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Personal stories addiction women 50+, heroin addiction, cannabis addiction, ice addiction, prescription drug addiction, OTC addiction, men & women 18-60, women 50+, personal stories addiction men aged 30-39, Personal stories addiction men aged 50+, Personal stories speed addiction, personal stories ice addiction

Experiences with Heroin

Here you’ll find participants’ accounts of living with addiction, dependence or a drug habit. The people and stories were carefully selected to highlight diversity in backgrounds and experiences. While this website is not able to tell every possible story in Australia, it can show just how different people and their experiences are. In the stories can be found details of the many important concerns and circumstances our participants negotiated in living with addiction, dependence or a drug habit.

The stories presented here rely on participant reports of drug use and related health issues. Some experiences may not conform to medical definitions or medical advice, but notes have been added in such cases to clarify key points.

While these narratives were written from the interview transcripts and rely on participants’ own words, some aspects have been paraphrased to improve coherence and readability. In making these changes we have worked hard to remain faithful to the original meaning and intentions. Some experiences may also be presented in other sections of the website, using more detailed quotations.

Amy
audio recording, prescription drugs, cannabis, cannabis habit, depression, heroin, men 40-49, drinking, alcohol problem, ice addiction
As a teenager growing up in the suburbs, Amy felt like she didn’t fit in with the young people in her neighbourhood.
Barry
cannabis, cannabis addiction, drug counselling, depression. anxiety, heroin addiction, alcohol, ice, prescription drugs, life story, drug use experience, drinking, heroin, morphine, alcohol habit, addictions, speed
Barry started drinking regularly and smoking cannabis in his early teens after a close family member died. In his early twenties, he began taking heroin and has continued to take it on and off since then, which he now describes as ‘an addiction’.
Bobby
cannabis, cannabis addiction, drug counselling, depression. anxiety, heroin addiction, alcohol, ice, prescription drugs, life story, drug use experience, drinking, heroin, morphine, alcohol habit, addictions, speed
In his mid- to late teens Bobby began smoking cannabis and taking speed regularly with friends.
David
cannabis, cannabis addiction, drug counselling, depression. anxiety, heroin addiction, alcohol, ice, prescription drugs, life story, drug use experience, drinking, heroin, morphine, alcohol habit, addictions, speed
When David was in his mid-teens he first tried heroin with a cousin and then started taking it on his own.
Grace
Experiences with heroin women aged 50-59, heroin
Grace began taking heroin in her twenties and has taken it fairly regularly since then.
Harry
audio recording, prescription drugs, cannabis, cannabis habit, depression, heroin, men 40-49, drinking, alcohol problem, ice addiction
Harry has taken heroin fairly regularly for the past thirty years, organising his consumption around his work commitments.
Helen
Experiences with heroin women aged 50-59
When Helen was in her twenties, she ‘drifted into’ a ‘population of people’ who took heroin and began taking it herself.
Jack
cannabis, cannabis addiction, drug counselling, depression. anxiety, heroin addiction, alcohol, ice, prescription drugs, life story, drug use experience, drinking, heroin, morphine, alcohol habit, addictions, speed
Jack began taking heroin occasionally in his twenties and stopped in his early thirties after his doctor prescribed him morphine and Xanax® (alprazolam).
Josie
cannabis, cannabis addiction, drug counselling, depression. anxiety, heroin addiction, alcohol, ice, prescription drugs, life story, drug use experience, drinking, heroin, morphine, alcohol habit, addictions, speed
Josie first tried heroin in her early teens and has taken it fairly regularly since then, with long periods when she stopped taking it while pregnant.
Kate
heroin addiction, prescription drug addiction, ice addiction
Kate first tried drugs in her mid-teens, occasionally smoking cannabis, and taking LSD and speed with friends.
Misja
audio recording, prescription drugs, cannabis, cannabis habit, depression, heroin, men 40-49, drinking, alcohol problem, ice addiction
Misja found himself homeless in his pre-teenage years. He says he began taking ‘anything’ he could to ‘get high’ and in his early teens he started taking heroin regularly.
Ned
audio recording, prescription drugs, cannabis, cannabis habit, depression, heroin, men 40-49, drinking, alcohol problem, ice addiction
Ned began taking heroin in his late twenties, stopping after a few months when he felt he had developed a ‘habit’.
Nick
audio recording, prescription drugs, cannabis, cannabis habit, depression, heroin, men 40-49, drinking, alcohol problem, ice addiction
Nick first started taking heroin regularly after he was involved in a car accident.
Peter
audio recording, prescription drugs, cannabis, cannabis habit, depression, heroin, men 40-49, drinking, alcohol problem, ice addiction
When Peter was in his early twenties he tried a variety of drugs but avoided heroin. Then in his late twenties, he decided to try heroin and since then has taken it intermittently.
Rachel
Experiences with heroin women aged 50-59
Rachel began taking heroin, cannabis and cocaine in her late teens, and says her consumption ‘escalated’ in her early twenties.
Sophie
cannabis, cannabis addiction, drug counselling, depression. anxiety, heroin addiction, alcohol, ice, prescription drugs, life story, drug use experience, drinking, heroin, morphine, alcohol habit, addictions, speed
Sophie first tried cannabis as a pre-teen and after some time, she started smoking heroin through a bong. When she found she ‘wasn’t getting a kick anymore’ she started to inject it.
Zadie
Experiences with heroin women aged 30-39
During periods of more frequent heroin use, Zadie says she developed ‘small dependencies’, feeling she needed it ‘to function’.