Archive for January, 2010

This was the time of the college spring break. There was a musical festival. Everybody from all the colleges and universities were going to gather and come together. We were in the first flush of youth and politically idealistic and not having really tasted ground realities. We were living under the planet of no fear. Life seemed wonderful through our rose tinted glasses. Reality seemed miles away and none of us ever thought about what the future would hold for us. We never thought about anything going wrong. We could take all the possible risks in life but the fact that we were young and naïve never occurred to us.

The fact that death doesn’t knock at one’s door with any warning or selects its prey according to age did not strike us. Death was something that we had never contemplated or ever thought about. The music fest was in full swing. Drugs were being peddled out in the open. There was no one to check this. This was not the first time that for us. Before the exams, we used to all do stay awake all night to study and at that time drugs were a regular habit to help us keep awake. These drugs helped us pass through the days.

It was in the midst of the music fest that Steve started having convulsions. He already had a history of being epileptic so no one thought much about it. No one thought much about it, and he was whisked off to the hospital. Our revelry carried on unmindful of what news awaited us. It was approximately twelve hours later when someone noticed that Eric had not woken up from his slumber. Catherine was the first one to notice Eric, and that he seemed to pale to be normal.

Upon shouting for help a doctor nearby was summoned. He started the resuscitation immediately, but unfortunately it was too late. The autopsy and post mortem report showed that it was an overdose of coke, which the strongest stimulant is known to mankind. Cocaine is seventy times stronger than a cup of coffee. Eric had already had a heart condition. We all were tested for drugs and kept under state observation. The night in the cell I felt as though there were bugs crawling under my skin. I began to feel feverish and cold at the same time. The first break of dawn when Eric’s family came to claim his body the reality was like a jolt to all of us. We realized that the state sentenced us to community service and rehab to ensure we stay drug free.

At the New York rehab center, there were drug addicts as young as twelve who were fighting their own demons. Surprisingly, they weren’t from the slums or ghettos. They were the rich kids who came from rich families and families who had everything going for them financially. The first fifteen days the physical withdrawal symptoms was really terrible. I was administered drugs to soothe down the withdrawal symptoms, but it was not the physical dependence but the psychological dependence that was the real challenge.

There were tasks to be done and each one of us was assigned something. I was assigned the task of tending to the garden. This was really very therapeutic in nature. As I tended the garden and watched the new shoots grow, I took an oath to get over this devil of an addiction and renew life once again. I wanted to get out of this vicious circle. The therapy sessions were a great help. I learned of so many things at the New York rehab center. The different stress relieving techniques helped me greatly. I realized that drugs were just an escape mechanism but not the solution and answer to the problems that still persisted when one woke up. I could no longer use them as an emotional crutch. At the same time, I learned how to deal with the guilt that persisted. Drug addiction is not a crime I was told again and again. We were just victims of a society that perpetuated short cuts and the easy availability of drugs worsened the situation.

Upon getting out of rehab every day was a struggle. I tried really hard to stay away from the triggers that would make me reach out for the drugs once again. I started religiously practicing whatever; I had been taught at the rehab. I regularly attended the group meetings and contributed to them.

On my one hundred and eightieth drug free days I arranged for a prayer meeting in the memory of Eric. All of us thought and exchanged good memories that we had of Eric. My friends from the rehab also spoke about how the timely intervention had saved their lives and given them a chance to grab life back and hope to get their life back on track. They vowed to save the lives of other drug addicts who were going down the same dark road.

I still attend the weekly meetings and have also started lecturing on the harmful effects of drugs at the rehab center. I also started posting online at forums and consistently contribute to the rehab center by spending my time there.

I thank the lord for having given me the opportunity to have comes out of this horrible death defying drug addiction thanks to the New York rehab center.