Confessions of a Recovering Drug Addict

We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival.
- Sir Winston Churchill

"My name is Jerome. I'm a recovering addict."

This is not the kind of revelation one would expect to hear from a person who looks like Jerome. With his neatly combed hair and boyish looks, he effortlessly exudes confidence, poise, class and a hint of quiet elegance. As far as first impressions go, one would quickly assume he's had an easy and polished life.

But reveal he did, without batting an eyelash. Given the fact he was speaking in a public forum, Jerome's statement was met with uncomfortable silence. One could almost hear a pin drop. In a society rigged with loads of taboos, drug addiction is definitely a skeleton that one is expected to keep locked up in the closet.

For Jerome, however, his past life is a skeleton that must be bared. For if not for his shady past, he wouldn't now be right smack in the frontline of a relentless effort to crack down on the local illegal drug trade.

Starting young

Jerome's long-drawn struggle over drug addiction started innocently at Grade 5 when he had his first sip of drugs - alcohol. "I was trying to impress my friends with how well I can handle alcohol at such a young age" says Jerome.

His friends eventually introduced him to pot and amphetamines, all in the same year. He soon found himself sniffing more and more of the stuff. Next thing he knew, he was losing sleep and appetite. "When I lie down all I could hear was my loud heartbeat," Jerome recalls. Unknown to him at that time, Jerome was already exhibiting the classic symptom of euphoria one gets from amphetamines.