Nine months after she resolved to get clean and sober after years of drug abuse, an 18-year-old recovering crack and heroin addict who introduced herself as Jessica told a roomful of people how it all began. "I was 13 the first time I used marijuana," the Gibsonia area resident said yesterday. "I was with a bunch of friends at a party. Someone rolled a blunt and I started smoking." Within a year, her cravings for more intense highs led Jessica down the dark hole of addiction to crack cocaine and before long, snorting and injecting heroin. Eventually, she said, "it became a chore because if I didn't use it, I'd get dope sick." [continues 551 words]
TAMPA - One of two Carrollwood teenagers found dead in a friend's house July 9 had taken several drugs and died of an overdose, medical officials have concluded. Large concentrations of codeine, Dilaudid and a rave drug known as ecstasy were found in the blood and urine of 19-year-old Scott Davis when he died, according to a toxicology report. A report on the other teenager, 16-year-old Chris Lain, is expected next week. Both teens had stayed overnight at the home of Jeremiah Faust, a 19- year-old friend who lives at 17209 Gunn Highway. [continues 90 words]
