General Chat

well said Pink, so are cigarettes. XX..

I think i need to clear up a few things ok

the priory is a nice place for the rich and well to do celebs but rehab takes longer than a 3 weeks stay in there the back to your old mates and thats what happens to them i am afraid

mind the same happens on a council estate to those lucky enough to get rehab they come back into fold as it were and thats hard to escape

next

Jean " who gives the teenagers who take drugs the money to fuel their habit"

Thats easy its called pocket money, how does it work

1/supplier

2/ dealer buys from above

3/ pusher normaly an addict who sells to supply his/her habit

but they will often use young men and women who have power in gangs or in schools, this is pocket money drugs or free

once they have a young person hooked they then need a fix and the price goes up then the need to steal or become prostitutes

thats the simple way it happens but the whole drug culture cant be explained in a few simple words its so complex now the police dont even understand it all

Lindy

There is no fault or blame when an addict dies, an addicts state of mind no one can understand unless you have been one and even then there is so much hidden in an addicts mind i cant list them or even begin to try ae were all different

and yes i still count myself as an addict because like i said its always one day at a time

Sxx

Seven years ago next month, drugs killed my BIL just before his 43rd birthday.

He was so spaced out on heroin that he crashed his car fortunately there were no other vehicles involved. From a very young age he smoked pot and by the time he was an adult he was into the heavy stuff.

He was a gentle quiet soft spoken person who was in and out of private institutes, but nothing and none could help him kick the habit.

Months would go by and he would be okay and then some minor incident would set him off.

The first incident that I was aware of was when my OH phoned his parents from Johannesburg to tell them that they had a grandson... BIL overdosed and what was supposed to be a happy occassion turned sour.

I remember another incident was when their dog died of old age, this set him off. It just went on and on and on.

He could never hold down a job. He would beg, borrow, steal, lie and charm the pants off of people to get money.

Two years before my MIL died of a stroke she tried to kill herself as she could not take it anymore. In desperation my FIL sent him to us. I was not happy with the situation as my children were aged between seven and nine at the time. Once my youngest told me that the uncle that he adored was making his own cigarettes... ( Hashish is very easy to come by over here as we are close to Morocco ) You could smell it all over the house. The promises to stop were endless as were the tears if we just gave him another chance.

I could not cope anymore and there were just no more chances to give. He lived with us for a year, I shan't go into details but for that year our life was hell. Friends and neighbors avoided us because BIL was trading on OH's good name to get money out of them with a promise that we would pay them back.

Things got so bad that my nerves gave in and I had to see the doctor who told me that not everybody is emotionally wired to deal with a drug addict as the first rule is to separate the two and if you cannot do that, you cannot help them.

Obviously I was not able to separate the person from the addict and deal with the addict and not the person. ( I hope that I am making sense )

My FIL came to fetch my BIL as I had had enough, shortly after that we moved. In one of his "drug clean periods" he tracked us down and came to visit with his new girlfriend. I told him he was not welcome as I had seen this movie over and over again and did not want him in our lives. I never saw him again nor did I go to his funeral.

My boys know how I feel about drugs and that is the one thing that would turn me against them, they would cease to exist for me. Anything else and I would give my life for them..

I know that this sounds harsh, my apologies if I have offended or shocked anybody but I will not let my children do to me what my BIL did to his parents.

Even today FIL hates my guts.!! What can I say, am I sorry that I took that attitude?...No I am not!. Would I do the same thing again given the same set of circumstances... I really can't answer that ! Do I feel guilty that I did not do enough?

Yes I do !

That's it for this evening too many bad memories for one night.
I am out of here...

Lindy

or are some of them involved in crime?

My query is, who gives the teenagers who take drugs the money to fuel their habit? Are they getting too much pocket money for nothing? Jean

Slightly off topic: I found the following article very interesting - it's all about whether Amy Winehouse has a duty to her talent:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7381065.stm

thats what i mean red...not everyone has that sort of money unless of course your a celeb....

lol Jan,,,,,,surely Celebs can pay for their own support in the priory?

I think that prevention is better than cure which starts by not glamorising as you say.

However, I do think that those who want to come of drugs should get support from the government as surely IF it works this would benefit society & the economy in the long term, ie less crime, less muggings, etc Less insurance claims, less money spent in the courts and in the over crowded prisons & in hospitals for abusers and victims.

Cooooeee Steve!! xx

Good for you. My brother died after being an alcoholic for years, he couldn't beat that addiction despite spending £thousands in a private clinic.

What is really scary is the published percentage of youngsters (and I include pre-teens) who have tried drugs. I can't say I remember that many users in the 50s and 60s.

Sue x

i know that only too well steve sadly,

red i also support them if only there was enough plces to help but unfortunately there isn't...unless of course you have £3000 a day for the priory

Jan

I hope your children avoid drugs as well but if they do slip remember its the drugs that change people not the people who change

support is everything trust me i know even tho a lot slip through and cant be helped

Ann

Its not only the papers and glossys that do it

My 15yr old daughter and all her friends watch a program called "skins" its a british prog about teenagers and every episode has kids smoking dope on it

the main problem is in my view even class A drugs are so easy to get now, and are pocket money cost

and i agree take away the dealers but for everyone you put in prison two more take there place its now so embedded in our socity now its normal

Sxx

Good debate Jan,

I think drug users should be given support rather than shunned after all we want as many of them off drugs as possible. I'm not saying all drug users resort to crime but there is a criminal element.

On the other hand I totally agree that it should not be glamourised.

Steve, well done. Not for telling us but for getting yourself off the stuff I can only begin to imagine how hard it is.

yes the media almost glorify the drug taking of celebrities and they shouldn't. But I don't condemn those celebs for taking drugs, as someone said it is part of their scene. I condemn the people who push the drugs and who make a fortune from selling the stuff that causes so much destruction and death. they surely are the 'scum'. I feel sorry for the young of today because they have so much to contend with and to try and avoid. I just hope my grandchildren are sensible enough and strong enough to avoid getting involved.

Ann
glos

hi steve, i know,knew a lot of people who are on or have died through drugs it is such a waste of life, my children know all about drugs and i just hope and prey that they do not try them...

Jax true hun and also the royals used opium

Diana hunni bun

errrrrrrrrrrrr do i want to know what the word is pmsl xxxxxxxx

Joan Taff

I dont take guts to admit it i just cant see the point in hiding the fact i was an addict when someone does a thread like this

Hell i will even tell you what made me want to quit if you want lol

Jan

when i was spending more a day to feed my habit than most people earned in a week, the bank i worked for knew all about it

my floor at work was like a snow party but we made the bank a lot of money and we got paid a huge ammount in return

and drug taking in the city is still endemic sorry to say

Sxx

It's up to us to teach our kids right from wrong as best we can, it's not up to the media. I can't believe people think that people who struggle with addiction should be shunned in this day and age. I think Amy Winehouse is an amazingly talented singer & songwriter & what the papers report about her private life is disgusting. I feel sorry for anyone with demons like she has but its her music I care about.
x

Ih dear, oh dear, oh dear... am I scum because for 46 years I was addicted to tobacco which, as we all know is a drug. Nobody forced me to smoke my first cigarette... I though I was being very grown up at the time.

I'm sorry but I really can't condemn the young celebs that get hooked. It is part and parcel of their livestyle. I just feel so sorry for them. It was hard enough for me to finally give up me fags...I can't imagine what it must be like trying to come off cocaine or heroin.

Perhaps an addictive personality is part and parcel of their genius.

Steve....what a hero. Good for you. I really do admire you :)))

Jean x.

my problem was that kate moss was knowingly taking cocaine but she still got work.....(personally i do not think she was ever nice anyway) but thats my opinion...the make up companies that were employing her should be ashamed of themselves

Steve, Many congratulations mate! I'me proud to say I,ve spoken to you!

that takes some guts steve to admit it,


i congratulate you for your honesty