Friendships and Drugs

Friends Don’t Let Friends Do Drugs

Have you seen the commercial for the website Friends Don’t Let Friends Die? It spins from the slogan Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk. It’s an intervention freelance style.

It is okay to tell a friend if that person is doing something to hurt him or herself. It’s okay to go against the crowd if they are doing something that is not right. It is normal to tell your parents when your friend confides you that their mother or father is on drugs or drunk all the time.

We have to remember that our friends are sometimes victims of other people’s actions and addictions. We also have to bear in mind that a person can often die from an overdose because his friends are just as high as possible and are not immediately aware that something is wrong. That is why people need to be educated on what can happen when a person takes drugs. That is why it is also important to clarify responsibility.

A person is responsible for his or her own actions when voluntarily taking drugs. When a group of friends gets together to get high, none of them are thinking sensibly. If they were, they would not be taking drugs in the first place.

On that same note, however, a person who takes drugs damages their brain and way of thinking. What to do? If you are a friend, a reliable friend, then do what is right. If you are at a party and a friend overdoses or loses consciousness or gets sick, seek help immediately. The consequences are far less than if someone dies at a party, and no one cared or sought help. Not to mention that, well, that is what friends are for, to be there for each other when needed.

Just as soldiers in combat lay down their lives for their buddies, have each other’s back, so too does friendship involve going the extra mile. If your friend is using, and you are not, seek help. Tell your parents, your teacher, someone in a position of authority who can help your friend get treatment. If you are at a party, and something happens, call 911.

Friends don’t let friends die, not on purpose. If you and your friends were not wise enough to say no to trying something and then one of them gets sick, make the emergency call. Knowing you tried is what counts. If you succeed, it is even better. You and your friends are on a battlefield when it comes to drugs. Drugs can’t handle real friendships, but friendships can beat out drugs. Look out for each other, okay?