5 Reasons to Say NO to Drugs

1. Drugs can destroy your life
2. Drugs can destroy your family’s life
3. Drugs can kill
4. Drug addiction is difficult to recover from
5. Drugs can land you in jail and ruin your reputation

Saying NO to drugs is so much more important that you realize. In fact, it is one of the most important decisions of your life, and one of the best decisions you will ever make. You should never even start taking drugs, or even just “try” them.

If you have friends who do drugs, it is very likely that they will offer them to you. The first thing you need to do is to say NO, as soon as they are offered. The next thing you should do is get out of the environment where the drugs are being taken. If you’re worried about being cool, make up some reason why you need to go.

Staying in a place where people are doing drugs causes five problems:

• It will be harder for you to continue to say no
• You can get in trouble if they get caught, even if you did not take anything
• You will be pressured more than once to join in (peer pressure)
• There is a chance you will be influenced by drugs in the air (contact high)
• Someone may try to slip drugs into your food or drink without you knowing

If people you know do drugs, encourage them to stop. Tell them to buy chantix or other approved drugs for de-addiction. If they don’t respect you for taking a stand, it’s time to consider finding new friends. There are billions of people on the planet. Losing a few friends for doing the right thing and choosing not to ruin your own life in the process is ok.

Getting hooked on drugs is easy. It can ruin your life, your family’s life, and someone can end up dead. It’s not worth it! Also, think about the people who will lose respect for you: teachers, friends, people you might date, coworkers, classmates—you might even lose a job and your self esteem.

How does jail time sound? How does being so addicted that you can’t do anything every day but think about drugs and waste away your life sound?

No matter how many times you hear it from everyone around you, it is STILL TRUE: JUST SAY NO TO DRUGS! You will surely regret it if you don’t!

If you or someone you know is on drugs, there is help. Look online or in the phone book for “substance abuse” to find out about treatment options. People care and will help—don’t be afraid to ask. Once you are free from drugs, you still have to be careful not to relapse. See these articles on Relapse Trigger #1, Relapse Trigger #2 and Relapse Trigger #3.