Drug Addiction Stories & Info

As a peer educator, I went to more frat houses than I ever thought I would.  I was 19, and it was fun to say, ‘Why, yes, I teach the fraternities and sororities how to drink!’  The number of times this was actually true startled me- drinking is everywhere, but few students considered it dangerous.  There’s one fraternity brother I’ll never forget- I never knew his name, but I’ll always remember the look on his face by the end of it all.  We’ll call him The Guy.  The night started with a story I’d told many times:

In 1997 an 18 year-old MIT student drank himself to death in a room full of people without anyone noticing.

He had a few drinks, then a few more.  He lost consciousness.  His breathing slowed and stopped. His heart stopped.  By the time the student reached the hospital, the alcohol content of his blood had reached .41.  To put it another way, the young man’s blood was 80 proof!

The Guy was obviously unhappy that I interrupted The Simpsons with what he thought was a temperance lecture.  He started firing questions: How many drinks does it take to kill you?  How many drinks does it take before you pass out?  He couldn’t believe this kid had just gone to sleep drunk and never woke up.  He talked about how it took six beers before he felt buzzed at all.

So, we talked about drug tolerance.  A person who drinks a lot needs to drink more and more to feel the effects.  We talked about hangovers, and how they’re a mild case of withdrawal. We talked about what it means to ‘need’ a drink and to ‘want’ a drink.  We talked about blackouts. We talked about consequences- missed classes, relatives who worry about your drinking, DUIs, priorities.  Over all, when bad things happen because you’re drinking and you drink anyway, you should talk to someone.

I assured The Guy that waking up somewhere strange more than once or twice in your life and missing work Monday is definitely cause for concern and needs immediate action.  He laughed, but it faded fast.  He was thinking.

Then he asked, ‘Don’t you have to drink every day to be an alcoholic?’  I explained what a ‘functional alcoholic’ is.  A person can be completely dependent on alcohol, helpless to it, while still appearing to hold down a job and operate in society.  The liver can still be eroding, the family life deteriorating, the brain and pancreas permanently damaged, but the paychecks might come in just the same.  If a weekend warrior can’t make it through the week without the hope of that party…there’s a problem.

The Guy got quiet.   So did the rest of the room.  I wrapped up the talk quickly, returning them to the cartoon adventures of America’s favorite alcoholic.  A couple of fellows walked me out, including The Guy, who said nothing and shook my hand.   He was pale, but I could see it in his face:  He’d realized that he had a problem.  I surreptitiously made sure he had a pamphlet with contact information.  The Guy was lucky – not everyone is going to hand you the number to call.  If you think you might have a problem, talk with someone as soon as you can.

He began spending more time away from home and even more money on the drugs.

Peter Harvey was at the top of his game.  He was the Senior Marketing Manager at AGT and was being looked at very closely for Vice President of the company.  He and his wife, Lydia had a new beautiful little boy named David.  It wasn’t uncommon at all for David and Lydia to enjoy the occasional party and the retirement of a co-worker was no exception.  It was October, 2006.  David had been to other parties where he had been offered cocaine but before this night, he always refused.  He decided it was harmless enough, one time and that would be it.

The cocaine burned his nose a bit as he inhaled it through a rolled up piece of paper.  Within just a couple of minutes, Peter felt better than he had ever felt in his life.  He felt on top of the world and invincible.  His heart was racing and he suddenly had a million ideas that he could bring up at work.  This was incredible and Peter decided he liked it very much.  Lydia had seen him snort the cocaine and was concerned, but figured it was a one-time thing.  After a couple of weeks, Lydia noticed an unusual withdrawal from the bank.  She asked Peter about it.  He said he had really liked the coke and had bought some on impulse.  This is when Lydia began to become concerned.  Now their hard earned money was being spent on this stuff.

Two weeks later even more money was missing and Lydia confronted Peter about his cocaine addiction.  He became enraged and told her that if he wanted to spend some of his money on recreational drugs, that was his business.  Then Peter began having incredible highs and lows.  He was either on top of the world or severely depressed and agitated.  Lydia could see their world falling apart, but obviously Peter could not.  He began spending more time away from home and even more money on the drugs.  He also had begun drinking heavily.  Lydia felt as though she were having a terrible nightmare.  She was, actually.  She was having a nightmare shared by many loved ones who become addicted to cocaine.  Although it happens all too frequently, it had never happened to them before and Lydia was worried.  Then Peter began missing work and Lydia knew something was wrong.  If he wasn’t careful, he was going to ruin a career it had taken him years to build.

Read more Cocaine Addiction Stories

Brenda was one of the best friends a person could have.  She and I had been friends for many years and in fact, I was the surrogate mother for her daughter, Bailey.  No one could have foreseen how very much things would change.  Brenda and I had begun to have less contact after she started seeing a guy I really didn’t care for.  We talked, but not like we once did.  I will never forget the day that our relationship changed forever.

This drug took a wonderful woman and made a mess of her life.

I called her from work one day just to see how things were going.  She was barely coherent.  She was mumbling and drifting in and out of consciousness.  Truly worried for her safety, and that of her young daughter, I called the police and asked them to check on her.  The police called me back within 30 minutes and what they said had me frozen at my desk.  “Ma’am, could you come get the child?  We are taking her mother in for drug possession and drug use”.  It was like a nightmare!  This woman who once had a prestigious and respectable job was now being hauled away for possession of Meth/cocaine.  I never in a million years imagined that was what was wrong with her that day I called her.

She had fallen in with the wrong crowd, had started not only selling but using cocaine.  Her face had sores all over it, which she continually picked at.  She had quit her job and really wasn’t taking the best care of her daughter.  This woman was once a bright, witty, extremely intelligent, friendly and generous woman with whom I spent many of my days.  As things turned out, she got sentenced to 10 years federal time.  Her daughter was shuffled from one place to another until she got out.  I heard she is out.  I expect she blames me for the whole encounter since I called the police that day.  She is off the cocaine and yet, our relationship can never be repaired.  This drug took a wonderful woman and made a mess of her life.  It took her away from a child she spent thousands of dollars worth of doctor, visits and medications to have brought into the world.  It took away a friendship that was once rock solid.  It also took 10 years from her life that she can never get back.

If you notice disturbing changes in a friend, do not hesitate to help them right away before it is too late. You can make a difference to better the life of your friend, their family and yours. For assistance in drug addiction issues, please call a professional Narconon Drug Addiction Rehab consultant at 877-782-7409.