• I was running for my life again through a vast forest. The chases I go through are as terrifying as being chased by a hungry wolf. Ever since I was fourteen, I had to do this. I had no money and had to steal to survive and get drugs. I was terrible addicted to marijuana.
    I started taking dope because of peer pressure in middle school. All of my friends took drugs and kept urging me to do it. I refused. My family also took drugs, yet they kicked me out of the house when they discovered I took marijuana. There was even a health teacher who took drugs and got arrested when he was caught. In the end, I succumbed. My friends gave me weed and I was immediately addicted. I continued to take the drugs. I knew I was risking my life, but I still took it anyways. I was a fish who kept on eating food off a hook, knowing I could get harmed.
    That was how I ended up stealing after losing all of my money and kicked out of the house. That was how I am where I am today, running and gasping for breath. I did try to quit once, but I failed to do so.
    I decided I should stop doing drugs because I didn't like being chased by some person trying to punish me for stealing money. Going through the withdrawal symptoms was very challenging. It was finally one week since I last smoked. However, while I was walking, the person who always sold me marijuana approached me and offered to sell me some. The marijuana the person held out in his hand talked to me. It told me to buy it and smoke it. I ended up following its orders. The man took me to a dark alley and sold the drugs to me. Then, the man left, leaving me with the marijuana. I knew I shouldn't, but seeing the drugs caused me to waste all of my efforts and smoke weed again.
    "You won't escape!" The man I was running from yelled.
    I was trying to escape from the man's grasp. I could tell he was gradually becoming exhausted, but so was I. It was harder to breathe. The drugs were affecting me. I saw a small crack in something and quickly wedged myself through.
    "Where did she go!?" The man muttered, furious.
    I wastched him search for me as my heart rated slowly lowered. When the man finally gave up, he cursed and left. Another day I managed to escape. I ate my sandwich and surveyed my surroundings.
    I was in a cave. The open space was endless. I could place 15 elephants inside and still have plenty of space left over. It was a little cold, but it was okay. I decided it would be my new shelter. I went out of the cave and fetched my few items. When I returned, it was already late. I went inside and fell asleep.
    The next morning, I used the money I stole to buy a small breakfast, a newspaper and some marijuana. After that, I went back to the cave I found yesterday. I ate my breakfast and read my newspaper.
    Thud! I dropped my bread on the ground. I was shocked by what I read.

    High School Students Affected by Marijuana


    Two teenage girls were high on drugs when they crashed. They ended up dying and leaving their family and friends in tears. The people they crashed into were also killed in the crash and the people they crashed into were drunk. The two girls, who were taking drugs, were Mary Smith and Jessica Andrews.
    One teenage boy named Kevin Michaels, died from emphysema. Smoking marijuana is worse than smoking tobacco because it is unfiltered, but they are both still unhealthy choices. Two of Kevin's friends were hospitalized with lung cancer because they smoke marijuana. Tears were shed from the tree boys' families and other friends.
    Three funerals for three teenagers were held on April 22nd.
    "Too many teenagers do drugs. It is really harmful to them, yet they still take drugs. Why do they do this?" A man who attended Mary's funeral stated.
    He is right. Many teenagers are dying from car crashes because they were high on drugs. Drugs slow reaction time; so many teenagers, and adults, can't react fast enough to prevent a car crash. Marijuana can also cause many long-term effects like emphysema, causing more marijuana users to die. What will get teenagers to not use drugs? We also found more high school students who died from drugs. They include (read more on page B3)

    All of the teenagers mentioned in the article were my friends. They were severely affected from taking drugs. Even "Albert Einstein" Joe was not smart enough to not use drugs. His grades slipped and he later died. Tears flowed from my eyes after I read the article.
    I flipped a few pages, trying to find something happy. I saw something that caught my eye. The section was about tragic incidents that occured to adults. When I read it, I received morw shocking news.
    In the article, I discovered that my mother died from using too much drugs and my father had emphysema. Living with this condition was very painful and when my mother died, my father decided to suicide. In their will, my parents' money, house and car all goes to me, but I have to be drug free to claim everything.
    My parents and friends were all affected by dope and other drugs. I wept and hated myself for taking drugs. I knew I was going to have a funeral early if I didn't stop taking marijuana. I don't want that to happen and I definitely don't want to continue smoking marijuana, but quitting is difficult. I felt like I needed the drug.
    I woke up. I couldn't breathe. I was panicking. I was frightened I would die. Then, I finally was able to breathe again. I knew that weed was affecting me and the effects are showing. I had to quit, no matter what. I couldn't die like my friends and parents, I didn't want to nor did I plan to.
    My goal was to quit drugs and have a better life. I did everything in my power to reach my goal. I stopped smoking and had to go through the withdrawal symptoms. They were as terrible as before, but I was determined to reach my goal. I tried to be able to look at marijuana and resist my temptations to smoke it. I worked really hard to become a non-marijuana user.
    Three weeks passed and I was still successful in not taking the drug anymore. Then one month, two and then three months passed by and I did not smoke any weed. I was proud of myself. Resisting the drug also gradually became easier. The effects from my marijuana use and a small temptation to use it again were still there, but the short-term effects were gone.
    After half a year passed by since I last got high on drugs, I went to the house that was placed under my name after the death of my parents. I used the money I was given to go to a doctor to try and repair my lungs. I also used it to finish school. I got a job, so I could support myself and my life did improve. I reached my goal and was satisfied.
    I made an advertisement to tell teenagers to not use drugs. I didn't want any teenager to have to die like my friends and parents or have to live their life similar to the way I lived mine when I took drugs. Everyone should live a happy and drug free life. The best way to do that is to never start no matter what.