The Blue Banner

Photo Illustration by Jessica Blythe - Staff Photographer

On his bed stand, Carl kept a handgun on top of the Bible his grandmother gave him before she died. One night in 1993, he put the gun against his head. But he didn't pull the trigger. Instead, he realized he needed to seek help with his addiction to cocaine. 

Now he tells his story from a yellow chair, warmth emanating from brown eyes. A bright painting hangs overhead. This cheery ambiance radiates from one of the counseling offices where he provides addiction counseling. Carl has been a member of Narcotics Anonymous for more than 11 years.

"I started using when I was 8 or 9 years old because cigarettes and tobacco were the first things that became available, and then it evolved into marijuana and alcohol, and then my eventual drug of choice was cocaine," he said.

Carl used from ages 18 to 30, weaving in and out of treatment. 

"After starting using, eight or nine things became problematic for me by the age of 12," Carl said. "I was put into a treatment program at 12 and was involved in that program for two years in Florida."

While he credits the program with lessening his addiction, it hardly treated him. Although both of his parents abused alcohol and/or marijuana, Carl said they weren't to blame for his choices. 

"I never went without. My father was a millionaire. I had every toy under the sun, and I don't blame my parents for how my life turned out, as great as it is," he said. 

Carl, who wishes to remain anonymous because of his involvement with NA, said his commitment to recover from drug addiction improved his life and allowed him to help others. As the Western North Carolina area NA Public Relations Chairperson, Carl uses his struggles to reach out to others. He also has a master's in rehabilitation and mental health counseling.

"The LPC, here in North Carolina, is a licensed professional counselor, which you get after your master's degree and have done two years of full-time work and pass a horrendous exam," he said. 

Carl is also a licensed clinical addiction specialist in both North Carolina and Florida.

Many people who are not necessarily addicts are still endangering both their health and their wallets, according to Carl.

"The current research shows that alcohol is the No. 1 offender right now after tobacco. Tobacco is going to kill more people this year than any other drug," he said.

Sgt. Eric Lauffer of the Asheville Police Department said one of the more dangerous things about alcoholism is that it is easier to conceal than addiction to hard drugs.

A person could ruin his life within six months of a first encounter with crack cocaine, whereas alcoholism's effects tend to be gradual, sometimes taking up to 10 years or longer to sink in, according to Lauffer.

Many people are aware that substance abuse issues exist, but what they might not know is that substance abuse often leads to other societal problems. 

"Almost every case that I have, and I can go through them, is somehow related to substance abuse," said Detective Joseph Silberman, who works in the APD's Criminal Investigations Department.

Many thefts involve crack cocaine, according to Silberman.

"I got one guy about two weeks ago who broke into a house, went to jail and got bonded out the next day. Then he walked across the street from the jail, like a block and a half down within five minutes of getting out, trying to break into another house," Silberman said.

When he couldn't get into the house, Silberman said the man broke into another house in an effort to steal guns. The police caught the man, who was an extreme drug user, immediately afterward.

"He went to jail, was there a week, then got bonded out again, and I put out the warrants because I was able to tie him to some other things," Silbermann said.

But Lauffer said it is unfair to stereotype since substance abuse doesn't discriminate.

"Doctors smoke crack, too," he said. "I knew one lawyer who got his first DWI, and then he got a second DWI and then they stopped him up here going to the probation office. He walked in there, and I ran the test in there, and he blew a 0.16 at 10 in the morning."

While such stories represent extreme examples of substance abuse, NA meetings welcome those from all segments of the continuum.

"You hear a lot of times, 'In order to stay clean, you have to do a lot of things,' " Carl said.  "At first a person might be asked to attend 90 meetings in 90 days." 

Such dedication forces the addict to become familiar with the program and to help him or her find a sponsor. This gives the person seeking help a chance to get acquainted before committing to the 12-step program, he said.

This can be tough at times, but it's the best way, according to Carl. One of his sponsors, Lewis, started using again shortly after Carl joined. Although it was an emotional hurdle, Carl found a new sponsor and persevered through the 12-step program, which he compared to ascension through colored belts in martial arts.

"When someone decides they would like to try the program and make an effort, we kind of memorialize the moment with a white key tag," Carl said.

The second color is orange, symbolizing 30 days without using. Next is green for 60 days clean, red for 90, blue for six months, yellow for nine months, glow in the dark for one year, gray for 18 months and a black and gold key tag for multiple years without drug use. 

These key tags represent milestones for recovering addicts. Although Carl remains sober, he knows he will continue to fight for sobriety for years.

"You could say the more time somebody has been clean, the more vulnerable they are to using," he said. "That addict disease is still a part of me. There's still a part of my brain that remembers that drug of choice, that paraphernalia that goes along with it, that euphoric recall, those grand party memories, that great time," he said.

But because of his continued involvement, Carl has been clean for more than 11 years.

"Narcotics Anonymous has been around since the 1970s, and there are people who jump right into Narcotics Anonymous and, after they've found recovery, stay clean throughout time," Carl said. 

For more information on Narcotics Anonymous, call the NA area helpline at 258-4537.

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