Even though prescription drugs are legal, selling and using drugs that you did not obtain through a legitimate medical prescription are illegal acts.
Unless a doctor prescribes medication for you to address your own medical condition, don't take it. If using OTC medication, follow the directions carefully.
You cannot predict the effect that a drug can have on you---especially if it is the first time you try it, and even if it is a small amount or dose. Everyone's brain and body chemistry are different. Everyone's tolerance for drugs is different. It's like playing Russian Roulette.
Using drugs can lead to addiction, impairment and even death.
Marijuana is not medicine.
Addiction and dependency can be addressed through drug treatment, which is a long and hard process. It is far better not to start, not to experiment, not to tempt fate.
Don't buy drugs over the Internet---don't be fooled by claims that the drugs offered on-line are safe.
Many of those who sell drugs to teenagers on the Internet are simply e-dealers.
What is a "Controlled Substance?"
In order to protect the public, Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act which established a system to "schedule" drugs. There are five schedules which the DEA and the FDA use to categorize drugs. Drugs that have the greatest potential for harm and addiction are placed in higher schedules.
In scheduling a drug, the government takes a number of factors into account: the potential for abuse, the scientific evidence of its effects on the body and brain, the drug's risk to the public, and whether a substance or drug can be transformed into another drug with high abuse potential.
Drugs that have high potential for abuse, and which do not have any acceptable medical use are placed in Schedule I. Within Schedules II-V are drugs that have medical uses but can still be dangerous. The lower the schedule, the less addictive and dangerous a drug is. A doctor's prescription is needed for all controlled substances, and the higher the schedule, the more difficult it is to obtain refills.
However, it's important to remember that even substance which are not "controlled" such as over-the-counter medications and inhalants can be abused. And it's important to note that DEA and the FDA are continually re-evaluating a drug's schedule. If a drug which was once thought "safe" is creating significant public health problems, the government has a process to quickly respond and tighten controls. Congress can also re-schedule a drug through legislation and has done so in several cases.
Learn more about the
Controlled Substances Act.
Think Drug use doesn't hurt anyone? Think twice.
It's sometimes hard to see the damage that drugs cause—there's drug addiction, of course, but there's a whole lot more. The families, the medical system, the environment. Innocent kids, caught in the crossfire. Drivers killed or injured by those under the influence. Babies found at meth labs, their toys covered with chemicals. Victims of terrorists, whose acts are financed with drug profits.
Over 26,000 individuals died from drug-induced causes in the United States in 2002, seven times more than those killed in all of the September 11 attacks. Direct costs include those for drug treatment, health care, costs of goods and services lost to crime, law enforcement, incarceration, and the judicial system fees. Indirect costs are those due to the loss of productivity from death, human suffering, drug abuse-related illnesses, victims of crime and crime and its victims.
Most people affected by drugs aren't users. But they pay the price...and so do you. And when people choose to use, they are not just hurting themselves. Drug use isn't a victimless crime, although many people want you to believe that. Where do you think the money for a bag of marijuana goes? Or for a kilo of heroin? Or a gram of cocaine?
Where do you think the chemicals used in meth labs go once they are discarded? Where do they take the babies whose parents get sent to prison for manufacturing? Who pays to take care of these kids?
And what about you—do you mind sharing the road with a drugged driver? Do you want your little sister or brother riding on a school bus while the driver's high on drugs?
Think about it. 
Discussion of the drug issue is sometimes filled with emotion, inaccuracies and wishful thinking. In many cases, what is represented as "fact" is really fiction, and it's hard to notice the difference. Some people downplay the dangers of drugs, their effects on society and their effects on our bodies and brains. Others claim that restrictive government drug policies have harmed our country. Still others tell us that drugs should be plentiful and legal.
Not so long ago, big tobacco companies sold Americans a bill of goods, telling us through advertising and official statements that cigarettes were not harmful—that in fact, they were healthy for us. They denied that certain groups were being targeted for cigarette sales—young people, women, minorities, people in other countries. It's clear now that they simply lied. Millions of Americans are paying the price for these lies-with their lives.
While the illegal drug market is not controlled by a handful of corporate CEOs with large advertising budgets, we are still bombarded with messages telling us that drugs aren't really that bad, and that marijuana is really medicine, that everyone does drugs. The drug market is controlled by greedy individuals and organizations who believe they can make a living off your choices. Their advertising is word-of-mouth, glamorization of drugs through our culture, and dissemination of bad information.
Much of the bad information relates to the legalization of marijuana. Legalization proponents claim that our country is moving towards legalizing all drugs within the foreseeable future. They want you to believe that such a move will take the profit out of drugs, and that legalizing drugs will ultimately benefit society. They also say that marijuana is medicine, and that sick people are being denied relief as a result of Government policy to keep marijuana illegal. Some will tell young people that marijuana is harmless —after all, it's a plant, a natural substance. You will also hear that people can use marijuana without any consequences to their health or their lives.
Think about these claims before you buy into them. Ask some questions:
Do we need more drug problems than we currently have? Don't alcohol, tobacco and prescription drug use cause enough harm already? Wouldn't legalizing drugs —like marijuana, heroin, cocaine or methamphetamine—make things much worse?
Do I want to jeopardize my future by getting involved with drugs? Don't I want to get into a good college, get and keep my driver's license, play sports, get a good job?
Do I know all I need to know about how trying drugs —even once —has affected kids my age? And how do I know what drug use can do to me?
A word about prohibition: lots of you hear the argument that alcohol prohibition failed—so why are drugs still illegal? Prohibition did work. Alcohol consumption was reduced by almost 60% and incidents of liver cirrhosis and deaths from this disease dropped dramatically (Scientific American, 1996, by David Musto). Today, alcohol consumption is over three times greater than during the Prohibition years. Alcohol use is legal, except for kids under 21, and it causes major problems, especially in drunk driving accidents.
It's up to you to get the facts. To know the difference between fact and fiction. To think twice.
Missing YouDrugs have taken too many people too soon. So much promise has been lost because of drugs. If you have a story you would like to share—about friends or family members who have died as a result of drugs—please submit it for possible inclusion on the Vigil for Lost Promise
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