- Looking for a vice to heal her broken heart, Jodie Annabelle, 32, from the Gold Coast, first discovered the drug ice at 24 years old.
- Desperate to take the pain away, ice quickly became part of her daily routine.
- Jodie was spending upwards of $400 on ice a day.
- Now eight years on, Jodie has gotten clean and turned her life around.
Here Jodie tells her story in her own words.
Peeling off the black hairdresser’s cape, I dusted hair from my client’s shoulders.
‘I love it,’ she smiled.
But instead of paying me with cash, she placed a pouch of meth in my hands.
‘See you next time,’ I said.
From the outside it seemed like I had my life together.
‘Trying it once can’t hurt.’
I had a six-year-old son, a successful hairdressing salon, and was studying to further my career at TAFE.
Behind the facade though, I was addicted to methamphetamine, known as crystal meth or ice.
I’d first laid eyes on the drug a year earlier when I was 24.
After a devastating break-up left my heart shattered, I couldn’t eat or sleep for a week. I did my best to plaster on a smile at work, but one of my clients noticed something was wrong. Seeing how unwell I looked, she offered me some prescription pain medication to take the edge off. Desperate for anything to take the pain away, I accepted.
Washing the pill down, I found it helped.
Quickly the pills became part of my daily routine, and I found myself switching to a stronger prescription pain medication offered to me by the same client.
A few months later, I was headed to a party in Brisbane with some new friends, while family looked after my boy.
We were all drinking heavily and, before I knew it, someone at the party pulled out a meth pipe.
Trying it once can’t hurt, I thought, taking a puff.
I’d first laid eyes on the drug a year earlier when I was 24.
The rest of the night was a blur, but when I woke the next day I felt fine.
I couldn’t understand how people became addicted… But less than six months later, I found myself in the toilet cubical at TAFE shaking.
I frantically dug around my handbag until I found the bag of drugs and loaded up the pipe.
As I knew people dabbling in drugs, I never struggled to get a fix. A wave of happiness washed over me as I bought the pipe to my mouth.
Soon I couldn’t function without meth daily, finding times when my son wasn’t around to use.
At the peak of my addiction, I was spending upwards of $400 a day to fuel my habit.
My business clientele was no longer just suburban mums but also addicts paying me in drugs.
In between haircuts I’d run outside to smoke more meth before, now high, quickly darting back to cut hair.
But now with a reduced income, I was forced to close my business within a year.
I used the savings I had to buy large quantities of drugs to sell and use.
‘I’m going to be smoking meth until the day I die.’
My old friends and family had no idea about my double life.
I was still taking my son to school and helping him with his homework, but they had no idea I’d put the food on our table by selling drugs.
My front doorbell rang at all hours of the day and night with addicts desperate to find their next hit.
I knew it wasn’t the home I wanted for my son, but trapped in a vicious cycle, I didn’t know how to stop.
In time, my revolving door drew the attention of my landlord, who discovered I was a dealer and kicked me to the kerb.
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With nowhere to live, my son and I jumped between hotels until we were eventually granted government assisted housing.
As my addiction grew deeper, I knew it was ruining my life but couldn’t quit.
And I no longer recognised the person in the mirror.
My skin was pale, dry and itchy, I struggled to maintain a healthy weight, and my hair was thinning.
I’m going to be smoking meth until the day I die, I’d cry myself to sleep.
I wanted to ask for help, but was terrified my boy would be taken from me.
I wanted to ask for help, but was terrified my boy would be taken from me.
Then one day, around six years after my addiction began, I was shot in the arm by another addict.
I decided not to press charges but, as I thought of my little boy and the life I dreamed for him, it was the wake-up call I needed to be a better mum.
Flushing my drugs down the toilet, I downloaded an app on my phone called I am Sober, which was full of stories of sobriety.
I also cut all ties with all the people I knew involved with drugs.
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The first few weeks were torture as my whole body screamed in agony from withdrawals, but I refused to give up.
In time, my hair and skin became clearer and by eating healthily I was soon looking like myself.
I also began going to the gym every day as a way to help me stay on track.
Throughout my years of addiction, I’d spent around $800,000 on drugs.
It’s now been almost three years since I touched any illegal substances and I’m never looking back.
To help hold myself accountable, I set up a TikTok account @jodie.annabelle, where I share stories about my journey to sobriety.
Incredibly, over the years, dozens of people have told me I’ve inspired them to get clean too.
Now, 32, I’ve got a full-time office job and I’m training to compete in my first marathon.
More importantly, I’m able to be the parent to my son, now 14, that I’ve always dreamt of.
I am proud to be his mum at school drop off, help him with his homework and play with him at the park.
I’m proof that even at rock bottom, there’s a way to get back to the top.
You just have to believe in yourself.
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