BECAUSE THEY HURT PEOPLE, DUH

I understand the thought process behind doing drugs for
fun.

As I've watched my friends try various chemical drugs over the years,
I have sometimes wanted to join in because it looks exciting.

But watching my friends go through myriad experiences with substances
is exactly the same reason I've stayed away from drugs like cocaine,
ecstasy, meth, and acid. I've witnessed everything that can go wrong,
and that's enough to keep me away.

I've seen the life of someone close to me spiral into a black pit of
suicidal depression when she crossed that thin, dubious line between
'recreational drug user' and coke addiction.

I've seen a friend go from the happiest, most loving person in the
world on a Saturday night to a catatonic, vacantly staring,
dry-mouthed ghost over the next three days as she came down from an
ecstasy high.

I was out camping this summer when a beautiful girl walked over to our
campsite to say hello, hit the ground like a ton of bricks, foamed at
the mouth, choked on her own vomit and was eventually carted away by
EMS.

Her friend told paramedics she was just drunk, but later revealed to
me that she had taken eight hits of MDMA that morning. Her friend had
been too scared to tell paramedics that they had done illegal drugs,
and I don't know to this day what happened to that girl.

Throw out as much statistical evidence as you want, my own experiences
have taught me enough to know you can't attach the word 'recreational'
to lethal substances capable of destroying people's minds and
potentially killing them. It's a misnomer that can have grave
consequences.

Disclaimer: The Weal doesn't condone or discourage drug use. We think
you should make up your own damn mind.