Drugs Don’t Help You, They Destroy You

Maria Bello, The Warrior Times - SV De-Bug - March 21, 2018 - 4 minute read

Editor's Note:

Many times if we aren't in the lives of teenagers we forget that they can be dealing with so much. This young person, shares her fist hand experience with a family member's drug use – what started it and why she hopes others don't fall into the same hole.

Do they make you forget your problems? Do they make you feel like you’re in your own world? Many people say that drugs make you feel happy, something they call “lit.” Some people just use drugs to fit in with others or to appear older.

My uncle experienced happiness when he started using drugs at the age of 14. He said that he started doing them because his father abandoned his mother and him. He wanted to forget his father and feel strong like “a real man.” First, he started with marijuana. Then, one of his friends showed him a little bag that contained little white crystals.

His friend told him that it was called crystal meth and if he tried it, he was going to feel strong. Since that day, my uncle has been doing crystal meth until today. I asked him why he does drugs. He replied, “they make me feel strong and alive.” However, I told him that they were not good for his health and that he needed help, but he didn’t take me seriously.

I tried to help my uncle, so I searched up where he can get help and found a lady named Mia. She worked in a center where people with addictions get the treatment they need. She said that at first drug addicts say that they’re fine and to leave them alone.

“Some patients are way harder to talk to and help, but nothing is impossible,” said Mia. I told my uncle about him needing to get help, but he told me to leave him alone.

One night, my uncle came home looking really bad. I remember his eyes were red and he was wearing his blue jeans and a black shirt. I tried to talk to him, and touched his hands which felt like a block of ice. It felt like as if he was already dead. I couldn’t say anything, and I left to my room. Later that night, he started throwing plates in our house and my parents got up to see what was going on. My uncle started yelling at my parents as they tried to calm him down. I felt scared and sad at the same time because he is a part of my family and seeing him act like this really made me feel terrible.

The next day, my parents were really mad and they talked to him. They told him that they have tried to help him, but he just didn’t want to take the help and how he never changed. My parents couldn’t go to work because they were scared that my uncle might try to yell or hit my siblings and I.

A couple weeks later, my parents told my uncle that he could no longer live with us. My uncle left and I haven’t seen him since. Thinking about him today, I wish everything goes well for him and that he realizes drugs are not good.

According to www.drugfreeworld.org, 208 million people around the world use drugs daily. Similar to my uncle, I learned that drugs can separate families and can make us lose everything. Consequently, as you get older, you can hurt your own body using drugs, and it can inevitably destroy you as a person.

If you know you are affected by the excessive amount of drug use, I highly recommend you go see someone that can help you with your addition like someone you are close to or a specialist. Try to prevent yourself from falling into a hole that’s hard to get out of. Witnessing my uncle’s abuse of drugs, I believe the use of drugs is not worth it in the long run.

This story was first published by The Warrior Times.

The Warrior Times is Yerba Buena High School's student-run news publication that creates stories by the youth, for the youth. The young people write passionately about issues occurring in their lives, communities, and the world. Together, they are working toward elevating collective consciousness, compassion, and commitment to justice.

Tags: drug use , family relationships , the warrior times , yerba buena high school