DRUGS: LIVES RUINED, LIVES LOST
Drugs are like sledgehammers,” points out Dr. Eric Nestler. Indeed, a single dose of these chemical sledgehammers can be deadly. “Crack cocaine, for example, has been known to kill people the first time they used it,” explains the book Drugs In America. The new wave of synthetic drugs can be just as hazardous. “Gullible youngsters buying drugs at a ‘rave’ party can have no idea of what chemical cocktail is about to bombard their brains,” warns the United Nations World Drug Report. For most youngsters, however, the descent into the depths of drugs addiction is gradual one, as the following examples illustrate. “AN ESCAPE FROM REALITY” Pedro, one of nine children, was born in a rough neighborhood in the city of Cordoba, Spain. His childhood was traumatic because of his father’s alcoholism. When Pedro was 14, his cousin introduced him to hashish. Within, a month, he was hooked. “T