I have a problem

So I can't really afford an animation program I have to pay for monthly. Nor can I really afford to buy it outright as I'm on a pretty tight budget. So I got macromedia flash 8 since you can get it quite easily for free. Problem is, I can't draw in it with my pen display tablet. Basically what happens is it will either let me select a single tool or just do a single dot on the canvas and then freeze altogether after that where the program will be unresponsive to the tablet. I'm not really sure if it's like some sort of compatibility issue where the tablet I have is just too new for the software I'm using or if it could be something else causing this entirely. If anyone has encountered a similar issue and knows of a way to fix it that would be a really big help. As a secondary if anyone knows of a good animation program that works similarly to either Flash or Toon boom animate that would also be helpful as like a backup in case this can't be fixed. 

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