Once you've been labelled with something; a victim, a psychopath, an addict, a criminal...the label always sticks. Two years ago my husband was labelled a drug dealer, and sent to prison for his crime. Two years on, he is a reformed man, who has both very much seen the error of his ways, and paid the price for it. People don't seem to recognise the extreme power which labels hold. My husband is still labelled a drug dealing criminal to this day. Which makes it easier for indi

My personal belief is that addiction is an illness, a chronic lifelong illness, and whether clean or sober I will always be an addict. Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking, continued use despite harmful consequences, and long-lasting changes in the brain. It is considered both a complex brain disorder and a mental illness. Addiction is the most severe form of a full spectrum of substance use disorders, and is a medical

As a young military raised child I was very sheltered from the Life of crime until I came back to this country aged 11. I started to hang around with some old lads that were hanging about with my older brother and as I wanted to impress them I started to smoke the gate way drug cannabis this was my first taste of being chemically inconvenienced or in the normal world getting high.it was about six months in to the lifestyle I really need to find a way to pay for the weed I was

After a teenager has been recruited by a County Lines gang, they invariably react one of two ways; "Shit. What have I done? Nah, I want out of this. This isn't what I was promised" "Oh. Well this is different from what matey promised me. Maybe I'm not good enough and need to work harder" If the teenager wants out, they are controlled with violence, in a bid to make them too scared to leave. This is only a short term solution and the gang are all too aware of this. Entrapment

I saw first hand, how teenagers were recruited and exploited by a gang of County Line drug dealers. In this post, I am going to explain exactly what I witnessed, in an effort to prevent more teenagers falling prey to these gangs. County Line gangs are very specific in what teenagers are recruited. These teenagers have to be vulnerable to exploitation. The gangs prey on teenagers that; Are from broken families. Promising the teenager a new family as part of the gang. Are being