I started taking drugs at 13

Drug addiction can happen at any age. When Lizzie started taking drugs at 13 it felt totally normal. It wasn't until she hit rock bottom that she realised things had to change.

True Stories

I started taking drug at 13. My parents have always been quite strict and anti-drugs, but that wasn’t why I took them. I actually always promised myself I wouldn’t get into drugs, but I just got more curious as I got older.

Around the time I started taking drugs, I got together with a guy who was 18. When I look back now I can’t believe how young I was – I was forced to grow up quite quickly. My mates in that gang ranged from 17 to 26, so I was always the youngest. They were all taking drugs and having a great time on them. It made me curious. My mates were taking tonnes of pills in one night, so how could taking one harm me? At first they were very against me taking drugs and very protective, but slowly they started giving in.

I started taking drugs at 13: My first pill

M first experience on a pill was quite bad. My friends made me take a half to start with, but it didn’t seem to be doing anything so I took the other half without telling them. When we reached our mate’s house I got handed another one. No one realised I’d taken it and I ended up coming up on both pills at the same time.

I usually get quite hyperactive on sugar, but this was 10 times worse. It felt like I’d just eaten a whole bowl of sugar, I had so much energy. I couldn’t stop running around. I was speaking so fast no one could understand me. My boyfriend was really worried because I kept running off. I nearly jumped in the water, but luckily someone held me back. I started to come down and felt sick,moody and horrible. But I just put all that to the back of my head and kept thinking about the amazing buzz I’d had.

I started taking drugs at 13: Getting hooked 

After that no one wanted me touching pills again but I started flipping out, saying, “It’s my life, I can do what I want.” So I took more pills and got addicted to them. There’s just nothing else for people to do around here – we can’t go anywhere so we’d take pills, drink and spend hours trekking about the streets.

A couple of months later I was getting bored of pills cause they weren’t affecting me in the same way, so I started to take phet too. I even started sniffing petrol at one point. All the drugs gave me insomnia. I couldn’t be bothered to go to school in the morning because I’d been awake until 6am. So I started to skip school and my grades became really low.

Relationship breakdown 

My boyfriend was really supportive at first and we had a lovely relationship. But then he started smoking weed more. We promised we’d quit drugs together and we did – we came off everything. It was great for a while but then he started getting moody and smoking weed again and shutting me out. That caused loads of arguments and eventually we broke up. Later on, I found out he’d cheated on me and it really broke my heart.

We ended up being an on-again, off-again relationship. Then we started back on the drugs and he even started dealing – the whole situation got really bad. He’d gone from being the perfect boyfriend to someone who just didn’t want me around. It really messed with my head. I got to the stage where I stopped eating because of the stress of the relationship. I lost loads of weight. The worst part is I didn’t even notice until someone else pointed it out.

Hitting rock bottom and bouncing back 

I was on drugs, I wasn’t eating, I was in a toxic relationship and all my mates had given up on me – I’d hit rock bottom. Something just clicked in my head and I’d had enough, so I finished it. I started taking drugs at 13 – so this was a preemptive mid-life crisis.

I got back with my original friends from school and they helped me start eating again. They’d drag me out to parties but wouldn’t let me take drugs. It felt reassuring to have their support after what I’d been through. I’d lost all my self confidence while I was with my boyfriend and they helped me get it back.

I cut drugs out of my life for the past seven months and haven’t looked back. When I was taking drugs I became a real bitch. Honestly, I didn’t care about anything apart from drugs. I was so stupid and gave so much up for a boy. I nearly lost my best friends. When I look back I think, “What was I playing at?”