Jack’s Story

How drugs took over a young lad’s life.

He was arrested, alone and sentenced to a second chance.

“I would say I got a second chance from the judge there. My life was in her hands then. The right hand was jail, and the left hand was other, and I’m glad I got the left hand.”

“ I’m nineteen years old, and I’m from Elgin, Moray, Scotland. My upbringing as a kid was happy, full of time with my mum and dad, caring, loving, it was a happy childhood, there wasn’t really any bad times. Me and my mum and dad were pretty close.”

“Kinda went off the rails a bit, I got involved with people, I started smoking dope, I tried a Class A drug, cocaine, I was drinking, I, excuse my language, wasn’t really giving a f~*k, I was just going off the rails basically, nae listening to my mum and dad, rocking until all hours of the morning, two, three, four o’clock. “

“Being in a court by yourself for a change even, is quite nervous, anxious, a bit terrifying, also when names are getting called out, and when my name was getting called out, you have to go down to the dock. You have to go up in front of the judge, and the PF’s explaining, your solicitor’s fighting for you and that. It’s quite an intense time, because I literally thought from the minute I was in that dock, I thought I was getting a custodial sentence.”

“Luckily, I came away, and she turned round and says, ‘I’m going to give you a Community Payback Order of 120 hours,’ and then I got a tag round my ankle for 145 days, and I also got an 18 month supervision order, that I’ve still got a year left to complete.”

“A Community Service Payback Order, I think it gives you a kind of a wake-up call, but also you’re learning new skills as well, because you’re doing different jobs like painting, gardening, woodwork, removals, all that. So you are picking up new skills, if you are treating it like a workplace, as I did. So in a way, I can say I enjoyed it as well, I took it as a punishment as well, but I benefited from that from gaining new skills, obviously, to help me get into work as well, so my mum and dad, it’s taken them a long, long, long time, it’s been a hard two years.“

“That whole day I was in court, my dad was offshore at that point, my dad had left two days before I was due to be up in court, so my dad obviously phoned me once I had gotten out. They were worried sick. They were honestly worried I was going to get jailed. It kinda got me in a routine for work, I did enjoy it, I took it as a punishment as well, though. I was mixing with older people, some of the same people as me, talking to my supervisors like Peter, Paul, and that, so I quite enjoyed it. Once I started telling them a bit about that, they were like ‘That’s good as well,’ so they took it out for me as a punishment, but also as an experience as well.”

“People will judge, and especially in small communities like Elgin, Forres, Nairn, all your bigger cities, nobody’s going to ken a’body, but in your small communities, most people ken a’body. I see myself, hopefully successful, and nae where I was a year ago. I’m not gonna be reoffending with drugs again, and I’m nae dealing whatsoever. It was a big mistake, but I would say if I keep thinking positively, and having confidence and all that, I can have a good future, that’s where I see my life going.”