Series: Drugs Uncovered: Part 11 Of 17

MY DRUGS

Drug Users Give Their First-Hand Accounts Of The Highs And Lows Of Taking
Illegal Substances

Grace, 22, Cardiff

I take ecstasy, cannabis and cocaine occasionally. It goes in fits and
starts, depending on whether I'm on a health kick or not, but I tend to
take E about once a month.

I've taken them at festivals, clubbing, on holiday - running around in the
hills! - and just round at friends' houses. But mainly I take them when I'm
clubbing. Cocaine is more for drinking nights in bars.

I had my first pill when I was 18 in Australia, but I'd tried coke before
that, when I was 17. My uncle took it upon himself to be my corrupting
influence at a dinner party. It appeared and I thought 'why not?', but it
seemed very boring at the time. Cocaine is the drug I have the greatest
respect for because it is so dangerously addictive.

I'm taking it until the day I die. It is so much fun in the right situation.

On a night out I'll probably spend about UKP20 to UKP30 if it's just pills.
The number of pills I'll take in a night varies depending on the kind of
night I'm going to be having. I tend to take about two; never more than four.

Raymond, 41, London

I started selling crack back in 1986 - I only sold it to make ends meet -
then I started taking it through curiosity. In 1991 I robbed a petrol
station and was given nine years for armed robbery. It's something I'm
quite ashamed of, but by that point crack had got hold of me.

When I came out in 1996, I went on the dole, and hooked up with some
colleagues in the drugs trade. I was selling again, but only smoking crack
spliffs. And spliffs led me back to the pipe. I went back to prison in 1998
- - three months on remand in Pentonville.

When I got out, I started driving lorries, I got a good wage and worked
with nice people, but I had a lot of time on my hands. So I took up my
crack habit again to look after the boredom. I knew I had a problem so I
went into rehab in 2001. I was in for nine weeks, but discharged myself in
the end because I got bored. This year I realised my life was rubbish and
had to change. In February I got in touch with Turning Point [a charity
dedicated to helping people with drug problems]. The place is a godsend;
I'm facing up to my problems.

John, 27, London

I've taken everything, but I now only occasionally use cocaine, about once
a month. It tends to be at birthday parties, Christmas, weddings, times
like that really. I'll do it everywhere: at home or in certain bars. You
can get away with it in a lot of bars, especially in London. No one seems
to care, and it seems to be an unspoken rule that you can do it anywhere as
long as you just don't take the piss.

I spend about UKP40-50 a month - that's about a gram's worth. But I'll
either buy in bulk from my supplier or one of my friends will and then I'll
get it from him. When I buy in bulk I tend to get a few months' worth at a
time - about UKP200. I buy from the same supplier every time. It's the same
for my friends. We've all got our own different suppliers, but we don't
introduce each other to them: it's safer that way, less of a risk. I've
been taking coke for about six or seven years. I started at university and
it just carried on from there really. I tried everything else when I was
younger: I started smoking weed when I was 14 and went through the ecstasy
clubbing phase, but cocaine is the only drug I still do now.

Tom, 22, Aberdeenshire

I started taking DF [dihydrocodeine, a highly addictive prescription
analgesic] when I was about 16. Someone I knew had a prescription and we
just experimented with it.

We used to take it at the local Tesco where I worked. Then when I was 18 I
was promoted to supervisor. Because I'm quite a shy person I took DF to
give me confidence and make it easier for me to deal with the people I was
put in charge of. We used to take it before and during work.

I started taking heroin when I was 21 because I couldn't get DF. It was the
best substitute I could get. People normally take DF as a substitute for
heroin. I became addicted, and at the height of my addiction I must have
been spending UKP30-40 a day. I was 'chasing the dragon' because it's
cheaper: you use less.

I was taking other drugs too, anything I could get my hands on. I've also
taken cocaine, ecstasy, hash, mushrooms, acid, and even crack in the last
year or two. I've been clean for the last two weeks, in a rehab centre
about 40 miles from home which is good because I needed to get out of the
scene I was in.

Luke, 20, London

I smoke marijuana on a frequent basis. I first tried it when I was 16, but
I didn't pay for it until I was 18. It's been a gradual thing and really
started when I went to university. I now usually smoke it every day.

When I buy for myself I buy an eighth, which is about UKP20. I won't spend
more than UKP20 a day though - I just can't afford it. On a weekly basis I
can spend anything between UKP40 and UKP80.

The only time I've ever had a problem with it was when I was walking into a
Tube station and I had half an eighth on me. There were four or five
policemen just round the corner with sniffer dogs and as I started to run
they let one of the dogs go. They carted me off in the back of one of those
meat wagons to a police station. I was out within about 45 minutes; they
didn't seem to think it was a particularly big deal. I was given a
three-year caution.

I like to think I'm not addicted, it's more a lifestyle thing It's just a
really good way of chilling out.

Robert, 25, Leamington Spa

I've been dabbling in drugs since I was 15. I remember just knocking around
with older people who were taking drugs and it seemed like a way of being
in with them. I didn't have a bad upbringing or anything, I just chose to
do it.

I've taken weed, acid, E, magic mushrooms. I found myself going to school
on the comedown from what I'd taken the night before. Five years ago I
started taking heroin. It just seemed like the last thing left to try. My
younger brother introduced me to it, and I quite liked it. I managed to
hold down my job to start with, but then it just built up and heroin was
all I could think about.

I'm probably spending only UKP30 a day now, but a couple of years ago I was
spending several hundred pounds a day on heroin and crack. To pay for it I
was shoplifting, scoring for other people and then charging them more. I
was borrowing money, knowing I couldn't pay it back.

I've started a methadone script and I'm trying to cut down. It's just hard
trying to fill my time during the day. I think my life's been so
sidetracked by scoring my gear. I don't have a job at the moment and
nothing seems important.

Max, 23, Cambridge

I primarily smoke cannabis, and take ecstasy. I started smoking weed
regularly at university. It is a very sociable thing to do, and we'd talk
late into the night.

When I was about 20 I tried ecstasy and LSD. I've only done LSD three
times, but I would probably do it once in a blue moon if the opportunity arose.

Ecstasy on the other hand I do about once every six weeks now. It started
out as a clubbing thing in the traditional ecstasy-experiencing rave
situation, but now it's far more diverse. I've done it at home with a few
friends and at house parties or just round at other people's houses. I
think a club is still the best place though. You need to be able to
guarantee having really good music.

I have seen other people have bad experiences, but I've had - touch wood -
consistently good E experiences. I think it's all about the situation
you're in when you're taking it.

I probably spend about UKP100 a month which includes both weed and ecstasy.
I don't drink very much, so I probably spend a lot less than people who
drink and that's how I justify it.

Michelle, 42, Wales

I went to a school disco when I was about 13 and took amphetamines. We were
drinking cider and they were just on offer. 'Blues' they were called - I
took about six. They made me feel better: confident, whole.

The following day I decided I wanted to do it again. I then became
introduced to downers (barbiturates) which were necessary to come down from
the speed and just kept adding drugs to the list from there. My problem
went unnoticed and I left school when I was 16, with very few
qualifications, although I'd been top of my class until I was 13.

At 18 I started taking heroin and began an eight-year habit. I was spending
about UKP 80 a day and had to smoke it all the time. I got prescriptions
from doctors or methodone from clinics to sell on; I even had a way of
fraudulently getting money from the business I was working for - my
employer never found out.

Finally I became exhausted - mentally, physically and spiritually. I wanted
to stop the lifestyle - the 24-hour search for drugs. I'm trying to stay
clean now with NA's help, but I know I'll always be an addict.