 14, Andover, MN

I have alot to say. I wish I didn't. I'm almost 17 and I have been through more than I would think I would ever go through. But I'm an alcoholic. I have done every drug out there, and I love the feel of it all. I tell people that I'm not in that stuff but the only reason I got in it is to hide all my problems, and I wish that I could have found something else to hide my problems. I hate being me, and everyday I wish I could change that, but I cannot, and it sucks, but I have to deal with it! I want people to know that alcohol and drugs are not the thing to be hooked on, so think about what I'm saying and DON'T do what I did!
--Alyse, 17, Aurora, CO

Yes. At first it was through friends. Then I would go up to people at raves and get some. It just always seemed to be around. The first thing I tried was LSD, hallucinogens are popular in Dallas. Then ecstasy and heroin. It took me a long time to get off, so no, I wouldn't do it again or advise people to do drugs. It's a waste of everything: time, money, etc.
--Sara, Dallas, TX

I have tried weed, magic mushrooms, LSD and ecstasy...and I am only 14 years old! I have grown up with drugs. My mum smoked weed and my dad used to deal cocaine. I know that it is fund to take drugs, but think about your future-- how will they affect it? I started taking drugs when I was 10 years old, and I have taken them for 4 years straight, and I have trouble concentrating in school. I have trouble sleeping at night and I get very paranoid all the time. So my life is practically over before it started. Please, I may be younger than some of you who read this, but take my advice. Don't go there!
--Hailie, 14, Christchurch, New Zealand

I've felt curious about drugs every once in a while, but I always realize how much it would subtract from my life, and the curiosity drops rather quickly.
--Molly, 14, Pocatello, ID

I just want kids to realize that they don't need drugs to feel good about themselves. Our society is full of pathetic images of how people should look, act, dress, etc. I have seen girls starve themselves to sickness just so they can look more like Kate Moss and guys that completely change themselves in order to conform to some stereotype of "the perfect male." Our culture is sick and twisted and we wonder why there are school shootings! Hello! Our culture breeds envy and teaches people to hate themselves on the outside, which only in turn leads them to hate themselves on the inside. Everyone is beautiful, unique, talented, and special in their own way. Maybe if we spent more time encouraging this idea, we wouldn't have so many kids turning to drugs in order to feel better. That's why I started doing drugs at age 15. Nothing else made me feel good, not my parents, not the kids at my school, nothing. I did my share of drugs in high school, and now I look back on that and I get angry because for so long I hated myself because I wan't what anyone wanted. Now I know that I never should been angry at myself, but rather, upset with the world I was born into. So, feel good about yourselves for being you and stay away from the bulls**t.
--Catey, 21, Worcester, MA

It seems that suddenly, everyone who's "cool" in movies, on television, in books or magazines, smokes or drinks. Anti-drug advertisements are not very effective. Most people just laugh them off, unless they are deathly realistic.
--Molly, 14, Pocatello, ID

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