> What I've never understood is why anyone does drugs to begin with, under any circumstances.

Poverty and the lack of opportunities to participate constructively in society do really fucked up things to human psychology. The current wave of opiate addiction frequently occurs as the result of prescribed pain medication.

>Why even try it? I feel in the media everywhere it is said how terrible it is.

The signals people pick up from their peer groups have a much larger impact on their behavior than media ever could.