You can't stop her. You CAN be a friend, which may not look the way you think it should look... she's going to have to find out for herself what consequences come with those actions, that's the real teacher in life. The way you can help is to stay engaged with her and help point them out. Another way you can help is to point out what you think is driving her actions -- someone who wants to get high is basically saying "my ordinary state of consciousness is unsatisfactory to me" (and thus it needs enhancement). Another way to say that is "I'm unhappy with my life". As a friend, you may be in a position to help her explore WHY she is unhappy with her life, and point her toward healthy ways to deal with that, rather than escaping into altered mental states. Real satisfaction requires that we confront our demons and weaknesses, not candy-coat them with chemical pleasure. You can't stop her from indulging, but you can continue to point this out to her as she slides down the slope.

What will get through to her really depends on her personality. The important thing is to be honest. DO NOT LIE. If you lie about a subject like this, she will disregard anything you may ever say on the topic ever again. So don't say anything like, "marijuana will stop your heart" or something like that, because it's just not true, and she can easily find that out. However, most drugs are illegal for a good reason - they have very bad side effects. So gather these up. Cocaine for example has very bad effects on your brain. I work in a hospital and I have seen MANY people in ICU who were doing cocaine and had a stroke, these are ordinary looking housewives usually. Tell her exactly what the drugs do and exactly what the consequences may be. Some of these things will change how your brain works FOREVER. Killing brain cells is not an attractive prospect for anybody, and certainly not worth feeling good for a few hours. Secondly, lay out the legal ramifications of what could happen if she gets caught. I'm talking prison sentences, what the mandatory minimums are in your state, a permanent record as a drug offender, impact on future college and job prospects, etc. Stories about people you know who suffered terrible consequences from drugs will be very helpful. Even news clippings about local people her age who went to jail, lost their scholarship, became homeless, or went to the hospital from side effects, all of these will be more real to her than platitudes about 'just say no'. Facts. Those are the best reasons not to use dangerous drugs and the most convincing ones. The trouble is most people lie to kids about why not to do drugs. "Because they're not cool." "Because you will become unmotivated and a loser." Look, your friend must know people who ARE cool and who are NOT losers in her eyes, if she's so interested in starting. So stick to the basic facts and hope that she listens to you.

Have you had any experience in drugs or do you know someone who has experience with drugs and regretted it? Perhaps you could warn her of the bad effects of them and that they are not worth the price. I have friends that have nearly ruined themselves with drugs. They are not worth the consequences at all. I hope that this helps. :) -In the Master's service. Thank you and God bless you!

I am afraid there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop your friend from experimenting with drugs. She may be lucky and find she doesn't like it or she may be unlucky and find that she LOVES it and goes on to try everything she can get her hands on. Somebody that I know who spent 15 years or so doing drugs told me that he had done 'every drug known to man and some stuff that he thought might be good'. He was a physical and emotional wreck, but then (and I don't know why) he decided he was going to stop. This is the point when your friendship gets tested. I hope your friend doesn't take 15 years to realise it's a mistake and I hope you will be as concerned and supportive then as you are now, because that is when she will REALLY need the support of friends and family.

You cannot stop someone if she's bent on doing it. You can let her know that your friendship is very important and you will be there for her even if she does decide to do drugs. Not everyone slides down that slippery slope. Don't anticipate the worst. I think you should be very matter-of-fact with her. After all, millions of people of all ages do drugs every day around the world. It's not that special & it's not that big a deal.