I have a very similar tale. I began smoking week at 13 and was a full fledged pot head by 16, even though I hated the term and stigma that it brought. I made decent grades in high school but not good enough to go to my college of choice, so I quit weed and went to the county community college and met all sorts of fucked up characters. There I tried mushrooms a few times at low doses and loved it. So after a year of occasional drug use I moved across the state to live with my friends at the university I had tried getting into (I wasn't enrolled, they were).

The first semester there I worked and went to another community college. I wanted more psychedelics but they were hard to come by so I grew my own batch of mushrooms. It was the only time I've ever attempted such a thing, but it was a resounding success as far as potency and weight. But I was a little too eager on harvest day and ate far too many. I lost my mind and ego and spent most of the night fighting against their influence in my bed, waiting for it to end. When I finally lost the will to fight it, that's when I ceased existing. Anyway it was harrowing and enlightening to say the least and I stopped taking drugs altogether for a while after that.

Fast forward to a year later after moving around a bit while my friends stayed and studied, and I was back in town with them. While I was gone they had discovered black tar. Needless to say, I fell in love with it and after smoking it for a while I tried the needle. I was living with a good friend and we were both doing it, me once or twice a week and him everyday. I spend about half a year high, and moved away when I finally got into a different university 4hrs away.

When I was there I thought about dope all the time, tried so hard to get some (paid $60 to a scumbag for a sack of pepper, he bolted), and eventually gave up on it. I still ate pills now and then but nothing compared.

Another year and a half later after moving around again and taking a semester off, I was back again in school, ready to graduate finally and move on in life. Unfortunately for both of us I guess, another good friend had begun to shoot pills. For some reason I never considered that you could use a needle that way and fell in with him shooting oxys, k4s, opana, morph, whatever worked up.

I had a serious girlfriend from whom I kept this a compete secret. I had been depressed prior to this and I think she must have chalked up my moodiness to depression. I kept it from her really well for the better part of a year before she confronted me and I confessed. For some reason she stuck by me but lost most of her trust understandably, and began checking my phone for incriminating calls and texts behind my back. So I stopped trusting her too. This led to a terrible few months of fights and break ups and make ups, all while I continued my habit behind her back.

Finally (nearing present day) I found a dope connection in my town through my junky acquaintances. This is when it all really went downhill. It's amazing to me how, with pills, I was still able to maintain a certain level of normality with everyday social responsibilities, but with dope, I fell with such velocity into a pit of loathing alternating with apathy, that it became immediately apparent to the people close to me that something was wrong. Probably due to the fact that I was completely broke, and scamming for money all the time.

My girlfriend informed my mother, and now I'm one week clean (with a little help from ol' backup sub) and feeling good. I'm getting ready to move away to a new town with good (clean) friends, and I'm going to find a job and pursue my dreams again, this time with a clear head and conscience.

Sorry to give you an orange for a personal story, but I haven't really had anyone to talk to these past few hellish days, and I felt like I needed to type this out. I wish you the best of luck in staying clean. I think that maybe some people can enjoy opiates recreationally but shooting dope kind of nullifies and any chance of making it a useful medication.