scourge is obvious. But how deep does the problem go? In the fourth of a six-part series, Senior Reporter Matthew Taylor talks with past and present users about the hopelessness and helplessness of their addictions.

Tomorrow: Drugs counsellor Sandy Butterfield along with agencies like Narcotics Anonymous deal with the human edge of addiction.

"I had a lot of friends who died from AIDs -- out of around 70 guys I went to school with only six are alive today.'' If anyone doubts the devastation drugs has wrought on this Island they should listen to the tale of veteran drug user Joe (not his real name).

A generation lost friends to the eighties heroin epidemic - and the death toll goes on with drug experts saying users are prone to the risky sexual behaviour with many winding up with AIDs.

Now in his late forties Joe survived years of heroin abuse only to fall prey to crack.

He describes how heroin got a grip on the island. He says: "Heroin started taking off after they stopped the Ganja flight from Jamaica.

"People couldn't get marijuana so they turned to cocaine and heroin. It's was easier to get hold of and dealers found it easier to import.

"I've known guys who didn't even believe in heroin start to use it because they couldn't get hold of weed.

"When I started taking heroin I just wanted to work, life was great. I would snort it and get a nice high.

"But the after-affects would be terrible, the pain was so much, you wouldn't even wish it on a dog.

"Young people here are given this story that heroin will improve their sex life but then they get the sickness -- your whole body hurts, your bones ache, you can't function, let alone have sex.

"You need a hit to get back to normal. The Montrose clinic is no help.

There's a big waiting list so you can't go up there when you need to.

"But when you need help you need help - it's not good enough to be told to come back next week.

"Rehab is no help. The people who run those schemes have read all the books but you need someone who has actually been on drugs.

"Methadone is a waste of time. It's just a way to calm the habit down.

"People use it if they don't have the money for heroin. To get methadone you have to prove you're not using heroin by taking a urine test but it's easy to cheat -- you just get somebody else's sample.

"Some guys have been on methadone for 20 years but it's counselling you need.

You need somebody to understand you.'' A spell in prison did little to curb Joe's addiction. "The officers are just there for the money, they're not there to help you.

"There's lots of drugs in prison. You name it. Guys who have never been on drugs get addicted to sleeping pills.

"People get locked up for silly things like not paying speeding fines or child support but they come out much, much worse than when they went in.

"Even if you've never been addicted to anything you will be by the time you come out.

"Guys are selling and dealing to get certain foods.

"There's also a lot of money in prison - officers will give you money to do certain jobs for them. Some of the drugs come in during visits. The prison officers can't watch everything.'' A Lost Generation Despite spending a fair chunk of his life at the beck and call of the pusher, Joe isn't bitter.

He says: "Not all drug dealers are bad. There's one who would help you get off drugs and even pay for help if you wanted it.'' Eventually Joe got off heroin -- but it was merely a case of out of the frying pan into the fire.

He explains: "I got into crack in such a stupid way. I'd done everything else and thought I'd try it.

"It was 1980 and I did it for seven years.

"It turns you into something completely different. People will sell their wife to get hold of a rock.

"Married guys will be wanting to borrow $100 to buy the Saturday morning groceries because they've blown their entire weekly paycheque on crack on the Friday night.

"People will sell their mum's jewellery which might have great sentimental value.

"I've known good family guys sell everything just to get their hands on more rocks. They'll swap a $400 TV set for a $50 rock. I knew one guy who lost everything he had in just two years.

"It's never ending misery, every day. You continually have no money, blowing a whole paycheque in one night, it gets out of hand. "People do anything to get hold of it and dealers know this. They get addicts to do sick things.

They'll get girls to have sex with animals.

"You get this huge rush, it's 100 percent more potent than cocaine.

"It's difficult when you're addicted, inside you're really hurting but you're afraid to admit you need help.

"You try to hide it from your children and you can do this for most of the time you're completely normal but the drugs have got you.

"In Bermuda everybody knows each other so soon your kids start hearing `your Daddy's a crack head' when they go to school.

"If you have $2,000 you'll spend it all on crack. If you've got just $50 you'll spend that too. All you think about is having the cash to pay for the rock. Crack is different from all other drugs.

"I've never known anyone able to control it -they just end up spending everything they have.

However if Joe's descent into addiction had been casual then so was his recovery.

"In the end I just thought f**k it, I'm not doing this anymore. There were no withdrawal systems.

"Crack is addictive in the short term in that you have one rock and you immediately want another one but there are no withdrawal symptoms when you give up. Heroin is much more addictive.'' "People then take heroin on the rebound to get off crack.'' And so the cycle begins again.

Photo illustration by David Skinner Drugs are everywhere in Bermuda, claims a recovering crach addict