Speaking out about ‘nasty, destructive drug’

AS the South West community comes to grips with startling statistics revealing the severity of the region’s meth habit, two men have come forward to prove the addiction can be beaten.

Speaking to theSouth Western Times , both men revealed how they became victims of the drug ice — a drug they refer to as nasty, powerful and destructive.

Bunbury man Taylor Pugh will be 25 this year and has battled with his addiction for almost five years.

Donnybrook man Adam Lange is 41 and has had his life controlled by drugs for more than 22 years.

In February, Mr Pugh’s organs had been compromised, his blood was septic and he nearly died from pneumonia after an overdose.

He was clean for 12 weeks after coming out of hospital and relapsed almost two weeks ago.

“It’s hard to explain, when you want it, you want it bad and wherever you go it’s there, the availability is out of control,” Mr Pugh said.

“I can walk from my house down the street and get some, there is so much of it around.

“It started as an occasional thing, then over a year and a half it became a once a week thing and then everyday I was taking it.”

Mr Lange’s addiction started with marijuana which progressed to heroin and then ice.

He said 20 years ago he would wait two to five days to get ice but now he could get it in minutes.

It was when he went at his neighbour with a pitchfork in an ice-fuelled rage he knew something needed to change.

He has been clean for 55 days and said he needed to turn his life around to support his three children and get his finances back in order, after he spent $30,000 on ice in less than six months.

“I would be at the shops and people would look at me and my kids and judge me. I stopped myself in time, I didn’t lose my house. I had some self awareness left, I kept wanting that high but you don’t get it and you keep going back to try again,” he said.

“There are emotions but they are false, you are a totally different person, like Jekyll and Hyde. You have to stop yourself from taking the drugs, no one else can do that for you.

“I have changed my view on life and I am getting involved and helping other people. I am going to do some study in community service and I attend three support meetings a week now.”

Taylor’s mum Lina has since started Doors Wide Open, a community service group for people affected by ice.

She said as soon as her son started using she knew, but she never lost hope that he would be OK.

“If you instil support and courage into the person taking drugs, it’s like there is hope that somebody cares,” she said.