Codey Gibbons: ‘I’d be six feet underground’
Codey Gibbons wonders if his friend Stacy would still bee with him if she hadn’t decided to use alone.
The 39-year-old Edmontonian was in a budding relationship with the young woman when he says she died of an overdose in a bathroom stall at a social service agency in the inner city. The two would use methamphetamine intravenously together, but on that day, Stacy was using on her own.
“It was just that one time, ‘Oh, I’d rather use alone,’ ” Gibbons recalled.
Since Stacy’s death, Gibbons’s use has increased — he says he sometimes spends hundreds on meth in a day. But her death has also put into perspective the importance of supervised consumption sites. He tries to visit them whenever he can and has used the services at Boyle McCauley Health Centre, Boyle Street Community Services and at the George Spady Centre.
“If we didn’t have these sites out in Edmonton or in Calgary … you know how many more people would be dead?” Gibbons asked. “I’d be six feet underground.” Gibbons’ speech comes in short, rapid bursts — seemingly reflecting the speed of his thoughts. His face is emaciated, his bright blue eyes projecting a steely gaze.
Most of his life has been marred by substance-use disorder. Born in Calgary, his childhood was turbulent. He was taken from his home as a oneyear-old and lived in foster care until he was adopted at seven. He inhaled his first hit of crack cocaine at age eight when an older boy introduced it to him at school. By 13, he was smoking it every day.
He says drugs help him cope with painful memories and experiences.
“I’ve been stabbed. I’ve been raped in my life. So I don’t want to deal with that pain,” Gibbons told the Star. “It’s hard for me to talk about it to other people.”
He stayed sober for four and a half years while working as a flight attendant in his mid-20s. But during a 16-hour layover in Vancouver, he had his first taste of meth.
“I went back for more and more,” Gibbons recalled.
He’s been using ever since and 10 years later, finds himself stuck in a cycle of addiction.
He says he doesn’t have much hope for recovery, but wants to keep trying for the sake of his three kids and his adopted parents, who he’s still in touch with.
“Am I really scared? Yes, for my kids to not have their father, or my mother and my father going to a funeral because their son died. Because of what he did for his drug.”
Through the supervised consumption site at the George Spady Centre, Gibbons says he’s connected with addiction treatment services such as detox centres, mental health counselling and housing.
He completed a seven-day detox program at the centre, then spent three or four days in treatment at a residential facility called Recovery Acres.
He said it was a good program, but he had a hard time keeping up with the material because of his disabilities, including fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Now, he’s trying another avenue — he’s registered with the Addiction Recovery Centre in Edmonton, a government-run recovery centre that offers referrals, assessments and introductions to self-help groups as well as detox treatment.
“I don’t know how many times I’ve tried, but I keep on coming back.”