TEEN REGRETS TRYING DRUGS

Drugs are a problem that many people face in their lives.

Friends, problems at home or school, peer pressure or simple boredom can
lead to people abusing drugs.

One teenager who wished to remain anonymous said he started running with
some "bad" friends and using marijuana and tobacco last December.

The drugs, he said, "make you feel like you're flying."

"I couldn't stop coughing. I couldn't remember anything that happened at
the time," he said. "I killed brain cells. I took a risk of hurting someone
else. They messed me up."

He said some of his other friends persuaded him to stop using drugs.

"But that whole week I was messed up," he said.

Even though he has stopped, he said, about half of his friends still do drugs.

"They're wasting their lives away, smoking out their rooms," he said.