Article January 1, 2001 Issue

good-bye, drugs

by Laura Milone—Montevideo, Uruguay

I don't remember many of the details of how it all happened, but the fact is that about three years ago I was able to escape the world of drugs. Taking drugs had seemed necessary to be part of a group or to be popular. I felt pressured into following the crowd and trying the thing everybody says makes you so "high" and "cool." That's how I got hooked.

It was a nightmare. I didn't want my parents to see me high, so I spent several nights on the street, in the middle of the winter, while they believed I was staying with a friend. I even stole from the people I loved, so I could buy drugs.

After a couple of years, my parents began to notice my behavior, and my grades at school went down. Then they discovered what I was doing. They cut off my contact with the friends who were doing drugs.

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