On Monday, April 14th, fourth-form members of Health and Wellness classes filed into Getz Auditorium. Mr. George Brown, a recovering drug addict from Harlem, New York, now a Prevention Specialist for Freedom from Chemical Dependency (FCD), shared his journey from drug addiction to chemical freedom with the fourth-formers.
Brown’s speech complemented the students’ health class learning, which centered on the harmful effects of drug and alcohol abuse. Brown is a self-proclaimed “expert in making bad decisions for understandable reasons.” At the young age of thirteen, Brown first tasted alcohol when a close friend offered him a beer. Throughout his pre-teen years, Brown had felt out of place because of his towering height. He gave in to his friend’s tempting offer, hoping that the effect of the alcohol would eliminate his self-consciousness.
“I think that we give too much weight to peer pressure,” says Brown. “We need to look at the pressure we put on ourselves to be cool, proud, and socially acceptable.” Although he did not like the bitter taste of the alcohol, Brown turned to drinking for its effects. He not only became an alcoholic, but also experimented with and eventually became addicted to other substances, such as marijuana and heroin. He was then expelled from his private high school, which had given him a full academic scholarship. Brown’s athletic scholarships from four universities were also revoked.
“My life was set up for me, and I lost many opportunities because of my alcoholism,” Brown says. However, a wasted future was not the most devastating effect of Brown’s chemical dependency. “The worst thing that happened to me [when I became an addict] was disappointing my mother.”
A drug addict and an alcoholic for twenty-three years, Brown has had enough experience to warn students that addiction is messy. Both the physical and psychological effects of chemical dependency caused long-term suffering for Brown, who says, “I would rather be dead than an active drug addict or an alcoholic. The process of withdrawal dragged out and by the end I was suicidal. I did not know how to live with or without drugs.”
The first thirty days of his withdrawal were physically excruciating, and the following six months were a psychological battle. Brown conquered his dependencies with the aid of Alcoholics Anonymous and the tireless efforts of friends and family, who expressed their deep concern.
“I do not endorse the use of substances, but I understand why people use them,” said Brown at the end of his lecture. “Just know that what happened to me can happen to you. There is no such thing as a mild addiction—that is an oxymoron.”
For twenty-one years, Brown has been sober. Because alcoholism and drug addiction are chronic conditions, he cannot consume any alcohol. This would risk rekindling an old dependency. Brown can, however, tolerate being around others as they drink.
Reflecting on his experiences, Brown says, “I don’t look back with regret at all. What happened to me shaped who I am today.”
The effectiveness of the FCD lecture has been debated among students. Madeleine Morris ’10 remarks, “I liked the speaker. He was funny without detracting from his serious point.” Bo Ra Kim ’10 disagrees: “I don’t think that the lecture was as effective as it could have been. He talked about things we have all heard before. In a way it was good hearing about someone’s personal experience, but some of my friends at home have told me similar personal experiences, so I have heard a lot about [drug addiction] before. It might just be me, but I didn’t learn anything that I hadn’t known.”
