Brother's agonising death saves family from drugs
"I lost a brother to that so-called contaminated heroin, and I nearly lost another two."
The appalling death of her brother was a turning point in her life.
"I was with him for the last nine hours. I saw what he went through. Carl didn't deserve to die like that."
Carl was one of the first victims of a batch of "contaminated" heroin that claimed the lives of some eight addicts around May and June of 2000.
"He died on the floor in St James' Hospital. It was like mad cow disease. He was delirious. He was rolling on the floor, tearing at his body, his eyes rolling. There was no medical staff with him. He was like someone out of Dublin Zoo."
Luckily, staff at St James' managed to save the lives of her other two brothers. At first, Carl's death had a devastating effect on her.
"I twice tried to take my own life," said Grace, who is from the Crumlin-Drimnagh area of south Dublin.
But later, his death redeemed them. "Carl didn't die in vain, because he turned the whole family around. Not one member of my family is using drugs today."
Grace, now 33, went onto a methadone maintenance programme in Trinity Court and successfully managed to kick a habit she started when she was 19.
At its peak, Grace's habit required 30 bags of heroin a day, at a cost of €380, which she funded by selling heroin around the clock.
The mental anguish of trying to keep off heroin has been difficult for Grace.
However, since she started on a therapeutic course with Merchants Quay Ireland, the anguish has eased.
"It's the best thing that ever happened. It's like a new lease of life. Coming here made me feel I wasn't alone. Out goes the self-pity, the selfishness. The counselling is great.
"I am now helping a lot of other people. I hope to do addiction studies at some stage."
Grace still carries the cost of her addiction. She has hepatitis C, a potentially fatal liver disease. At the moment it is dormant.
She's also HIV positive and is not on any treatment programme, because she doesn't trust the therapies available.
Merchants Quay Ireland is facing a serious challenge due to a freeze in government funding since 2001 and increasing demand for its services.
The charity yesterday launched a Dealing with Drugs Campaign to highlight problem drug-use and the solutions that are there.
The agency said 10,000 addicts used its needle exchange programme over the last six years.
