My name is Sanjay, a recovering drug user by the grace of god, and with the help and support from my recovering drug users (NA group), I am clean and sober today.

When I was in high school, at 14 years of age, I started using drugs due to curiosity. First, I experienced alcohol, and then drugs within a year I was addicted to it. In my initial addiction, everything was pleasurable, but it didn't last long, it turned out to be short term gratification and long pain. I started facing problems in my studies, financially, mentally, physically and in my relationship with my families and love ones.

In order to support my addiction, I started lying, stealing and cheating, manipulating, conning and doing things, which were not acceptable by my families and society. Later I was tired of my life style. I tried various methods to quit my drugs and began a new life style by changing friends, geographical escape, business, job (teaching in private school) but everything failed. I had many sleepless nights thinking how to quit my drug addiction at the same time thinking where to get money for my drugs.

I got the message of hope through some ex–drug using friends, they motivated me to go for long term treatment and I got in a drug treatment centre a Kripa Foundation. There I had to address my drug addiction problems also my inferiority complex, low self–esteem, guilt, shame, resentment and my short comings. I am clean and sober for seven years, happily married with a child, working in targeted intervention (TI) for injecting drug users (IDU) as a programme manager and a resource person for management of TI Drop in Centre (DIC) under Nagaland State AIDS Control Society (NSACS). The treatment has really changed my life and I continue to spread the message of recovery to my friends who are still in active use. As for me I would like to state again that “Drug Treatment Works”.