Drug Addiction Stories & Info

It would seem that for Dylan Thomas being a poet, using words was his way of communicating with other people in the world, a means of evoking feelings in them, a way to make himself heard.

 Not for Dylan the usual rough and tumble, interaction of childhood – with a mother who was protective of him, treating him as an invalid – and a father who seemed emotionally remote – a school teacher at the local Grammar School who thought himself worthy and deserving of a better academic position.

His father taught him poetry at the age of two, and Dylan could recite Shakespeare by the age of four.

As Dylan wrote later, to a friend:   “I had come to love just the words….what mattered was the very sound of them, as I heard them for the first time on the lips of the remote and quite incomprehensible grown ups who seemed, for some reason, to be living in my world.

By the age of eight or nine he began to write his own poetry – entering the Grammar School in 1925 as a quiet and introspective lad, he wrote many articles for the school magazine.

At 16 he went to work for the South Wales Daily Post. Writing what were often scathing reviews of local plays and concerts, Dylan also spent time in the pub at night – reciting offbeat jokes, stories and obscene limericks. Dylan never wanted people to read his poems – he wanted them to hear him read them.

What Dylan’s father had given him was the gift of poetry – and it was the poetry of words, in their purest form, that Dylan had grown to love.

In 1934, Dylan moved to London and there published his first book 18 poems, it got rave reviews and in 1936, he published a second book 25 poems.

Dylan married a “mother figure”, Caitlin in 1937 and they were like “twin souls”, moving to Laugharne in Wales where, until war broke out, Dylan’s writing flourished. They were poor, but happy.

 Aside from his poetry,which was always acclaimed, Dylan had a difficult time in the real world. He attracted the patronage of a Mrs Margaret Taylor, her continued support led to the family eventually living in a boathouse in Laugharne that she purchased for them.

Having avoided conscription in the war to some extent Dylan was regarded as a draft dodger by many, a deranged ex commando once shooting up a cottage in which he was entertaining friends. His marriage was fraught with rows about possible mutual infidelity, and Dylan himself was given to drinking.

Despite the passion and fire of his poetry, Dylan became a heavy drinker. The marriage lasted, despite the drinking, and relative poverty.

 With a third child born in 1949, an offer for Dylan to visit the USA, and be paid well was one not to be missed. In February 1950, he was off to America. His irreverent, capricious drunken behavior was a trial to his sponsors – he ended up one night driving a carful of revellers into the tennis nets at a private house party.

Despite this, there was money to be made, if not all by Dylan, and he went on a further tour in 1952, and another in early1953, followed by a series of television appearances..

 By then Dylan’s father and sister had died, and his marriage was as rocky as ever.  Dylan continued to drink heavily.

In late 1953, Dylan was returned to America, to begin a fourth tour. Dylan was taken ill after complaining for weeks of exhaustion and depletion from his alcoholism and respiratory problems.

Given at first cortisone and then a high dose of morphine, by a doctor that Dylan’s agent had arranged to be responsible for Dylan’s care – Dylan died later in hospital, in the USA in the November of 1953.

 Full article :

 In a book entitled Fatal Neglect, author David Thomas comes out to say that it was greed and neglect on the part of Dylan’s American agent that led directly to Dylan’s early death. Thomas describes the American tours as “a tragic tale of how a sick poet was exploited for financial gain, and academic prestige.

 The book says that:

At the time of the fourth tour, he already had a history of blackouts, and chest problems, was using an inhaler to help with his breathing.

The book goes on to say that between Dylan’s agent  Brinnin and his assistant Liz Reitell, Dylan was literally worked to death in the lead up to the intended production of Under Milkwood, in New York, with Brinnan keeping away, busy with other interests.

Dylan had collapsed after two  Under Milkwood performances, a work that was put on stage before Dylan had actually finished writing it, and Dylan also walked out of a dinner held in honor of his birthday because he was feeling unwell.

 While an inquest put the death down to swelling of the brain due to pneumonia, and it was widely reported that Dylan had drunk himself to death – the truth lies somewhere between.

see full article:

Brinnin, two years after Dylans death received the Gold Medal for Distinguished Service to Poetry and on the 25th anniversary was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, enjoying in the end a comfortable retirement in Florida.

Dylan was that flawed genius, a brilliant poet from Wales, an alcoholic who died in New York, after drinking 18 glasses of whisky, at the age of thirty nine.

Diego Armando Maradona is widely regarded as having been the greatest soccer player ever.

Born 1960, near Buenos Aires, he originally played with “the little Onions” team but by age 16 was the youngest international player, playing against Hungary. Two years later he was captain of the World Youth Cup winners, and was transferred to Boca Juniors for 1 million pounds. He was South American Player of the Year for both 1979 and 1980.

In 1982, Maradona signed up with Barcelona, this time the transfer fee was a record 5 million pounds. A success with Barca, Maradona was transferred to Napoli for another record fee of 6.9 million pounds. Between 1982 and 1991, Maradona was arguably at the peak of his career.

 It was in the 1986 FIFA final between Argentina and England that Maradona showed both his brilliance – and human frailty. In the one match – Maradona scored a goal for his team off an illegal handball move, that the referee did not see. Maradona called it an intervention of the Hand of God – others were not so enthusiastic with England manager calling the goal – the hand of a rascal.

Shortly afterwards Maradona scored, legitimately, what has been called the greatest individual goal of all time – the goal of the century. Maradona, unable to pass the ball, continued to run a 60 meter – 10 second dash – past five English players to score a second Argentinian goal – the winning goal of the match.

see article Planet World Cup:

Playing for Argentina in 1990, Maradona’s team lost to the Germans, and some see it as being the beginning of the end for Maradona’s brilliant soccer career.

In 1991, Maradona, playing for Napoli, was arrested – testing positive for cocaine. It was inevitable that he would be suspended, and he served a 15 month suspension.

 In 1994, playing for Argentina, he helped them beat Greece in the first round, only to be caught for using ephedrine drug in the following game against Nigeria. This was effectively the end of Maradona’s international career.

Between1992 and 1995, Maradona played for Sevilla of Spain, and Newell’s Old Boys.

In 1995 he returned to play for Boca Juniors, and suffering obesity he formally retired from the game in 1997, on his 37th birthday.

Between 1997 and 2005, Maradona suffered ill health, obesity and the effects of cocaine use.

Maradona first became addicted to cocaine in the mid 1980′s and by the time of his retirement in 1997, after 17 years as a top player, Maradona’s health was poor. He suffered a cocaine related heart attack in 2000, did some rehab in Cuba, and suffered a further cocaine related heart attack in 2004.

In 2005,  Maradona used stomach stapling to control his weight gain, and made a heroic attempt to get off using cocaine. However in 2007, he was back in rehab for alcohol abuse, after which he announced on Argentine TV that he had now quit alcohol, and had not used cocaine since 2005.

From December 2008, through 2009, Maradona made a comeback to the Argentinian National Soccer team – as a coach. Despite his personal skills, opinion polls were said to indicate that most Argentinian’s did not want him as the national soccer coach – his name tainted by wild behavior and cocaine addiction during his post playing “career”.  His contract as head coach was terminated in 2010.

Some team members say that, despite his unruly reputation they loved playing with the “legend”. Seen as a saint, or a sinner, the Maradona fan club boasts over 100,000 members.

see article:

Maradona still has a world wide following, a website dedicated to his successes as a soccer player.

 In 2000 Maradona published an autobiography, and an internet poll voted him the FIFA Player of the Century – however a panel of FIFA experts later awarded Pele that honor. When Maradona protested at this procedure, two awards were made to both Pele and Maradona, but Maradona remained unsatisfied with this result.

see article:  

In his personal life, Maradona had two daughters but subsequently divorced the childhood sweetheart who became his wife, and also had a son, Diego Sinagra who plays football for Italy.

And so – the Maradona story – an ordinary man, with a talent for playing soccer – elevated to the status of “God”, a divinity according to many Argentine nationals.

He is nicknamed DIOS – the Spanish word for God and the number 10, his playing number.

Maradona was a “Sport Hero”, a symbol – that people have said gave Argentine people a point of focus during times of serious political unrest.

Cocaine makes people feel powerful, invincible – increases energy levels, such that people will use it and think that they are the “top”.

There is no doubt that the public thought that Maradona was “top” – support for the legend lives on. To settle what demons, for what purpose would a man like Maradona need and use cocaine.

Perhaps fame and glory, at the end of the day is both a blessing – and a curse – that does not bring the happiness and personal contentment that we think it might.

If you are into using cocaine – see it as an essential part of your image – don’t wait until it brings you down – as it did Maradona.

 Comprehensive addiction recovery programs can help you come down from cocaine abuse and help you to get straight. There is nothing that cocaine can do – that you can’t achieve on your own. 

see article:

Much talent has been wasted, over the years, careers destroyed, by people using cocaine – simply because they didn’t think that they were good enough – to make it on their own.