CharlesTheHammer
Bluelighter
I thought this would be a good harm reduction thread because maybe younger drug users could read the examples and see how bad things can get when people become addicted to drugs, then hopefully they can either stop using, or try to control their usage.........
For me things got pretty bad from early '98 through mid 2000. I became a daily H addict in Jan of 1998, and I quickly had to move out of the place I was living because I didnt have the money to pay rent. All my $$ was going to H! I first would park my car at a local truck stop and sleep in it. But then, I also couldnt afford car insurance, and my inspection/registration lapsed, so I paid a guy to steel me an inspection sticker. But the sticker was slightly torn, and a few months later, a cop pulled me over and charged me with no insurance. About a month later, I was pulled over in the city about to cop, and a cop pulled me over, and once he found out about me having bogus stickers and no insurance, he impounded my car. That was the last time I owned a car for 1.5 years.
From then on, I was on foot and riding the bus. I fortunately had started my own business so I didnt have to commit crimes to pay for my habit, and I got paid every day, but I had to walk from job to job if no bus went by there.
From then on, I was homeless, and I stayed at different places. I did try detox in september '98, and stayed at my brothers house for a month, but I went back to using immediately although my family didnt know at first. I then got into a room for rent deal, but moved out in late December '98. I then finally moved to the city. I stayed at a free boarding house owned by an old Ukrainian man, with other addicts, but there was no heat other than the small electric heaters and no hot water. Then the old man sold his house in march, and I was homeless again. I stayed at deserted homes, I stayed with a couple friends who rented a place, but had no electricity, or hot water, etc. They were junkies too. I spent almost the entire winter of '99-2000 sleeping totally outside, right beside the train tracks, in a sleeping bag surrounded by boxes I'd found. I woke one morning to 5" of snow on the ground around and on top of me!
Finally I got on methadone in January 2000, but I still used coke for 2 years and 8 more months. I stayed most of that time at a run down room rental in another fucked up boarding house!![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
I weighed around 130 lbs during this time, cause I didnt eat much, as I spent most of my $$ on H..... I wore the same clothes for days at a time, and didnt get a shower for often a week or more when I was completely homeless.....
I remember I got trench foot a couple times, where it was summer, and I was sweating in my cheap boots so much that my feet got sores all over them, and I couldnt hardly walk because of the pain, but I had to walk to work and get dope! I finally went to the Salvation Army to get new(used) boots!
Some times in the rain, I'd go to the hospital to get out of the rain, but people in there would know that you were homeless, and they'd throw you out fairly quickly. They even had me arrested just for sitting in the waiting room one time, not saying a word to anyone!
I got lucky in that I never got caught with any drugs, and never really got involved in other crimes, so I have a clean record still(except for pot possession in '93). But it sucked!
Then, I moved out of town in late September of 2002, and stopped using cocaine, which I was usually doing almost daily. Then, I bought a used minivan for cheap from Goodwill auto auction for $400, and it looked great, ran great, and lasted til I bought a truck 2 years later. Then I bought my first home in 2004. Bought a brand new truck in 2005. Unfortunately, due to the economy and a lack of work, I lost my house last year, and now I share a home with an old family friend.
But I'm still clean.........
For me things got pretty bad from early '98 through mid 2000. I became a daily H addict in Jan of 1998, and I quickly had to move out of the place I was living because I didnt have the money to pay rent. All my $$ was going to H! I first would park my car at a local truck stop and sleep in it. But then, I also couldnt afford car insurance, and my inspection/registration lapsed, so I paid a guy to steel me an inspection sticker. But the sticker was slightly torn, and a few months later, a cop pulled me over and charged me with no insurance. About a month later, I was pulled over in the city about to cop, and a cop pulled me over, and once he found out about me having bogus stickers and no insurance, he impounded my car. That was the last time I owned a car for 1.5 years.
From then on, I was on foot and riding the bus. I fortunately had started my own business so I didnt have to commit crimes to pay for my habit, and I got paid every day, but I had to walk from job to job if no bus went by there.
From then on, I was homeless, and I stayed at different places. I did try detox in september '98, and stayed at my brothers house for a month, but I went back to using immediately although my family didnt know at first. I then got into a room for rent deal, but moved out in late December '98. I then finally moved to the city. I stayed at a free boarding house owned by an old Ukrainian man, with other addicts, but there was no heat other than the small electric heaters and no hot water. Then the old man sold his house in march, and I was homeless again. I stayed at deserted homes, I stayed with a couple friends who rented a place, but had no electricity, or hot water, etc. They were junkies too. I spent almost the entire winter of '99-2000 sleeping totally outside, right beside the train tracks, in a sleeping bag surrounded by boxes I'd found. I woke one morning to 5" of snow on the ground around and on top of me!
Finally I got on methadone in January 2000, but I still used coke for 2 years and 8 more months. I stayed most of that time at a run down room rental in another fucked up boarding house!
I weighed around 130 lbs during this time, cause I didnt eat much, as I spent most of my $$ on H..... I wore the same clothes for days at a time, and didnt get a shower for often a week or more when I was completely homeless.....
I remember I got trench foot a couple times, where it was summer, and I was sweating in my cheap boots so much that my feet got sores all over them, and I couldnt hardly walk because of the pain, but I had to walk to work and get dope! I finally went to the Salvation Army to get new(used) boots!
Some times in the rain, I'd go to the hospital to get out of the rain, but people in there would know that you were homeless, and they'd throw you out fairly quickly. They even had me arrested just for sitting in the waiting room one time, not saying a word to anyone!
I got lucky in that I never got caught with any drugs, and never really got involved in other crimes, so I have a clean record still(except for pot possession in '93). But it sucked!
Then, I moved out of town in late September of 2002, and stopped using cocaine, which I was usually doing almost daily. Then, I bought a used minivan for cheap from Goodwill auto auction for $400, and it looked great, ran great, and lasted til I bought a truck 2 years later. Then I bought my first home in 2004. Bought a brand new truck in 2005. Unfortunately, due to the economy and a lack of work, I lost my house last year, and now I share a home with an old family friend.
But I'm still clean.........
