Living with addiction

I have lived with addiction in one way or another my entire life. As a child, living my best life, my father was battling alcoholism. To be honest, he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it. He didn't appear to have any plans to quit. Our mother was also an alcoholic, but hers was more controlled and mellow. I was pretty young when my eldest sister, V, was behaving in rebellious ways, which included doing drugs and drinking. She also was involved in theft and other petty crimes.

At some point, I wanted to be like V. She seemed to be a free spirit, she seldom had a job, she managed to get by and I was impressed. Of course at the time, I did not understand living with nothing, including a permanent roof, especially for a mind altering substance. I did not get that she was stealing to survive, not just to get even with our parents.

V taught me about various drugs, for the most part to avoid them. She saw that I was interested in her lifestyle and did her best to thwart me from the particularly dangerous ones, like Heroin.

V made me swear never to use a needle, and I can proudly say that I never had an interest in intravenous drugs. The only opiate i have ingested was administered by a physician.

I was never really interested in pills, or smoking cocaine or meth. I preferred to snort it, and of course, I had a love affair with Cannabis.

There are many theories about addiction. One theory is that it is a disease. That may be true, I have a trouble with a disease that one chooses to get. Another is the idea that it is a choice. I think back at my times of addiction and I knew each time I indulged that I was risking addiction. Maybe I am smarter than the average bear. I doubt that.

It is suggested that we get hooked on drugs because of peer pressure. I am willing to agree with that since most of us started because a friend introduced us. I know I have personally "corrupted" a few people by mistake.

We all have different experiences with addiction, I am interested in knowing what other people's feelings and experiences are.

Feel free to reply at length.