Drugs: True Stories

DVD Excerpt: Jeanne Blake: There are many different drugs or chemicals that can affect the way you feel. Some are bought on the street or in the hallways at school. Others might be kept in your home, under the sink, in the garage or in the liquor or medicine cabinet. It doesn't matter what substance you use, any drug can lead to trouble. Six months after Joel first used OxyContin, he and a drug-using friend had a moment of clarity.




Joel: We were asking ourselves how did we get into this? You know, we can't do this any more. We're a couple days clean, we don't want to live that life. And five minutes later we're in the car on our way to go get another pill.

Jeanne Blake: As he spiraled into addiction, drugs took priority over everything. Joel's parents had to admit that something was wrong.

Herb: He was very edgy, fly off the handle, temper tantrum. You'd ask him a question and you were immediately invading his privacy. I know that I said it to him, probably at the top of my voice, 'You've got to stop this behavior. You're going down a path that your life will be disastrous.' And I wasn't even thinking drugs at that time.

Jillian: If you are a friend or a sibling and you know someone is using drugs, you have to say something. You have to. Because you do not want to live with the regret of something that might happen. I still live with the regret of not telling someone, and my brother is still alive. What if he died? That regret would be with me for the rest of my life.

Jeanne Blake: Many young people avoid using drugs. They give different reasons for making that choice. Trevor says using drugs would prevent him from reaching his goals.

Trevor: I don't think it's right to just tell someone to say no to drugs. I think the person just has to think things through and use good judgment and think about what could really happen as a result of using drugs. What kind of effect will it have on your health? What kind of effect will it have on those around you? Your family members,

Explain how repeated drug use can harm the brain.

Dr. H. Westley Clark: With frequent use, or chronic use, you change the brain's ability to function normally. Some of those ways are not as clear, as evident, as other ways.

Dr. Howard Shaffer: All drugs that affect the way you feel are affecting your brain, they're influencing how the brain works, they influence the chemistry of the brain, and they can influence the way the brain cells communicate with each other.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• prescription
• drug
• abuse
• oxycontin
• addiction
• recovery
• drug-free
• SAMHSA
• NREPP
• alcohol
• marijuana
• Jeanne
• Blake
• Howard
• Shaffer
• Westley
• Clark
• harm
• brain
• pills
• chronic
• use
• death
• overdose

[MAKER6450]

iv always said weed and booze open the gate to addicting, well i didnt always think that, i was young and dumb once and i thought smoking pot was harmless and i lmfao at the ppl that said it would lead to harder drugs...but they were bloody right, i became a meth user then finaly heroin and oxys took control. weed IS the gateway drug and if you say different then you ether stupid or very lucky you didnt go the next step.

[randy109]

Oxy is sneaky. Quitting is a nightmare. Please don't think you can "play" with Oxy. It don't work like that...

[SouthjettyBill]

@MAKER6450 There is no such thing as a "Gateway Drug." Prohibition propaganda. If someone is looking to escape reality or have "fun" on mind/mood altering substances, why would they stop at just one or two substances when so many exist. People become addicts, in most cases, because their brains are wired that way. So yeah, taking a mind altering substance sets off the addict. People not predisposed can try a drug and then take it or leave it.

[Intoactionrehab]

 Getaway or not. Alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, etc can kill if its abused. Life should be lived in moderation.

[1904vand]

@MAKER6450 yeah right cannabis is the most widly used plant in the world meth is the highest used drug in the trailor park

[boonskety]

@MAKER6450 Weed isn't a gateway drug. Tobacco and Alcohol are the real gateway drugs. I had my first drink before I ever smoked weed or popped pills. Not only that but they kill more people than any other substance out there and are they illegal?

[iPray4Def]

@MAKER6450 marijuana is not a gateway drug, the reason people think it is is simply because if you had never smoked marijuana in the first place would you concider trying something harder? most people wouldn't. Most people that smoke marijuana for along time gain a tolerance and move on to something that can achive that feeling easyer or maybe even looking for a better stronger feeling so its not necessarily saying if you use marijuana you will end up doing cocaine, heroine, meth

[smokeymcgreenston]

@MAKER6450 no its not. some people want to just get hiigh. they often smoke weed and do other drugs. and stoners who just realy like weed and how i makes them feel but dnt do other drugs

[MVGymnist]

Ha, story of my life.

[toughchance4283]

),:

[ticks4ticks4]

For SOME people, this is a "gateway drug"

(supposedly, alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana are the "gateway drugs".). However, so many people use some, or all of these three mentioned drugs and don't go on to "harder" drugs.