Sam Nolan started taking drugs at the age of 13. Sam was from Hove, a city in England near Brighton in East Sussex. Her story could have played out the same way in Florida, Kentucky, or anywhere for that matter. Sam started her drug use with inhalants and marijuana. She graduated to heroin and tried to stop on several occasions. Her parents sent her to drug rehab but, although a good drug rehab program works for many people, for Sam, it was unsuccessful.

This story is sad not just because Sam died but also because her family stood by her and tried to help her. The confusion, despair and anxiety from her drug abuse is obvious in her brother, Ricky Wright’s, comment: “For me personally, I would implore anyone using heroin to see what it did to Sam.”

The problems that OxyContin, Vicodin and heroin have brought to communities may not be obvious until you have a personal tragedy like Ricky and his parents. But those problems can be seen in the newspapers and on TV everyday. Children in the U.S. are using drugs and alcohol at younger and younger ages. Kids 11 and 12 years old are taking prescription drugs to schools and sharing them with their friends. If you know someone addicted to OxyContin, Vicodon or heroin, get them into drug detox and drug rehab so their story doesn’t play out the same way as Sam’s.

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