| The man, who used heroin for seven years from when he was a teenager, has now been off the drug for 18 months.
But he warned that drugs were more easily available in Dundee than ever before — and people were experimenting with the drug at an earlier age.
“I could stand in most schemes in Dundee, throw a stone and the first person I hit would be a dealer, or be able to tell me where I could get drugs,” he said. “It’s really easy to score in Dundee.
“A few years ago, when I was 14 or 15, you might experiment with cannabis, but now 14 and 15-year-olds are trying heroin.
“I know one 15-year-old who injects heroin once a day.”
The man also said many addicts begin dealing themselves in order to feed their habit.
“I know about 20 people who just got slopping out money after being in prison. They’ve not bought any new clothes or anything but they’re setting themselves up in business as dealers.”
The man began using heroin, and knows full well the effect it has on families.
“The people using heroin destroy themselves, but then it’s like a domino effect,” he said.
“It just destroys whole families.”
Despite years of addiction, he was able to quit heroin after going on a methadone programme.
“That only works for about one in 10 people,” he said.
“It was my willpower that helped me quit. Now I want to be a drugs worker or a youth worker because I’ve seen the harm heroin can do,” he added. |
