Drug Use Drops for America’s Youth, Rises in the Over 50 Crowd

In 1997, at age 12, he won a contest for writing an essay titled “Why I Won’t Try Drugs.” A month later, suffering from insecurities and depression, he started smoking marijuana, which ultimately led him to heroin and, as he put it, “the funerals of five good friends.”

Juan Velez Court grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico, suffering from multiple mental health disorders. He tried to commit suicide several times and started to mutilate himself.

“I was so tired of not knowing what to do, the only way was punishing myself until the physical pain overcame the emotional pain,” he said, adding that whole-body “wellness” has helped him continue with recovery.

Jenna Bertino, also of New Jersey, was almost brought to tears while telling her story.

When she was 13, two days after Christmas, her father took his own life. Refusing to “face that reality,” she started drinking beer and smoking marijuana, and she eventually moved on to pills, she recalled.

“Before I knew it, I had a $200-a-day Percocet habit, and I was robbing and lying and manipulating and doing whatever I needed to do to get one more,” she said. “I had become a monster. My mom used to sleep with her purse under her pillow out of fear that I was going to come in and rob her.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *