To protect the identity of my friend and family. I will simply refer to him as Ernie. Ernie was an older kid in a big family, there were about 6 kids in this family, the father had a good paying job and was gone fairly often. He was the older boy in the Mormon community all of the younger boys looked up to, becoming an eagle scout and doing really well in school. Soon after this the younger boys no longer heard from him. He was in college after graduating high school and suddenly disappeared, not showing up at church meetings any longer. Ernie had gone along with some friends he chose to hang around over his family, and these people were not the best influence among him. I had come to find out that these friends were junkies. Sometimes when they came around I seen them going around in the parking lot with drug sores about their faces and arms. This was a CHURCH parking lot, where I witnessed them in a parking lot lighting a spoon with a lighter. Now, what this was exactly was absurd to me at 11 years old, I had no idea what this was. I went in laughing mentioning what I had saw, and my scoutmasters ran outside into the parking lot with a disgruntled look on their faces. I proceeded to leave home and there were police everywhere. No idea what was going on, I told my mom what I saw, and she said it's nothing to worry about. Me and my friend were working on a merit badge project, and I found out that Ernie was arrested. Since that time I witnessed him steal from his family, eventually requiring him to be sent to Hawaii where he couldn't come back to their house. He was living there homeless, shooting black tar heroin, every day. The drug ruined his life, and now he is back and been in recovery for 2 months. but the 8 years of damage he did with the drug has made him almost completely unable to stay on a topic. He is practically permanently stuck with the memory of a 3 year old and has about the same amount of motor skills. It is really depressing every time you try to have a conversation with him. It is almost like he never even came down. I think about him every time I end up in a situation that can take me down the wrong path. 5 minutes of fun can ruin the rest of your life. Choose the right people to be friends with. Heroin is something I will never try because of what I seen it do to someone I once looked up to. Please get help now before it's too late if your addicted to this horror of a drug.
That was a very scary and interesting story which must be told to teenagers and youths of the present. The scarier the story, the more they behave. Ernie must be going through some sort of brain damage; it is so pathetic coming from a good home and a loving community. I hope more can be done for him in this lifetime.
Thank you for sharing, it is so important to know just how far addiction can take your life. I think most people have no clue, or think it can never happen to them. I was one of those people. I am only thankful that I made it out alive, and I survived.
Wish more young people would take the time to read this kind of stories, actually were stories like these the ones that kept me away from hardcore drugs such as meth and heroin. This kind of stories are so helpful, thanks a lot for sharing. Sorry to hear about this friend of yours, I hope he gets better soon and can tackle that terrible habit for good.
Yes, there is no telling what heavy drug use can do to your body or your mind. It always takes a toll in some kind of way. This is just one of the things that you might wish to remember when trying to tell others about the danger of drugging. It might be fun a few times but sooner or later it will catch up with you and in a bad way.