Until about ten seconds before the first time I used a needle, I thought I’d never inject drugs. Like most people, I associated needles with hard-core use. That is, until I was offered a shot. I remember feeling for an instant before acquiescing as if I really could choose; I didn’t recognize crossing this line as inevitable, as it would be the second through nth time, but rather felt as if I would just like to try it. I tasted and heard the coke before I felt it: an unusual tang on the back of my tongue coupled by ringing in my ears like a fire alarm. Then I felt it! A warm wash of euphoria
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