Well, I graduated High School at 16 and after that I attended ASU (Arizona State University) for a couple of years and I had never done any kind of drug ever. As I was attending college my older brother was convicted of murder and was sentenced 90 years to life. He was convicted with no murder weapon found and a couple of witnesses who changed their stories multiple times. At the time my major in school was criminal justice. His conviction really bothered me and made me feel like the justice system failed. Soon after that I quit school and got into the the night life of Phoenix really heavy. I started drinking and doing coke on the weekends and that turned into pain pills. I also started selling black tar. About nine years passed by and my brother’s case was overturned and he was released. I came back to California and stayed clean for about a year. Eventually I moved back to Arizona and continued to sell black tar. A few months passes since I was back and I received a phone call telling me my best friend was shot and killed. I pulled over and cried for a while and I didn’t want to fell that pain I was feeling anymore. So I decided to smoke the heroine, and it was a downward spiral from there. I found myself lying and cheating people that were close to me. I eventually moved back home with my mom and tried to get clean, but that didn’t happen. I ended up stealing from her and my sister and they found out. Instead of disowning me, they looked for help. They found a couple of programs, and I chose Set Free which was the best decision I had made in my whole life. Now I feel like I am the best man I could ever be because I am a man of God, and I wanna stay that way. I feel I will as long as God is with me.

–Marquis Griffen