Amber Rose's childhood friends are almost all ''either on drugs or dead''.

The 31-year-old beauty, who grew up in a tough neighbourhood in Philadelphia, has revealed her friends are ''pretty much non-existent''.

The model - who has a 23-month-old son, Sebastian Taylor Thomaz, with rapper Wiz Khalifa - shared: ''It was pretty crazy. But while I was there it was kind of just the norm.

''I fought girls in my neighbourhood all the time. But it was just the thing to do. If you have a problem with someone you fight it out.

''I saw someone get shot. It was an older man coming out of a bar. I started running the other way. I was probably around 15.

''Almost everyone I grew up with is either on drugs or dead.

''There was one girl who got out and became a school teacher but she moved away when she was really young.

''My friends are pretty much non-existent. The route to drugs started out with (pain relief drug) OxyContin and then they turned to heroin, because it was cheaper.

''My family was really messed up on drugs. Two of my very close family members overdosed. Another one has been a functioning heroin addict for more than 35 years.''

Amber explained she doesn't do drugs because she's seen the damage they can do.

She told The Sun newspaper: ''I didn't even smoke weed because I thought it was a gateway drug to harder drugs and I had watched the neighbourhood and all my friends go downhill.

''Even to this day I don't smoke weed and I have never tried ecstasy.''