STOP YOUR FRIENDS FROM ABUSING DRUGS

IN LIGHT of the recent growing cases of Ecstasy usage in the country, I
would like to share a personal experience with everyone about the dangers
of Ecstasy.

While I was studying abroad a few years ago, I had a close friend who found
his way into the world of Ecstasy and other types of drug abuse.

He started smoking marijuana, then gradually moved on to Ecstasy and other
forms of amphetamines.

He was such a bright student that he hardly needed to study to pass his
examinations, but through excessive usage of drugs, he had thrown his whole
future away now.

It all started with one "try'', and he got carried away and then later on
needed to "pop'' up to seven Ecstasy pills in one night just to get "high''
to go out and have fun.

It became so bad that he just had to be high even before he stepped out of
the house.

He could not face the world sober.

All of my warnings and advice to him went unheeded.

He finally left the country to come back to Malaysia because he was very
close to getting caught by the cops but even back here he was back to his
old habits.

Lucky for him that his parents are so patient and caring towards him,
despite the fact that he threatened to kill them many times for trying to
stop his habits.

Having been in and out of rehabilitation centres a few times, he finally
sobered up one day and decided to stay away from drugs, with the help of
his parents.

By then it was all too late. The drugs had a permanent effect on him.

At first sight, he seemed always in a daze, and he suffered from short-term
memory loss as well.

He was unable to walk straight and always had trouble eating or sleeping.

He had also become what I would presume to be a paranoid or schizophrenic.

He has to take an expensive prescription drug everyday for the next few
years to help him get back to normal.

He tried getting a normal job, but it was just too much for him to handle,
as he could never get up in time and could not concentrate on anything he
was doing.

My friend is unable to talk properly and stutters most of the time. He
mumbles to himself all the time.

It is such a shame to see a talented person as well as a good friend
wasting his life away like that.

I just wish that I'd done something more back then from the beginning
instead of just advising and warning him.

He is still jobless and is at a total loss as to where to head in his life.

So, to anyone out there who knows of friends who are involved in drugs,
stop them, don't just advise them; action speaks louder than words.

As for my friend, he is lucky to be alive today.

'S.N.', Petaling Jaya.(via e-mail)