Your mates are taking drugs and you are worried, what can you do?

Talk to your friends about their drug use and try and get them to talk to you about why they feel they need to take drugs. Try not to be judgmental.

Talk to your friends about the effects on their body the drugs may be having, encourage them to find out more information about the drugs. Discuss the changes in their personality you have seen and encourage them to make informed choices about their use rather than using without being aware of the risks.

It is important for them to find out information about the substances they are using so that their decisions about their drug use is based on facts and that if they are going to use substances then at least they will do so more safely.. People have to make their own decisions about using or not using drugs, you can not make someone give up using, they have to make that decision themselves. All you can do is support them as much as possible by being there to listen. It is very important that you also talk to someone to get support for yourself. Supporting friends can be very draining.

Look at Drugs A-Z so that you understand more about the drugs that your friend is using and how you can help them if they get problems.

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