Ex-Addict Offers Clean Way Back

JADE first took drugs at 16. It started with marijuana, but then she
tried LSD, ecstasy and speed, which she began using
intravenously.

By Year 12, the private school house captain was taking speed some
days before going to school.

At 19 she had turned to heroin and an addiction which would last three
years and cost her hundreds of dollars a day. Now 23, Jade has kicked
her heroin habit and wants to let people know that drug addiction can
happen to anyone.

Jade was a keynote speaker at last night's WA Drug Summit 2000, held
at the Riverview Auditorium in Burswood. The event was aimed at high
school students and parents as well as the wider community in
promoting awareness of drug issues and prevention.

Jade said she was speaking out about her experiences in the hope it
would help others.

"The drug summit is to give the community hope that there are drug
solutions," she said.

"I just feel that by speaking out I can save a few lives and save a
few families going through the devastation that my family went through.

"It's not something people get stuck into because they are from bad
homes and bad backgrounds. It's something anyone can get caught in."

For Jade, the turning point came when she had a breakdown on her 22nd
birthday. After that she went cold turkey.