John grew up in a normal family but got into alcohol and dope in his early teens, hating the taste of alcohol but loving the effect it had in helping to fit in.  He was in youth detention early, but it wasn’t till he was in and out of the adult justice system that he got a taste for heroin, then speed and amphetamines.  John went through rehab many times and found out about Narcotics Anonymous but didn’t really take recovery seriously until after he had been clean for a couple of years and was a single parent of his two sons.  During his last relapse, when the drugs no longer had the desired effect, he decided to give NA a proper go. Even with an unexpected stint in prison John didn’t relapse as he’d finally lost the obsession with drugs John has now been clean for over 18 years and has been enjoying being part of society again. He is also involved with Voices for Change (https://voices-for-change.org/), a self-advocacy group for people with acquired brain injury and experience of the criminal justice system. John helps spread the message by sharing his lived experience of drugs and prison through talks to groups of school childrenYou can also listen to john’s earlier interview from February 2019: https://www.3cr.org.au/livingfree/episode-201902281300/narcotics-anonymous-johnIf you would like to find out more about Narcotics Anonymous or need to talk to somebody, then please call 1300 652 820 at any time or go online at www.navic.net.au.Show your support to the Living Free show and keep us on air by:subscribing to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/subscribeand/or donating to 3CR https://www.3cr.org.au/donateMusic played in this episode was provided by the artists, via Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (https://amrap.org.au/):Saritah - TRULY [https://amrap.org.au/track/saritah-truly] @20:52Saritah - TAKE A LITTLE TIME [https://amrap.org.au/track/saritah-take-a-little-time] @33:34Karen Law - Three Guests & Coral Coast [https://amrap.org.au/track/karen-law-three-guests & https://amrap.org.au/track/karen-law-coral-coast] @56:08