Current Coalition Newsletter

Drugs and My Life

by Latisha McNeil

I first tried marijuana when I was thirteen years old. It was the “cool” thing to do during that time. All of my peers and schoolmates were doing it, so I did it just to fit in with the other cool teenagers. At first, it was just a once-in-a-while thing. Soon it became my drug of choice. I would always say, “I could stop if I wanted to” or “I just do it because I like it.” The truth was, I was just in denial. I was addicted.

As more time went by, I became a heavy marijuana smoker. It went from a pastime to every day; then from every day to every day, all day. I dropped out of school at age fifteen. Soon after dropping out, I became pregnant with my first child. I managed to quit smoking “weed” during the pregnancy. However, I quickly picked the bad habit back up after my son was born.

I enrolled back in school to get my GED. At first, I had perfect attendance and was making good grades. Since school was the only time I had away from the responsibility of being a teen mother, I began skipping school to smoke weed. It was my way of dealing with the stress of being a teen mother. By that time I was able to admit to others and myself that I had a problem, so I sought help. I found out about the Alcohol and Drug Services (ADS) Program. I attended and got involved. I had to attend a women’s group from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of each week.

Being in the group helped me out a lot. I saw many women and heard many stories about their drugs of choice. I also heard how bad their addictions were. I was the only female in the group whose drug of choice was marijuana. The other drugs of choice were cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, etc.

They explained to me how they too started out smoking marijuana. Marijuana is a “gateway” drug, and after using it for so long, you will eventually move to a bigger, more addictive, drug. This was a wake-up call for me because I knew it would be impossible to take care of the two children I have today and deal with an addiction too.

I completed the program with perfect attendance and passed all my drug screens. I have been clean from all drugs (except tobacco, but that is another story) since I was sixteen years old. I am eighteen years old today. I am a drug-free single mother of a daughter and a son. They are beautiful children, and I wouldn’t trade my drug-free life for anything in this world.