CNN JOURNALIST TELLS PERSONAL TALE OF ADDICTION IN ATLANTA'S DRUG SCENE

CNN reporter William Moyers Jr., the son of prominent journalist
William Moyers, spoke Thursday about his secret decade-long decline
into the underworld of Atlanta's drug culture.

"Addiction is an equal-opportunity problem," Moyers said. "I am an
alcoholic and I am a drug addict. This is what one looks like."

His autobiographical lecture, titled "Fame and Fantasy: From the Crack
House on Ponce to Recovery," was attended by about 50 people in the
Woodruff Health Sciences Center Administration Building.

Moyers said his life was a testament to the fact that drug and alcohol
abuse are not just problems of poor people of color in the inner city.
He described himself as having a solid upbringing in a family that was
privileged financially, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Moyers first got involved with alcohol and drugs during his freshman
year at Washington and Lee University (Va.). He equated college to a
"fantasy world," where drinking became a necessary part of personal
enjoyment.

"I learned to have fun, to drink, and to have fun drinking," he said.
"Parental supervision was replaced by the camaraderie of new friends."

By his junior year of college, Moyers said he began to lose interest
in his studies, his fraternity and relationships.

"My casual drinking was replaced by full-blown alcoholism," he said.

But Moyers managed to graduate with honors in journalism. Following in
the steps of his father, he began working for CNN in Atlanta.

But Moyers had a secret life apart from CNN. He began buying and using
crack at a house near the intersection of Ponce de Leon Avenue and
Boulevard Street.

With his coworkers unaware of his addiction, Moyers could turn to no
one for help.

"No one knew that I was an addict because I never fit the image of a
typical user," Moyers said.

Ten years have passed since Moyers shed his addictions to alcohol and
crack. As part of his recovery program, Moyers works at a treatment
center and travels around the nation promoting drug awareness.

"I don't regret being an alcoholic, because that was fun," Moyers
said. "But I do regret all the time I lost to alcoholism. I lost a lot
of precious time during the 10 years that I was addicted to drugs and
alcohol."

Moyers said his tours allow him to embrace his past problems and work
to prevent others from making his mistakes.

"I don't do what I do for the money or accolades," he said. "I do it
in hopes to provide a spark for change, to become a beacon of hope for
families without hope."