Reasons for Living

“ I had money in my pocket, anything I wanted. People always wanted to hang with me for my money or drugs, but I didn’t care. It was the rush of selling and doing that was keeping me going
(Samuel, 19).”

Samuel (19) says he had a “happy, go-luck type of upbringing.” He had a best friend, Brian, with whom he experienced a lot of the usual boyhood “firsts”—including smoking their first joint at age 12. From marijuana, Samuel progressed to cocaine use. Then he began selling cocaine. Eventually, his craving for drugs and money led him to more dealing and stealing.

As well as cocaine, Samuel discovered Ecstasy and opiates. He was arrested for possession with intent to sell. In retrospect, he had become so addicted that he had grown careless about concealing his habits—even from his parents.

When Samuel’s parents discovered drug paraphernalia in his bedroom, they insisted that he enter a teen residential program. As one of only two boys’ residential programs in the Commonwealth, our teen treatment home in Danvers was the best and closest option.

There, working with his counselors and education coordinators, Samuel came face-to-face with his addiction and many other truths about his young life. An avid writer, he has researched and written papers on teen drug use and the growing problem of substance use among school-age adolescents. He has also made presentations on the topic at his school.

He says, “I’m 43 days clean and I feel better than when I was the most drugged up in my life.”

               

*The names and photos have been altered to protect confidentiality, but these are true stories and direct quotes.