anyone find out. The drugs are
that powerful. It doesn't enter
your mind to not do it."
But then the idea of buying her-
oin, which was much cheaper,
became attractive. So that began
the final chapter. But in January
of his sophomore year, he found
out that a friend died of an over-
dose and another was in rehab.
decisions." But back then, the
news did nothing to change
his behavior. Drug use is not
logical, he instructs.
of addiction, he says. He started
injecting, and now, he can't say
why he did that. It's not rational.
how it worked then. I would
watch what happened to me I
was a witness but I couldn't
control it." It got real bad, real
fast. It became "a maintenance
thing I'd get sick if I stopped
and you'll do anything not to
get to that point." He dropped
20 pounds. "I was there. It was
active heroin addiction."
cy center in Willoughby, to de-
tox, then he went to Glenbeigh
for further treatment. For a year
and a half, he stayed "hyper
focused on staying healthy." He
hasn't relapsed since then.
up." He found daily 12-step
meetings helpful, as well. He
continues to go weekly now.
He also devotes a considerable
amount of time to working
with agencies that support
anti-drug efforts.
not a broken home, or being "a
miserable kid," as he describes it.
ed. I was rebellious, and I liked
to party." He experimented with
everything, but says he was
against any opioids, knowing
of their danger.
"I have great parents, I love
them" he says, but their efforts
to change his behavior only led
to his becoming better at lying
and covering it up.
them off my back," he explains.
And he worked out two to three
times per day, "to maintain a
certain level of life." He actually
calls that life "paradoxical and
contradictory," by virtue of
being dedicated to fitness while
impairing his mind with drugs.
thought I could pull it off." He
believes he has an addiction
tendency in his genes, with
evidence lying among some
relatives who suffered from
alcoholism. But he also dealt
with anxiety. "Instead of fixing
my problems and handling my
issues, I took a pill."
he moved from pills to heroin
and was busted for selling drugs,
he graduated with a Bachelor of
Science degree in psychology.
role in preventing temptation
by locking up their medications
because "kids are curious, and
they think `it's not going to be
step program and changed his
friends, the places he went and
the things he did. He describes
spending the first three years of
recovery battling every day to
live the life of a healthy person.
says. He's had no relapses and
believes that dedicating him-
self to fitness for his business,
plus living a healthy lifestyle,
has saved his life. "I traded one
addiction for another, from opi-
oids to fitness and all around
well-being." Exercising is known
as one of the best activities in
which a person can engage
while in recovery, he reports.
in area schools about drug use
and his own mistakes. He also
works with the SAY (Social Ad-
vocates for Youth) program and
its anti-drug outreach activities.
yourself the added weight that
comes with drug use."
process and progression, see
"Chasing the Dragon," an infor-
mative video about opioid use
involving confessions belonging
to a range of people who have
suffered from addiction. The
video, available on YouTube, was
created by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation and the Drug
Enforcement Agency.