When Eric Davis was a kid, he would often come home to an empty house.
Both his parents worked full time, so he began to spend his free time with some older kids in his neighborhood in Chula Vista.
They introduced the then 12-year-old to methamphetamine. He got hooked – then stayed addicted for 18 years. During that time, Davis’ life spiraled out of control. He was in and out of jail until nine years ago, when he chose to be free: from prison and meth.
“I was a latchkey kid. I had a lot of freedom and hung out with an older group of kids who used drugs,” said Davis, now 39. “I was using quite frequently at a young age.”
Davis said he does not remember exactly when he became addicted to meth, but when his friends moved away and his source dried up, he felt the urge to go find the meth somewhere else.
“I went looking for the drug,” he said. “I went looking for people trying to make a connection.”
His addiction became expensive, so Davis turned to crime, like a lot of meth users do.
Stolen motorcycles paid for his habit, for a while anyway. At 19, Davis was arrested for attempted auto theft.
He was placed on probation, but he kept violating the terms. Davis’ tests kept coming back dirty. He could not stay away from meth.
“I was too far gone to fill out the monthly report and mail it to the probation officer,” said Davis, who shared his story of addiction Tuesday at a news conference to release the latest Methamphetamine Report Card. “It was supposed to be three years but it turned into eight.”
The only friends he made along the way were also drug users. His relationship with his mother was one of co-dependency until, at 19, she got tired of enabling his addiction and she threw Davis out.
He would be homeless for two years. More arrests followed – 18 or 19, he said.
“I don’t know that I ever developed the ability to maintain a relationship.” Davis said. “All of my friendships were developed around the drug.”
After a while Davis was no longer just using meth. He was also selling the highly addictive drug. Lots of it.
He became the most sought after meth dealer in town. The Chula Vista Police Department’s narcotics task force was out to get him.
In 2004, they finally did. He was arrested for possession and sale of meth. The judge gave Davis a choice: get clean or go to prison.
Davis chose drug court and was sent to treatment at Mental Health Systems, Inc., a County-funded treatment center.
“The illusion of being happy and feeling wonderful came solely from meth,” said Davis, who admits using other drugs but choosing meth time and again. “The illusion is so real when you are under the influence that when you quit, you don’t immediately realize that times were not good. It’s not until later that you realize that the illusion was just that, an illusion.”
He’s been clean since his last arrest and Davis is now a drug counselor for the same treatment provider that helped him turn his life around. He wanted to pay it forward, and at Mental Health Systems, Inc., he works full time with parolees and part time at a DUI program.
“When I entered treatment, I had no sense of self and no idea how to live a normal life,” said Davis. “I felt such an appreciation and so much gratitude for what my counselor did for me and for what I was able to accomplish that I wanted to provide the same thing for someone else.”
Davis’ personal life is also on a positive path. He’s been married for two years, lives in Jamul and has a dog, two cats and some chickens. Davis has also reconciled with his mother.
“My relationship with my mom is wonderful. Her throwing me out was the best thing that could have happened to me,” Davis said, sitting in his car in a hospital parking lot waiting for his mom as she went through medical exams. “I am taking care of her now, the way that she took care of me.”
