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| By Paula Canning Staff Writer CHICOPEE According to Dr. Punyamurtula Kishore, an addictions specialist who founded the National Library of Addictions, "Wise people learn from other people's mistakes and fools learning by making the mistakes themselves." Kishore's philosophy is at the cornerstone of his "Clean Summer Series," an eight-week program that allows "ambassadors," young recovering addicts to share their stories with young teens across the state in an effort to try and discourage drug use among youths. Last week, members of the Chicopee Boys and Girls Club has an opportunity to hear the stories of four ambassadors, all former drug addicts currently on the road to recovery with the help of Dr. Kishore. Paul, an eighteen-year-old recovering Heroine addict who has been sober for 24 days, told the crowd that gathered in the gym of the Boys and Girls Club headquarters on Meadow Street last Wednesday afternoon, that when he was first told that marijuana is a "gateway drug" he wasn't convinced. "I didn't believe it," he said. "I would sit around and smoke weed with my friends. I didn't think it would lead me anywhere bad." Paul explained that soon after he began experimenting with marijuana, he "grew bored" of the drug and began abusing prescription painkillers such as Kalonopin and OxyContin, also known as "oc's," which then led to his use of heroin. "Can you guys picture yourself, a teenager, sticking a needle into your arm everyday for three years? " he asked. "At your age, I didn't think I would be there either. I didn't think it would lead me to where it did a lot of places I wish I never had to go." Paul took the audience through a recount of his addiction, explaining that his physical dependency on the drug led him to go great lengths to obtain it. "The drug gets really expensive really fast," he explained. "And when your body doesn't get it, you throw up, you shake, you sweat and you'll do anything you have to do to get that drug." According to Paul, there were no real limits on what he would do to obtain the drug, explaining that he would steal money from family and friends. "Until you've been through it, you don't understand how powerful an addiction like that is," he said. "It takes over your mind, body and soul." Throughout his Heroin addiction, Paul said he found himself in many life threatening situations, including being robbed with a knife to his neck. "Even if someone pulled a knife on me, I would try and fight them off because I knew if I lost my money, I wouldn't be getting the drug," he said. He explained that, many times, a drug addict will not only be harming himself with his addiction, but his family a well. "I used to watch my mom cry every night because she had a son who was a junkie," he said. Paul said he hit rock bottom when his girlfriend of a year gave him an ultimatum it was her or the drug. It was then that he contacted Kishore. "I always knew I needed help, but I just didn't care," Paul said, explaining that before his girlfriend threatened to leave him, he had tried several times to quit. Seventeen year old Melanie, a recovering OxyContin addict who shared her story last Wednesday, encountered similar difficulty in tying to end her drug use, but with the help of Dr. Kishore, she has been sober for 10 days. Melanie said, that, just like Paul, her drug addiction began at a young age when she experimented with alcohol and marijuana. "There I was, 13-years-old, smoking and drinking," she said. She said that as her smoking and drinking continued, she would find herself in situations in which she was offered to try different drugs. "I made the mistake of trying oc's, and I fell in love with them," she said. "It was like one day I woke up and I had a habit." After just one time of trying the drug, Melanie said her life changed immediately. "Every day when I woke up, the first thing I would do was call my dealer," she said. As the addiction progressed, she said, she would "lie, cheat, and steal" to find a way to get the drug. "I even stole from my own mother," she said. She said she became alienated from her friends, who no longer trusted her and feared she would steal from them. "The drug became my best friend," she said. "I didn't care what other people thought. I lost trust from everyone." She said withdrawal symptoms including vomiting, shaking, and chills, along with "Every pain that you could possibly have in your body. You would honestly rather die than be sick from withdrawal." When Melanie decided to seek help, she turned to the one person who had not pushed her out of her life her mother. "When I finally decided to get help, she was my only friend," Melanie said. "Now she's my best friend." According to Melanie, finding help was difficult, as she and her mother were unfamiliar with what resources were available. She said her mother called her primary care physicians, who told her to go to the emergency room. She was then told to see a social worker, who then referred her to Kishore. "They really gave us the runaround. It was hard trying to find help," she said. Melanie ended her story by emphasizing how easy it is to get addicted to drugs. "I wish I never did drugs," she said. "If I could start all over again, I wouldn't try it even once. All it takes is one time and you can get addicted." Alex, a sixteen-old, who was addicted to smoking marijuana, told the group that he began drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana at the age of 10. "My family had a huge influence in why I started," he said. "I saw them doing it and thought it was okay." According to Alex, who has been sober for a week, smoking marijuana heavily eventually takes its toll, and has an enormous effect on everyday activities. "It takes away your motivation," he said. "All you want to do is get high." Before he began smoking marijuana, Alex was a dedicated basketball player, but soon found out that there wasn't room for both in his life. "It slows you down," he said. "You can't run fast, you lose your breath fast." Just like Paul and Melanie, Alex said he found himself stealing from his friends, his family, and even his mother to find the money to afford his habit. Alex spoke on the dangerous situations that drug abusers frequently find themselves in. "You're either going to get robbed or rob someone else," he said. "That just how it is with a drug addiction." In addition, Alex shared information on the health effects of smoking marijuana including an increased risk of emphezema, lung cancer, and heart disease. Alex said he especially regrets the time he spent addicted to marijuana because he stopped going to school, and is now forced to repeat his senior year of high school. "It took a year away from my life," he said. He added that the best way to avoid become a drug addict is to avoid using drugs altogether. "Everyone who [is addicted to drugs] starts out the same way," he said. "Just don't even try it. [Marajuana] really is a gateway drug." Trisha, 33, a recovering drug addict, also shared her story with the group. "Twenty years of my life were wasted on drugs and alcohol," she said. Describing herself as a "functioning alcoholic," Trisha explained that for a good part of her addiction, she was able to maintain a somewhat "normal" life. "I went to work. I owned my own house," she said. Like Alex, Trisha said that her family had a strong influence on her decision to begin using drugs and alcohol. "I saw the people I loved doing it, so I wanted to understand why," she explained. At 19, Trisha said she began abusing prescription drugs to "get a little fake happiness." "Doing drugs like that makes you think that your life is okay," she said. "It numbs you up your heart and your soul." Trisha's prescription drug dependency gradually progressed to Cocaine use. "I felt so bad about what I was doing that I wanted to numb the pain, so then I did it more," she said. Trisha said that although she always knew she needed it, she finally decided to seek help when she had spent so much of her money on drugs and alcohol that she had to sell her home. "I had spent, in one year, $143,000 on my drug addiction," she said. Trisha told the crowd, "if you choose to do drugs, you will throw away your life. Every dream every hope your every had, will be thrown away." Denses Rees, a 14-year-old who attended the program, said that she thought listening to the speakers were "good for her and the rest of the kids." "It really taught you that you shouldn't try drugs," Rees said. Johanna Nadeau, 15, said that she thought having the ambassadors share their stories was more effective than listening to a lecture about how drugs are harmful. "By explaining to us what happened to them, it got the message across in a better way," Nadeau said. According to Kishore, "addiction is a major problem among young people." He said that many people who have addictions are unsure how or where to find help, as in the case of Melanie. "We're really trying to reverse that," said Kishore, who formed the National Library of Addiction, a non-profit organization for addictions professionals to exchange ideas and to further the development of treatment method, in 1993. Although Kishore's drug and outpatient treatment program, which he began in 1996, is based out of Brookline, it also extends to various locations throughout the state, including Holyoke and Worcester. According to Kishore, his detox program is unique in the sense that all patients remain in their homes during detox. He said that medical care is provided by a doctor, as well as nurse practitioners, and a full staff of licensed or certified counselors and social workers. He said that by choosing not to isolate the patient from his or her family during detox, the doctors can educate the drug addict's family and help to create a support network at home. "The idea is to help the entire family out," he said. "Instead of isolating the person, we want to work with the family." He said his practice is also unique in that there is no limit on the amount of visits, and that patients can stay with him for as long as they wish. "We really develop programs tailored to the needs of the patient," he said. He said that having the ambassadors speak to young teens about their addiction is part of the healing process for them. "It's a way for them to have some positive fun as they turn their lives around," he said. "It's part of the healing process. The program also includes drug therapy, acupuncture, support groups and individual counseling, and yoga and meditation. For more information about the practice, please call 800-770-1904. |