Cocaine addiction: Inside a Narcotics Anonymous meeting

It’s 7am on a Thursday and a group of strangers have gathered at an inner-Sydney cafe to share their battle with a common enemy: drug addiction.

It’s 7am on a Thursday and a dozen strangers have gathered in a neat circle on the top floor of an inner-Sydney cafe. They will meet like clockwork every weekday for the next 90 days to share their battle with a common enemy: drug addiction.

Members of the fellowship, as it’s known, have come from all over Sydney and represent a spectrum of addictions: alcohol, weed, cocaine, heroin and even sex. Some have been left jobless and others have lost their partners to the habit.

But all of them have one thing in common – every day is a struggle to stay clean and Narcotics Anonymous (NA)* is what keeps many from using. One member calls the meeting the “Aladdin’s cave” – where people share their darkest secrets. Another calls it their “lifeblood”.

The Narcotics Anonymous program keeps many people clean.

For one man in his 60s, who wished to be known only as Jack, the meetings are what has kept him sober for two decades. He describes them as his saviour from the snake of addiction in the Garden of Eden.

“The anxiety is the snake in the Garden of Eden. You never know when to cut its head off. But when one door closes down, another opens. Life goes on. God found a way to get me here,” he told the group.

Jack battled addiction to marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes for years. It all started at the age of 19, when he smoked a joint with his friends in a car and started to feel the world close in on him.

“I was in the car and started feeling tight. Then I just lost it. And started beating my friend. It was 1987,” he recalled.

It was the feeling of power that fuelled his addiction – something he learnt to overcome by attending NA.

“When you take drugs you feel powerful. You keep chasing that power but it’s never the same. It’s a spiral,” he said.

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Another member, named David*, said his heroin addiction put him on death’s door at age 23. If it wasn’t for NA, he may not be here today.

“I came here. It was the right place at the right time,” he said.

A female member who fell into a spiral of addiction while in high school said she wished there was more information about what to do if you get hooked on drugs.

“It wasn’t until I almost died and thought this is going to be the end … that I realised,” she said.

For Joe* it was dwelling on the mistakes of his past and the fear of using again that held him back. Today, it’s living in the present and attending NA that keeps him clean.

“The ’what ifs’ used to cripple me. I would spend hours in my room thinking about the past and future,” he said.

“Now I live by three words. Just for today. If I can go for the next 24 hours without using, I’ll be okay. Now I love getting up and enjoy every day of living clean.”

*Names have been changed to protect anonymity. The Daily Telegraph attended the meeting with permission.

If you need help with addiction, contact the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015.

*Watch Australia’s Cocaine Crisis Sunday 7.30pm on Sky News