A recovering drug addict has shared his story after his near-death experience that saw him in a rehab centre in Accra.
The drug victim said he had been dealing with drugssince age 10.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s ‘Y’asetenamu‘ show, Emma, who left the rehabilitation centre two years ago said he started doing drugs by smoking marijuana.
He explained that he grew up with his uncles and saw them smoke the substance on numerous occasions hence anytime they stepped out, he would visit their ashtrays to get high as a little boy.
My father and my mum broke up and I was young then. I was living with my grandmother… they didn’t have that much time for me even though I was a brilliant student at school.
I started smoking marijuana at the age of 10. I had big brothers, I mean uncles, who used to smoke. They took me to ghettos… I loved the lifestyle.
Emma added that he smoked marijuana until he was introduced to cocaine in Senior High School when he was in his second year.
I went to the ghetto from school one time… he was an old student… he introduced me to cocaine. When he gave me his weed.. it took me higher than usual so I asked and he told me that he had mixed it with something.
I went there the following day and he made me aware of cocaine being in it and it continued from there.
According to Emma, he loved the ‘high’ and that got him visiting the dope peddler till he started avoiding classes completely.
He explained that anytime he visited the school he had one mission to accomplish; to steal a valuable item to sell in town so he could go and buy cocaine.
No one buys cocaine for anyone… it’s expensive … unless the person wants you to have a feel of it. You can contribute to go and buy. No one does that.
I was in a boarding house so if I don’t have money I had to steal someone’s item to go and sell or if I had something valuable I’ll sell it … I didn’t stay in school.
Talking about some of the side effects of taking cocaine, Emma said it was expensive to keep up hence those taking it have no option than to become kleptomaniacs, thus you have to steal to survive.
When you stop taking it, you will feel very sick and feel so much pain. You will feel like dying. You will feel like you have rheumatism. I could wear like four jackets and still feel cold and to avoid that, you have to do everything to get the money. Whichever way you will get it even if you have to kill
recovering drug addict
Narrating the event that led him to quit doing drugs, Emma said he took himself to the rehab centre for the second time after taking cocaine for eleven years.
He said he was tired and wanted to quit badly so he was asking any man of God he met to help him out of his situation.
After arriving at the rehabilitation centre, Emma said he woke up one night to find himself in a pool of blood due to a malfunction of his special infusion pump.
He added that he lost consciousness and felt his soul leaving his body to the extent that the call of the nurses couldn’t wake him up even though he could hear them clearly.
I was asleep and was trying everything to make them know I am alive. The soul wanted to leave and something stopped me and the thing said I have not finished my work so I should go back and tell my story
RECOVERING DRUG ADDICT
Presently, Emma is unemployed but he says it gives him the ultimate peace of mind because there is no pressure on him to do what he would rather not to do.
Even if I don’t have money, I have peace. There is no pressure to have money at all cost. I am currently living with one of my mates in SHS. He is an architect. He was our welfare prefect and he has given me the second chance to find myself.
I want to work and if I get any decent job I will seriously do it to get myself back up. I will also like to go back to tertiary to finish my education. I would advice no one to taste drugs,
