Here’s what Josh had to say about:
His first experience with heroin…
I started snorting heroin when I was 14 out of curiosity. When I was younger, I didn’t really know what heroin was. The first time I got high from heroin, it was a nice, mellow high, and then I puked. But it didn’t feel bad. It was a special high – the best high I’ve ever had – and I wanted more. No one said that heroin was dangerous, so it didn’t scare me. My friends talked about good things when they talked about heroin. They didn’t talk about the bad side.
How he got involved with prescription drugs…
The first time I tried Percocet®, I was 14. It was right around the first time I tried dope (heroin). I was at a party and I saw a bunch of kids eating pills and they said it was better than a weed high and I wanted to see what it felt like. I liked it. Eventually, I started eating pills when I was sick from heroin or if I couldn’t get it. I started with Percocet® and went on to use OxyContin®, Vicodin®, Ambien®, Coricidin® and Unisom®. And I thought prescription drugs were sort of safer. I didn’t think it would affect my body because doctors wouldn’t give them out if they weren’t safe.
His thoughts on heroin versus prescription drugs…
I preferred heroin hands down. I know a lot of people who take Oxy rather than dope, but it was too hard to get and it was harder to shoot it. I also had a bad reaction to the Oxy. It did, however, make me feel exactly like heroin. Basically, pills were for when I couldn’t get heroin or if I was at a party and they were giving them away. I’d also buy them if I could find them cheap. Anywhere from $5 to $15 dollars a piece. Sometimes my friends would hook me up for five for a dollar. They can range from anywhere. Some kids will sell them for 25 cents. Depends on how they are getting them.
The role drugs played in his social life…
Mostly all of my friends used heroin, but a lot of them also used prescription drugs too. I had friends’ parents who had prescriptions and my friends would steal pills from them and hand them out at parties. Sometimes, they would hand them out on your way into the party. My friends were like my family. They were my siblings. They were always there for me. But, in retrospect, they really weren’t because they were getting me high.
His thoughts on addiction and other health risks associated with heroin…
I never thought about getting addicted to heroin, because when you’re getting high you don’t care. I was just thinking about getting high. I was worried about how it would make me feel…was this going to be a good or bad high. I knew there were other issues that I needed to take into consideration – especially since I was injecting the heroin at times. I was aware that I could catch HIV/AIDS, but I didn’t care. I realize now that I was lucky. I bought new needles almost every time. $3 dollars a needle and $7, $8 or $10 a box. There are five needles in a box.
How his family and the law confronted his addiction…
Eventually I was locked up by the state. I resisted all treatment for a while, but towards the middle of my mandated time they didn’t have to force me. I gave myself. I wanted to be clean. I thought about my dad. My dad has given me so much, I wanted to give something back to him. He never ever gave up on me. Even when he said it was the last time, he would still visit me in jail and bring me things. I also realized that I owe myself something, too. A better life. Something more. When I was robbing people and getting high I never had friends. I thought I did but I didn’t.
What could have been different and how he will move forward:
Kicking the habit was something I had to do for myself, but I wish my friends had told me that I shouldn’t use drugs. They never told me that it was bad. I also wish my dad realized that I had problem sooner than he did. It would have made a difference.
Overcoming my addictions is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I am still working on it. You have to want to learn it. It is a lot of change. It was hard for me. You gotta wanna do it.
I look forward to my future now. I want to be a cook and live a nice life without any problems. I just want to live a trouble free life.
His first experience with heroin…
I started snorting heroin when I was 14 out of curiosity. When I was younger, I didn’t really know what heroin was. The first time I got high from heroin, it was a nice, mellow high, and then I puked. But it didn’t feel bad. It was a special high – the best high I’ve ever had – and I wanted more. No one said that heroin was dangerous, so it didn’t scare me. My friends talked about good things when they talked about heroin. They didn’t talk about the bad side.
How he got involved with prescription drugs…
The first time I tried Percocet®, I was 14. It was right around the first time I tried dope (heroin). I was at a party and I saw a bunch of kids eating pills and they said it was better than a weed high and I wanted to see what it felt like. I liked it. Eventually, I started eating pills when I was sick from heroin or if I couldn’t get it. I started with Percocet® and went on to use OxyContin®, Vicodin®, Ambien®, Coricidin® and Unisom®. And I thought prescription drugs were sort of safer. I didn’t think it would affect my body because doctors wouldn’t give them out if they weren’t safe.
His thoughts on heroin versus prescription drugs…
I preferred heroin hands down. I know a lot of people who take Oxy rather than dope, but it was too hard to get and it was harder to shoot it. I also had a bad reaction to the Oxy. It did, however, make me feel exactly like heroin. Basically, pills were for when I couldn’t get heroin or if I was at a party and they were giving them away. I’d also buy them if I could find them cheap. Anywhere from $5 to $15 dollars a piece. Sometimes my friends would hook me up for five for a dollar. They can range from anywhere. Some kids will sell them for 25 cents. Depends on how they are getting them.
The role drugs played in his social life…
Mostly all of my friends used heroin, but a lot of them also used prescription drugs too. I had friends’ parents who had prescriptions and my friends would steal pills from them and hand them out at parties. Sometimes, they would hand them out on your way into the party. My friends were like my family. They were my siblings. They were always there for me. But, in retrospect, they really weren’t because they were getting me high.
His thoughts on addiction and other health risks associated with heroin…
I never thought about getting addicted to heroin, because when you’re getting high you don’t care. I was just thinking about getting high. I was worried about how it would make me feel…was this going to be a good or bad high. I knew there were other issues that I needed to take into consideration – especially since I was injecting the heroin at times. I was aware that I could catch HIV/AIDS, but I didn’t care. I realize now that I was lucky. I bought new needles almost every time. $3 dollars a needle and $7, $8 or $10 a box. There are five needles in a box.
How his family and the law confronted his addiction…
Eventually I was locked up by the state. I resisted all treatment for a while, but towards the middle of my mandated time they didn’t have to force me. I gave myself. I wanted to be clean. I thought about my dad. My dad has given me so much, I wanted to give something back to him. He never ever gave up on me. Even when he said it was the last time, he would still visit me in jail and bring me things. I also realized that I owe myself something, too. A better life. Something more. When I was robbing people and getting high I never had friends. I thought I did but I didn’t.
What could have been different and how he will move forward:
Kicking the habit was something I had to do for myself, but I wish my friends had told me that I shouldn’t use drugs. They never told me that it was bad. I also wish my dad realized that I had problem sooner than he did. It would have made a difference.
Overcoming my addictions is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I am still working on it. You have to want to learn it. It is a lot of change. It was hard for me. You gotta wanna do it.
I look forward to my future now. I want to be a cook and live a nice life without any problems. I just want to live a trouble free life.
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