Prescription for Addiction

In Brookline, he is known as “The Doc” amongst his friends. It could be because he is knowledgeable about prescription drugs. Or the fact that he has been on over 40 prescriptions in the last four years. And he is only 20 years old.

Out of fear of getting arrested again by Brookline police, he prefers to be called A.J. for the sake of the article. But he is trying to right his wrongs by seeking employment and weening off the drugs.

A.J.’s journey started when he was a sophomore in high school and he started feeling strange pains around his body.

The doctors first prescribed Motrin, then increased to Percocet, which then increased to Oxycontin and then Vyvanse- both very strong narcotics for pain. Narcotics are usually prescribed for someone who just got out of surgery.

“The pain was so strong, I felt that I needed something to help... And these helped...,” he said. “I just didn’t know how far it was going to take me.

A.J. turned into an addict. He took advantage of his medical care just to get more prescriptions. But then he started to involve his friends.

"It’s amazing how much money a person can make by selling pharmaceutics,” he said.

A.J. was given several prescriptions which included Viagra, Vyvanse, Cialis, and Opana. All of which he took, but would later sell to his friends for a profit. This behavior would lead him to almost drown in troubled waters.

Just last fall, A.J. was arrested while driving through New Hampshire for drug possession. They were all pharmaceutical drugs. But not all were from him. A.J. refused to answer how he got the others.

He explained how strange it was that young people were turning to prescription drugs. And he talked about how he wanted to create a program to warn parents of the risks.

However, the Brookline High School staff, felt that A.J. needed to get his act together first, before talking to students.

Hope Schroy is the substance Abuse counselor at the school. She has tried helping him in the past and says that there is no need for such a program.

"It's a good idea, I just can't allow (AJ) to come into the school and speak with students or even their parents."

According to a survey taken by the Monitoring the Future study last year, more young people were taking prescription drugs. Whether these medications are necessary has to be considered on a case by case basis.

Unfortunately, A.J. is struggling with his addiction. And when asked why he kept doing this, he just shrugged. His eyes remained glued to the floor and he couldn't say one word to answer the question.

So when asked which drug was his favorite, he re-focused, there was eye contact, and he felt comfortable again.

“Lyrica has the best high! I feel amazing after taking my dose. The only problem is that now I can’t survive the day without it,” he said.

Lyrica was originally prescribed to him for his fibromyalgia. His doctors are now trying to get him off of it because they feel that diagnosis may no longer be accurate.

But A.J. doesn’t believe that taking his medication orally is the best way. So when asked what is the best way, he just reached into his pocket and pulled out his snorting spoon.

“This is the best way...,” he says while holding it up.

When holding it up he seemed almost proud but also shameful at the same time.

“But I am trying to decrease my doses... It’s just going to take some time...,” he said.

But for now, he feels that inhaling allows the effects to be felt even faster.

A.J.’s mom is very supportive of her son. And she is very happy that he wants to spread awareness. But the problem is that he is still suffering from his addiction.

When she tried to respond to his arrests and his addiction to pharmaceutics, she started to cry.

“You didn’t know him.... You don’t know how he was before...,” she said. “My son was class president... he was in AP classes... He was planning on going to college...,” she says as tears roll down her face.

She then looks down at her feet. “But he is my son, and the doctors say that he is getting better... I sure hope so.”

Note: As of last week A.J. is now only taking two medications. His physicians are becoming more serious with him and A.J. hopes that won't have to depend on drugs like Lyrica.