My Story
My drug use started when I was around 12-13 years old when I was introduced to steroids; steroids were the first drug I ever took.
After that, I started getting more involved with alcohol, then marijuana. By the time I was in high school, I was doing acid and mushrooms – but nothing that really hooked me. I had extreme anxiety about drugs because my uncle was addicted to methamphetamine, and seeing everything that went on in his life scared me.
During that time, I started hanging around with people in a criminal network, and I was selling and transporting marijuana. As a high school kid, at times, I was making $3,000-$4,000 per week doing that – and spending like crazy. I was into bodybuilding at a young age and spent several hours a day in the gym. I used it as a way to escape and not confront the issues that were starting to develop in my life.Looking back on it it was very similar to my drug addiction in which it was all or nothing.
Before I was even 18 years old, I had two charges of aggravated assault on my record, as well as inciting a riot in my high school. Between my stature and the company I kept, I was feared by a lot of people – which lead me into a life of criminal activity including bookkeeping, drug distribution, and anything involving drugs.
What happened after that?
My father was a highly respected police officer and in my family, it was expected that we went into the military. I was the youngest of three boys, and both of my older brothers were serving at the time. My one brother was in the Marines and guarding the President of the United States. My other brother was serving – and still does serve – in the Coast Guard.
Andrew and President Bill Clinton
My senior year of high school, I was set to go into the Marines to follow in my older brother’s path – after all, he had a job people respected and admired.
One night, some of my friends and I did acid. We got in my buddy’s car and were acting up and speeding.
My friend ended up hitting a pole – and I broke multiple bones – including my lower back. I also sustained a very serious head injury in which two components of my brain died, affecting my short-term memory and my decision-making. I was in a coma for several months before I woke up.
While the wreck of course caused a lot of damage to me physically, I dealt with a lot of mental trauma during that time; on top of that, my mom and dad were going through a divorce and one would leave the hospital room when the other entered, and if their paths crossed, they’d argue. It didn’t help with my brain injury whatsoever. While I was at the hospital, I was given one Percocet and I got really itchy and thought I was allergic – so I didn’t take anymore.
read rest of bio at https://andrewthespeaker.com/about/
