A life destroyed by trying cannabis at 11
THE Mail’s front-page story about nine-year-old children damaged by cannabis and all the talk about legalising this drug for recreational use reminded me of this talk given by my son Andrew to schoolchildren. I feel it could make a big difference to someone who is about to take a step into the terrible world of drug addiction. Andrew said: ‘I began smoking cigarettes at the age of 11. I didn’t enjoy it, but my friends were doing it and it felt good to fit in. ‘Stupidly, I thought that it made me look like one of the boys. ‘Within months, I was encouraged by a mate’s older brother to smoke a joint. I was a bit reluctant at first to try cannabis, but not wanting to look as if I was chicken, I ended up smoking it. ‘I remember it so clearly: I was a bit unhappy at home at the time and I welcomed the feeling that cannabis gave me. It made my mouth dry, but it also made me feel different. ‘It gave me the giggles, and made me and my friends laugh and laugh. What I didn’t realise was that it would be the start of trying more and more drugs. Before long, I was addicted to heroin and crack. ‘It was a very unhappy time for me. Every relationship I had failed, I was in and out of prison and suffered depression and suicidal thoughts. I won’t go too much into my heavy drug use, but there is no doubt in my mind that the day that I first tried cannabis was the day my life started to spiral out of control. ‘I believe 100 per cent that cannabis led me on to try every other drug. I thought I was big and hard, but I ended up a shadow of the person I once was. It ruined the best part of my younger years. I only just started to get my life back together in my 30s. Drugs led me to prison, rehab, hospital on several occasions and almost death. I’ve learned that the bigger and stronger people were the ones who said no to cannabis. ‘My message to all young people is to refuse any drug you are offered. If you do, I can promise that your life will be so much better, you will achieve a lot more and reach your goals. ‘If my story helps stop just one of you from making the same mistakes I did, then I’ll be a happy man. ‘Be in control of your life, don’t let a drug control it for you.’ Sadly, at the age of 41, drugs killed my son Andrew.
BETTY McNAIR, Sheerness, Kent. THE Mail’s coverage of the shocking toll of youngsters admitted to hospital with mental disorders caused by cannabis brought to mind the brilliant song by American satirist Tom Lehrer: ‘The old dope peddler, ‘He gives the kids free samples, ‘Because he knows full well ‘That today’s young, innocent faces ‘Will be tomorrow’s clientele.’ I’ve played in bands since I was 13 and I’ve seen enough evidence of the appalling effect of drug addiction in the U.S. and British jazz fraternity to keep me well away from it.
K. FREEMAN, Little Witley, Worcs.