Addict relates horrors of heroin addiction; teens most vulnerable

By Erika DeVincenzi
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

It felt like little munchkins massaging her skin; it was the best feeling in the world to her. Shooting up dope was the only way Emily Santos could get out of bed in the morning to start her day.

"I had to do it in the morning to wake up; if I didn't do it, I would feel sick, nauseous, and dizzy," said Emily Santos, a 20-year-old from Burlington, VT. "My friend would get the needle ready for me so I would get out of bed and start my day."

Emily was 17 years old when she tried heroine for the first time with her boyfriend, then never touched it again until this past year, when she was having problems with her new boyfriend.

"I started out snorting dope, and I would be numb and everything felt better, but after awhile I didn't get high, anymore, and that is when I started using needles," said Santos.

Santos turned to heroine when she broke up with her boyfriend to start seeing a new guy. At first, she was doing it to get high, then after awhile she was doing it because her body was immune to it, and if she didn't do it, her body would cramp up and she would feel very sick.

"My stomach, knees, and head ached if I did not do it; it is a sad, sick thing. They are not kidding when they say it is the devil's drug," said Santos.

Santos was at the point where she could not go to work unless she did a bag, which costs $30. She was able to afford this, because she would buy 40 bags a day, sell 30 bags, make a profit, and have the other ten bags remaining for herself.

"I was spending $250 a day on heroine and doing two bags every three hours just to feel alright," said Santos. "Where I live, you can get a bag of dope quicker than you can a bag of weed."

Over the course of this past year, Santos went from being 160 pounds to 120 pounds; the drug was doing her physical harm. It did not help Santos that her roommate was also a heroine addict.

"My roommate would shove the needle in my arm and move it around until he hit a vein, because if you just shoot it in without hitting a vein, a big lump forms on your arm, and it takes an extra hour to get high, not to mention that it takes three hours for the lump to go away, plus you break out in hives," said Santos.

Santos chose to stop doing dope for two reasons: her boyfriend was going to break up with her if she didn't stop, and three people came close to dying in front of her.

"A girl almost died in my house. I had to call an ambulance, and when they got there they pronounced her dead, then gave her a shot that brought her back to life. All I remember was how scared I was and all of the blood from them stabbing the needle which saved her life into her," said Santos.

After that eye-opening incident, Santos went to a rehabilitation clinic once and detoxication clinic three times. She felt that taking heroine was not worth giving up her own life or her boyfriend.

"I do not do heroine, anymore, but I am now taking medicine for depression, seeing a counselor, and taking sleeping pills at night, because I cannot sleep if I do not take them," said Santos.

According to the Getting away for Treatment website, "Addiction is caused by chemical changes in the brain when exposed to drugs or alcohol. Our brain craves it, and the more we use it, the more we need it. There are many detox services and health corporations which help to cure this illness." (http://www.egetgoing.com/othtreatment/13_O.asp)

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