At the age of 24, I was arrested for the fourth time in 11 months — each time for drug possession and for driving under the influence of drugs. I knew my life was completely out of control, but I felt powerless to stop it. I wasn’t sure how I’d even ended up in this place. I had started taking prescription opioids for a painful injury, and after a few months it spiraled to the point that I was buying drugs on the streets. Following three brief stints in the county jail, I was facing the possibility of much harsher consequences: a 15-year prison sentence.
