ADDICTS DESCRIBE LIVES SPENT TRAPPED BY DRUG DEPENDENCIES

Marshall is the face of drug addiction that many people don't see.

He's 59 years old and has used heroin for 35 years.

He's the oldest person in his drug treatment program.

Marshall, who asked that his last name not be used, has failed in previous
attempts to get off drugs. But he hopes this time he'll succeed.

His drug use, which he says cost him three marriages, illustrates the power
of addiction to wreck a life.

It's a story retold by other longtime drug users in treatment.

"After you get addicted, then it's a matter of using to keep from getting
sick," Marshall said. "You're going to have some very, very bad withdrawals
if you don't.

"You'd think that the sickness would be a deterrent, but it's not."

Tamara Williams can relate.

She said she used to leave her husband and two sons for days at a time to
binge on drugs, including crack cocaine.

"I tried to always be there for my children, but when I was out there
chasing drugs I wasn't," said Ms. Williams, 39, who's been using since she
was 13. "I've apologized to them a lot and told them I love them. I tell
them I'm committed to being a better mom.

"I wasted a lot of years. I don't like looking back and thinking what
happened to all those years."

Ms. Williams, who has needle scars on both arms, said she's lectured her
sons, ages 7 and 17, on the horrors of addiction.

"I tell them I don't want them ever to try drugs," she said. "That's the
most important thing - just don't ever pick them up. If you're an addict,
you're going to like it and keep going back to it."

Terry, who asked that his last name not be used, began using drugs in the
1980s with some business associates. Most of them quit, he said. He could not.

"I liked the initial euphoria of kind of altering my mind," said Terry, 43.
"Then it became strictly a job to try to maintain. I became a slave to
drugs and alcohol.

"It's true torment. I used to tell myself, 'I can stop this.' But it wasn't
until I tried to stop and couldn't that I admitted I had been in denial all
that time."

Glenda Ware said her ex-husband has temporary custody of her two youngest
sons because of her drug abuse.

She, too, was away from home a lot.

"I was living in abandoned apartments and drug houses," said Ms. Ware, 40,
who has used drugs for 15 years. "My youngest would say, 'Mommy, we slept
in your bed last night. We knew you didn't come home.'"