Paula Nixon's heroin journey | Forensic Files

I'm Paula Nixon I'm a recovering heroin addict and I'm 18 and this is around my eighth time that I've been in treatment
for heroin and alcoholism first time I drank was when I was 14 I started really picking up use
with alcohol marijuana when I was 15 I first started using heroin um when I was 16 I snorted it the first time and the
second time I started shooting I started doing heroin like just like drinking on
the weekends and it became a almost everyday thing and then it became an everyday
thing I believe that the first time I was hooked I loved the feeling I loved what it did for me I loved what it took
away I would say the strongest euphoria that you can possibly imagine the first high
is the greatest it really is it's sounds like when I'm saying this all out loud it sounds so messed up I mean when
you're an addict you want that feeling when I was worse in my heroin addiction I was shooting up about five
times a day trying to chase the first highe I ever had I mean I didn't want to get up and do anything without
it if I had not gotten incarcerated and taken into cussy on October 11th I think
I'll be dead by now for sure I've been to co County Jail three times it will tear your life
apart if I saw heroin in front of me right now I can't tell you that I wouldn't do it all of me doesn't want
to but that addiction is so strong I was doing things I never thought I would ever do me and my friends would Rob
people I would steal things pawn things I put myself in so many dangerous situations in all these different areas
with all these different kind of people I missed my grandfather's funeral because I was getting high I
know that I've caused so many people so much pain I mean I've I've not only hurt
my own life and changed my own life I've changed all the other people's around me
there are no words that I could say that would mean sorry enough

Paula Nixon, 18, started using heroin when she was 16. Since then, she's been arrested and has survived several overdoses.

Brief Summary

Paula Nixon shares her harrowing journey through heroin addiction and the impact on her life and relationships.

Key points

Paula's Struggle with Addiction. At just 18, Paula shares her journey through multiple treatments for heroin and alcohol addiction.
The Allure of Heroin. Paula describes the euphoric feeling of her first high and the grip of addiction.
Consequences of Addiction. Paula reflects on the pain her addiction has caused to herself and others.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

The first high is the greatest, it really is.

Paula reflects on her initial experience with heroin.

0:50WatchJun 29, 2014

More from 48 Hours

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.