By Blake Dykes

I do not fully understand the reasoning behind people doing drugs.

I have heard all the excuses in the world for why people use them, “Marijuana is not bad for you unless it gets you hooked on other drugs” to “I only do it every once in a while.”

One night I was texting a friend and we got on the topic of drugs.

I, for one, am someone that strongly believes in something and does not change my opinion for anything or anyone.

We got deeper in the topic and he told me that he was smoking marijuana. He claimed that he never did anything but pot, and only once a weekend.

Of course, I voiced my opinion about this. It made me very upset that he was doing this. I understood that he had a rough life, but that is never a reason to turn to drugs.

I recall saying to him, “Don’t you know you’re breaking the law every time you do this?”

His respond was, “Blake, I’m stopping. I’ll never do it again.”

As far as I know he kept his promise; however, he still sometimes hangs around with people who continue to do drugs.

I decided to confront him about this once more.

“Look, I realize you are not doing them, but you are guilty by association. This is still illegal, and every time you even watch your friend, it is killing him. You are watching your best friend slowly die. Are you okay with this?”

I do not exactly remember his words after that. He was rather upset, but he clearly understood the point I was attempting to get across.

In high school many people feel it is a time to party, relax, and just have a good time. Very few people look at high school at the beginning of their future.

You slowly creep to that age. Everyone is partying, drinking, doing drugs. You are no longer living for college, your job, or your future; you are living in the moment.

When you were younger you heard about “peer pressure” and it would scare you. You thought, “I am never going to do that! Drugs are bad”, or “I won’t ever get in a car with a drunken friend, I won’t even have friends like that!”

Unfortunately, not many people stay true to who they are and who they wanted to be. When you were younger your teacher would ask you what wanted to do when you grew up. You would say, “I am going to go away to college and be a doctor.” You never thought to tell people you would drop out of high school and get kicked out of the house due to pot.

It all starts with that one time; people are manipulated into trying it. They say to themselves, “Just one time, never again.” However, the next thing you know, grades are slipping, they are stealing money from their parents just so they can buy themselves their next high. Nothing matters anymore except that they have drugs in their possession.

Besides the fact that weed gets you hooked on other drugs, there are also reasons that factor into why it is so bad.

Often you will see or hear someone say, “I would have never done that if I was sober.” When you are getting high, you are not thinking or doing things that you normally would. This is why.

Marijuana contains a chemical, Tetrahydrocannabionl, or also known as THC. This drug changes how the brain works; it is mind altering.

Some of the side effects include: increases heart rate up to 50 percent, increased risk of heart attack, higher risk of oral cancer, long lasting effects on the brain, lung cancer, and more prone to getting asthma.

Now I am not trying to make this another drug lecture everyone is sick of hearing. I just want people to know; they are not the only people being tempted and turning down drugs. People are often called lame, or excluded because they are not in the party crowd. However, years from now, those people that stayed true to who they were are going to have the life they always dreamed of.

There is a simple way to avoid getting into a situation where you may be tempted to smoke. Do not hang around people that are keeping you from achieving your goals you want in life. I know this is easier said than done, but it is just a suggestion.

Follow your ambitions; do not let anything as stupid as drugs stop you.