NOT SHUT UP

I first started taking drugs when I was 17. I was badly hooked on H and crack cocaine. To fund my habit I had to steal money to buy it, so I had to do shoplifting and any other crime to get that money. Before I started using drugs I had a lot of friends. Now I hardly know anybody. Everyone I know is a ‘drug friend’ – and that is no friend at all. And now I’ve come to prison and I’ve done my detox. I am clean now. It’s a word I like: clean. And that’s how it feels. Since I came to prison I’ve done a few courses like drug awareness and bricklaying and a forklift course. I have to make a plan for release. Maybe now I can go to work and earn my money legally – clean money. But I have to make sure I don’t get mixed up with the wrong people anymore – need to get clean away. My advice is don’t do drugs, any drugs because you might think cannabis is OK but trust me it’s not. That’s how I started. And don’t look at who’s higher than you: rich and wealthy. They don’t matter – just you inside – your place – which you keep clean. And be grateful – that you have your life – the you inside – which you can change for the better. It doesn’t cost you anything. And also you have to help people who have less than you because trust me it’s a very good feeling you get when you make someone happy – help clean away another’s pain. So the reward is here – it’s not just about the life hereafter.

Khalid
Wandsworth