‘I smoked drugs from age of 13...addiction just crept up on me’

Robert Brand (pictured right), 29, from Kirkton, said he has no one to blame but himself after discovering the Class A substance at just 16 years old.

He says that he has now been clean of heroin for more than four years as he starts the process of restarting his life.

Robert has spoken to the Tele in a bid to warn others not to go down the same path as he did.

His story comes as “alarming” figures revealed by NHS Tayside showed a record number of people accessed A&E at Ninewells Hospital for people taking illicit drugs.

The statistics show that more than two people a day on average were admitted to A&E at the Dundee hospital, with the most common reason being a multiple drugs overdose.

The single most common drug involved being benzodiazepines — which are drugs such as Valium — followed by opioids and heroin.

In total, 803 were sent to Ninewells — up from 711 the year before — with 236 recorded attending Perth Royal Infirmary during the same period.

Robert said drugs robbed him of his childhood as he saw others from good backgrounds falling into that lifestyle.

Speaking today, the former Lawside Academy pupil said his addiction and the need to fund his habit with stealing “crept up on him”.

He added: “I had been smoking marijuana from the age of just 13 years old.

“I don’t think it was case that I transitioned from that to heroin.

“Initially, it started with just one hit and it grew from there. At the worse point of my addiction, I was smoking six to seven bags of heroin a day. A bag of heroin was probably about £10 pounds at a time, so I had to steal to fund my habit.

“I used the stolen goods as currency. It was never too hard to find someone who was supplying it.”

Robert said without the support of his family, and a close group of friends, he wouldn’t be here today.

He added: “People have asked why I want to tell my story. It’s mainly to warn others of the effects of heroin. “I’ve suffered from bad depression and anxiety as a result of my addiction.

“Without my family, and a close group of friends, I’d either be living on the streets or dead. “I came off of methadone last year and it was very hard for my family to see me kicking the habit.”

Dave Barrie (left), service manager with the Dundee drugs support charity Addaction, said that a large number of overdoses could be prevented.

He added: “These are alarming numbers but in Dundee we run a service trying to work together to address this.

“That number of hospital admissions a year is alarming and is indicative of the level of substance misuse in Dundee.

“We encourage anyone who is at risk of overdose from heroin to educate themselves about how to deal with an overdose.

“They can also get an opioid overdose reversal kit, which contains Naloxone. They are available free to anyone who is at risk or has a family member who is at risk from opioid overdose.

“Evidence shows that a large number of overdoses can be reversed if people know what they are doing and have access to these kits.

“The large number of benzodiazepine admissions is a trend that we have been aware of for some time. Benzos have always been used by people with drug and alcohol problems.

“I think because of the internet and global markets, they are more available now than they’ve ever been.

“It’s a case of demand and supply and where there is the demand you will see that supply.

“When benzodiazepines are involved in overdose it’s usually in combination with at least one other drug.”

A RECOVERING Dundee drug addict today revealed he was smoking as many as seven bags of heroin a day.