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PART 1-THE ADDICTION

Slurred speech, drooling, loss of muscle control--those are the effects of drug abuse. We have a reality check from a man who fell deep into the drug trap and barely made it back to tell about it.

He goes by the name Ricky, he's thirty years old, married and has three children. Through a local public official, Ricky came to us. He said if people really knew the devastating effects of drugs, they wouldn't touch them. He didn't want to show his face, only share his story about why it's not worth dying for drugs. Here’s his story in an interview with Newschannel Three’s Carrie Cline:

How did you get started with drugs?
“You kind of feel disaccepted by the other kids. I didn't really feel like I was part of them. You're out partying and there's cocaine there and you try it, then you're buying coke. You try a little bit of it... But kids don't realize it's a 16-year cycle and once you get started, you fall deeper into it,” said Ricky.

And for you the deeper was cocaine and heroin?
“Oh yeah, there's more heroin pushed around these kids than is unbelievable. I know what real heroin is. When you get high, you just want to get higher and before you know it, you could be on your high for a long ride. Physically, how have they affected me? You can look at me and tell there's problems. You ain't going to hurt my feelings. I know I have problems. I've lost my motor skills. I lost my speech. Alot of times, I can't help it where I'll just drool on myself where I guess my muscles or nerves won't do right. Like me shaking now. I can't enjoy life,” said Ricky.

You said your memory is shot. I asked you how old your baby son is and what did you tell me?
“I couldn't remember,” said Ricky.
And he was born only two months ago. How does that make you feel?
“How does that make you feel? Do you really want to know the truth? That you're not much of a father,” said Ricky.

How old are your other children?
“I've got a 5-year-old and an 8-year-old and I do know their ages.
I would do anything in the world... It's a very hard thing to look at them and know that I can't go outside and pass a football with my son who asks me from time to time... Or ride a bicycle. I ain't even got the motor skills to ride a damn bicycle. That ain't no good.
I've ruined myself over trying to prove what? That I've done it? Then, I went back,” said Ricky.

So, you're doing drugs now? I'm doing drugs now. What are you doing?
“Smoke pot mostly now. I take my Xanax. I still do pain pills here and there,” said Ricky.

What do you want kids to know who are dabbling in this stuff now?
“If you ain't got mind, you ain't got nothing... And if you don't want a mind, the best thing to do is keep doing drugs. It will definitely take you mind away. That hollering, "I'll just do a little here and I'll control it." No, before you know it, it controls you,” says Ricky.

Ricky says:
“I was kind of a fan of Scarface movies and John Gotti. I thought if these guys can make money from it.... You make money and tell yourself for a long time, just keep making money, you won't do it yourself.

Money makes a difference. You go to school with kids who dress nice everyday and that's an influential thing. I wanted the gold necklaces, I wanted to look good, Ralph Lauren, I wanted to dress nice.

When you see 50 Cent drive a Phantom Jaguar and he says he's been shot 9 or10 times. That turns kids on, it's an influence, but an influence in a wrong way. I mean, you're turning kids on to street life. Anybody can live the street life. I've lived it. I've made the money off it.

How much money did you make?
How much money was I making? You wouldn't believe me if I told you... There's been well over a couple million go through my hands at the age of 30. My wife has seen more coke through here than what they see at one of those big drug busts. That ain't counting those big pill bottles plum full of those 80s.

So you were making hundreds of thousands of dollars?
Oh yeah! This house ain't paid off and I could have paid it off more times than I can count on both my hands.

What did you do with the money"
What did I do with the money? About 80% of its been run up my veins.

do you still sell dope?
Yep.

So, knowing what drugs do to people, you still don't have any problems selling them.
Would I sell heroin or cocaine, something I know can kill people? No, not any more.

But, you feel it's okay to sell dope.
No, it ain't okay to sell dope. No.

Why do you do it?
Why do I do it? It's a large income...

So, you still can't get away from the money.
The money's hard. American folk will buy drugs like crazy! It's too easy to make money off it. I've got a few miners, thieves, car salesmen, lawyers. You name em, they do it.

How big of a problem is drugs in Huntington?
Like I said, if you write down what you want and you've got the money. I can get you anything you want, no problem. I make probably make about $2000 a month on selling weed. That's enough to survive on. Plus, I get about $2000/month on my social security. So, I don' t live bad.

But, do you realize, you may be opening the gateway to someone else who fallen in that pit yet and now you're providing that gateway of pot?
Boy, you're hard. You're good at your job, I'll tell you that. ;-)

Would I ever go back to that life?
If I had it to do all over again. I guarantee ya I wouldn't go back to that life! That's a promise!

So, the money's not worth it.
No! You can have your fancy rides. You can take all that fancy shit because I have no use for it. What good is it if you can't use it? That vehicle out there don't mean nothing to me. My building full of tools and 4-wheelers. That means nothing. I'm more concerned about am I going to live today or am I going to die tomorrow. My body is screwed up. I don't know what's going on with my own self. I can't even tell what's going on with my mind, much less worrying about things out in the world.
You can live good for a long time, but eventually it's going to catch up to you. The options are out there and there are pushers out there that will give you those options. But, the better person is going to walk away from it and go on instead of suffering because that's all it's going to lead to is a suffering agonizing pain.”

Tell me about Ricky when you first met him. What was he like?
Gosh, he was totally different. He was a lot more open, a lot more fun, a lot more full of life. He enjoyed life. He enjoyed himself, he enjoyed the people he was around. Now, he won't hardly talk about anything much less enjoy anything.

We heard Ricky's story. Tell me your story. Those times he was going through those dark moments out of his mind. What were you doing?
Taking care of the kids. Trying to keep him out of trouble, trying to bring him back to reality, trying to talk him out of what he was doing--period. More often than not, he said, " I know what I'm doing. I can quit when I want to". He would get angry about it.

Were you ever involved with the activity?
Very seldom. Very seldom. But, I did, so I'm not innocent. But, nothing like what he went through.

How do you feel about it now that he's still in it?
I don't approve of it. I don't like it. Most of the time when people call, I tell them, "he's not here, he's out of town, I don't know where he is, I don't know IF he's coming back"!

So, you lie to try and keep him away?
Yeah, (laughing) I do. He's knows that too.

Why do you stay with him?
Because I love him and because through sickness and in health. To me, that is a sickness. Addiction is a sickness. It's an illness, a disease just like anything else. He's a person with an addictive personality.

For me, it's really weird that your 8-year-old son is sitting here listening to this, but this is his life...
No matter how hard you try to keep it from it, before you know it, he's right there listening to everything.

What do you tell him. How do you explain this?
You don't. There's nothing you can say or do to make it okay or make him understand. You tell him, "you don't want to be like this". That's the only thing you can tell him. His dad will tell him, "you don't want to be like me".

So, you're honest...
You have to be. You can't hide it.

Do you worry that someday he's going to go out and make a deal and not come back?
Oh yeah, constantly. Every time he leaves, I'm worried. I always tell him to be careful. The longer he's gone, the more worried I get.

You're living off drug money.
Well, he gives me his check, he lives off his. I take his social security check, I pay the bills, but from that he lives off his.

But, he's buying the family things with drug money?
Yeah, I don't particularly care for it....

But, this is your life...
Yeah, this is my life.

Did you ever think you'd be living a life like this?
Absolutely not (laughing). Not at all.

If he quit tomorrow and you had to live off just the social security check, would you be alright with that?
Oh yeah. That wouldn't bother me.

What would you say to kids watching this who are dabbling in drugs or are thinking about getting involved?
You might think it's glamorous, but it's not. There's nothing glamorous about it. You see the nice rides, sure. You see the nice things they wear. But, behind the scenes, what are they? Most of the time, they're miserable. Like he said, it's like hell on earth sometimes. He's miserable inside of himself. He has to sit back and watch his kids, he can't interact... So, I mean... I wouldn't even try it.

And again I ask you why you stay...
(chuckle) Because I do love him, I really do.

Drugs don't pay. That's been the message from a man named Ricky, who wanted to share his story of pain, suffering and loss.
Tonight, we take Ricky's message to some of the youngest battling drugs.

Ricky's intentions in approaching us to do this interview were never to glorify his life of abuse and dealing. He wants to save lives even though his own is pretty much ruined. So, we took his story to the heart of teenagers already battling similar demons hoping they don't have to worry about dying for drugs.

“My body, I guess where I had taken so much dope, it caused me to go into a seizure. I lost my speech. A lot of times, I can't help it where I'll just drool on myself. Hell, I stayed up one time for six days at a time smoking it and cooking it. I've lived the life and it ain't no life. There is no life to it,” said Ricky.

It's a harsh reality check from one drug addict to teenagers fighting the addiction themselves.

“I started using drugs, trying them when I was like 10,” said Amber, an 18-year-old recovering drug addict.

“I once done drugs and turned away from them after I lost my brother to drugs,” said Katrina, a 16-year-old recovering drug addict.

“I used to try different drugs and I don't anymore,” said Josh, a 17-year-old recovering drug addict.

An 18 year old, 16-year-old, 17-year-old--recovering addicts. Then twin brothers age 15 who aren't abusing, but are considered at-risk because of their neighborhood. They're all part of a support group that focuses on positive alternatives.

“We hang out and talk and go out and do fun, positive activities,” said Josh.

For Ricky, it's too late to enjoy life--drugs have done their damage. But, he wanted to share his story with the hopes of changing lives like these for the better.

“If you ain't got a mind, you ain't got nothing. And if you don't want a mind, the best thing to do is keep doing drugs. It will definitely take your mind away,” said Ricky.

“It opened my eyes. There are a lot of situations I've seen personally with my friends who are drug dealers. It's right here in Huntington, said Amber.

“It shows the consequences and makes you not want to do it, so yes, it's inspirational,” said Josh.

“I think it's sad to live that life, said Amber.

But, is all of this enough keep these kids on the right track?

“I'm not trying to be people on the riverfront... I want to drive by in my own car and drive to my house,” said Amber

“You gotta show the ugliness in the situation to show how bad it is,” said Josh.

Those teens are part of a substance abuse support group for young people with high risk factors for drug use through Prestera.

You can learn more about Prestera's many drug treatment programs. We've made it easy for you, just click on the link below.