At 17 years old, Edenvale resident Bridget Williams*, has tested positive for tik and cocaine.
Her history with drug use started when she was 13 and attending an Edenvale high school.
Bridget met with the NEWS last week to warn families about the dangers of drugs and how easily children in the community have access to them.
“There are so many children in Edenvale who use drugs,” she said.
“I started smoking weed when I was in grade 8. I never thought of weed as a drug, I still don’t,” she said.
“At schools, pupils do lines in the bathrooms. I used to. It was not something out of the ordinary.
“The dealers live down the road from schools and if you know the right people, they will even deliver what you need to the school grounds,” said Bridget.
“In Edenvale you can get drugs anywhere. If you do not have the money to pay the dealers, you can have sex with them, it is not uncommon,” she added.
At the beginning of 2012, Bridget had her first taste of hard drugs when she tried khat.
“Before then I never touched anything but weed. I would look at those using harder drugs and think they are dirty and disgusting. Until I tried it,” she said.
“I had made new so-called-friends, people I would not normally have hung out with, and tried it with them,” said Bridget.
Between January 2012 to November of that year, Bridget became a regular user.
“I used khat at least once a week,” she said.
During this time, Bridget also experimented with other drugs including, tik, cocaine, acid and LSD.
“I never thought I was an addict. I always thought I was in control. I could stop whenever I wanted to,” she said.
When asked if she was ever scared of being caught, Bridget said she would not think about it too much.
“The more you think about it, the more suspicious you look. So I never over thought it,” said Bridget.
It was only around November 2012 when she approached her parents and told them she was using drugs.
“My parents went with me to support group meetings every week in Bedfordview,” she said.
Shortly after Bridget began attending her support group meetings, she overdosed on sleeping pills and alcohol.
“I was clean for four months before I tried weed again. I always craved how the drugs made me feel,” she said.
While attending the meetings, Bridget continued to use marijuana, but two months ago, she relapsed on khat after being clean for almost a year.
“After my relapse, I was using khat every day. It was just so easy to get hold of. My dealer lived on the same street as my high school. My friends would offer me some, or I would sell my stuff to buy more. It became bad,” said Bridget.
She explained that during her more recent uses of khat, she would suffer badly when “coming down”.
“I was always grumpy and irritated. I would not sleep for long periods of time and I just would not eat at all,” she said.
“Eventually, I would have to smoke weed to be able to get some sleep,” she added.
“After I relapsed, my regular use of khat started showing. I lost 12 kilogramme, there were sores on my face and in my mouth and my nose was bleeding constantly,” said Bridget.
“When I realised how much weight I had lost, I wanted to use it more. I liked seeing how I looked,” she said.
Three weeks ago, Bridget underwent drug tests with shocking results.
“The tests were positive for khat, tik and cocaine. I realised the khat I was using had been laced. I never noticed the difference but I was not surprised, most dealers lace their drugs. It means better business for them, the drugs are cheaper to manufacture and are more addictive,” said Bridget.
At the time Bridget agreed to meet with the NEWS, she had been clean for two weeks and was ready for her admission into a rehabilitation facility.
“I will be in rehab for a year where I will finish my matric. I know I am ready for this. I am ready to be clean,” Bridget said.
“This is my last option. I can see now that I am an addict.”
She advised parents to know their children, and for children to be weary of who they chose to be friends with.
Bridget was among the over 800 school pupils who marched against drugs in Edenvale on October 4. At the time, unbeknown to her parents, she had already relapsed.
Last week, before she was admitted to a rehabilitation centre, Bridget placed her name on a tile at the Karaglen Shopping Centre as part of Edenvale’s Tiles 4 Change initiative.
She did this as a testament to her staying clean after rehabilitation.
* Name changed to protect the identity.
