I did my interviews today for my story on prescription drug abuse. It was a very interesting and alarming experience.I went to a treatment center about an hour and a half from here. I spoke to a couple of counselors and then two former addicts who had gone through drug court and were now clean. A young woman was 23 with three children. She said she got hooked on methadone and would snort it. She talked about hoping to get her kids back and discussed her brother who was in prison for breaking in to 24 homes to fund his drug habit.
The man was almost more heart-breaking. He horribly injured his leg when he was in the Navy 17 years ago. He got hooked on pain medication and when he was taken off it, he was still in miserable pain. He turned to street drugs and then mixed in pills again later. This guy also managed to be a single dad to two daughters. He had to hurry to go pick them up from school.
It is just so interesting to me how some people fall into this lifestyle almost as if they are destined to. I have been given prescriptions for painkillers that I didn't even touch because I didn't like how they made me feel, but some people are just inexplicably drawn to them. Others are in constant physical pain, and prescription drugs just become a way of life. I feel lucky that I don't have that addictive type of personality. It seems like quite a demon to battle.
I am looking forward to working on this project. It is such an interesting subject. Prescription drugs are not illegal per se, but many of the activities surrounding them are. Prescription drug addicts are not stereotypical and can be teens, businessmen or soccer moms. Many of them legitimately need the medicine, but their use just gets out of hand. Prescription drugs are seen as softer than street drugs for some reason. They come from the doctor right? So, they can't be that bad. Though the young woman we talked to said withdrawal from pills was the worst thing she ever went through.
Now I have hours of tape to weed through, but I am excited to produce something interesting and meaningful.
I am off to Vegas tomorrow. There I may gamble away up to $30. I am about the lowest roller you can get.
--MM
So, you have that gambling addiction instead, hey?! Sounds like an interesting project. Have a blast in LV!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good story!
ReplyDeleteHave fun in Vegas, Low Roller!
I worked in a yuppie-like bar while I was in college and you would be surprised by some of the people who you would never guess had done (or do) drugs that did them. A lot of the time it was the mid to upper mid. class kids. They just seemed to think they were untouchable.
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