ABU DHABI // Ahmed remembers the exact moment his life became intertwined with drugs. Seven years ago, one of his uncles was jailed for drug use and Ahmed visited him in prison. But, instead of being scared away from drugs, the sight of his uncle behind bars made Ahmed want to find out more about what put him there. "I grew up seeing someone in jail," he said. "I met so many people when I went to see my uncle and so I started to think, what are these drugs?"
Since then, he has tried everything from marijuana to heroin, starting with hashish when someone he met at the prison introduced him to the drug. "I wasn't scared of going to jail, I just wanted to know more about drugs. "I was so young, and I had no responsibilities or anything." Ahmed, 30, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, voluntarily checked into the National Rehabilitation Centre in the capital this week.
It is his second stint in the facility, which provides free treatment for Emiratis hooked on drugs or alcohol. Hashish became Ahmed's drug of choice, something that he says made him fearless. His family were unaware of his drug habit, and he became adept at hiding it from them, using eye drops to "clear" his eyes. "Hashish opens your imagination 100 per cent," he said, fidgeting as he sat on a couch in a small room at the rehabilitation centre.
"But, if you try one drug you want to try them all." Ahmed was first exposed to Captagon - locally known as Abu Hilalain - a year ago by a friend from Al Ain. He soon started to use it in combination with other drugs or alcohol to stay awake for long stretches of time. "Most people who use Captagon are lorry drivers and we buy it from them. They use it to stay awake," he said. Ahmed said most dealers he has encountered are drivers from other Arab countries.
"The drug doesn't do anything to your mind, it just keeps you awake. You just don't feel tired and you feel like you are still in control. If Red Bull gives you an extra two hours, Captagon gives you 24 hours." Over the past couple of years, more people Ahmed knows have started to use the drug, which can be purchased in bulk at a cost of 20 for Dh400. An individual pill is said to cost Dh50. "Now it is becoming more expensive, though," he said. "We asked them why and they said that the cost of diesel is going up, so they have to charge more."
Ahmed, who is married and has several young children, has still not managed to kick his drug habit. He hopes that his latest stint in rehab will enable him to get his life back, not just for himself, but primarily for his children, especially his eldest daughter. "Everything is missing in my life. I just don't care about things," he said. "My daughter has become so distant from me, so I came [into rehab] again for my children."
How would he feel if one of his children became involved with drugs? "I don't know how I would deal with it. I just want to try to give them what I didn't have." Ahmed's parents still know nothing about his addiction and think he is out of the country. For them, and many others in his community, being a drug addict is akin to being a "killer", Ahmed said. "Before, I have tried to stop and I changed my friends and my mobile number and everything, but you start living at a level where you cannot do anything without drugs," Ahmed said.
"I hope that I don't go back to drugs. I just want a life." zconstantine@thenational.ae