A FORMER drug addict and smuggler who turned his life around to open a counselling service in Harley Street has started helping Croydon addicts.
Mark Dempster, a 50-year-old addiction counsellor and published author, grew up in Glasgow. By 15, Mark was smoking dope, at 18 he was arrested for intent to supply cocaine and by 20 he was addicted to heroin and cocaine.
Aged 20 Mark, who now lives in South Croydon, moved to England where he joined the Irish National Liberation Army, a splinter of the IRA.
Living in Brixton, he started to smuggle drugs internationally. Mark brought drugs into England from Spain, Morocco and Holland, hiding hash in the panels of cars, as well as smuggling drugs between India, Thailand and Malaysia.
Mark said: "The people I was around were ruthless and, at times, quite violent. There was a lot of fire if you did or said the wrong thing and around certain individuals you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. It was high pressure and explosive at times."
Mark said as his drug use escalated he became more "unmanageable and powerless", and at 31 he had a breakdown.
The morning after his 25th birthday party Mark found the body of his friend Ian, also 25, who died choking on his own vomit after an overdose.
"I didn't give him the drugs that killed him, but it was my party," said Mark. "I woke up and came downstairs and his dog was sat there beside his bed. I found the body. I was in the middle of my addiction and I knew the police would be involved."
Shortly after, Another friend, Kevin, deliberately infected himself with HIV so he could claim disability living allowance and get diamorphine injections from hospital.
"He went to visit a girl he knew with HIV and he took some of her blood and infected himself with it," said Mark. "Even in my drug use I thought 'that's completely crazy'. That really opened my eyes to how powerful addiction is. It's not rational to do things like that – it's a mental health issue."
Mark hit rock bottom. He lost everything and started sleeping rough and selling the Big Issue.
"I was either going to become suicidal or get clean. So I applied for rehab," he said.
At 33 Mark went to the Bethlem Royal Hospital, which he credits with saving his life. He got clean in 1996, and has not used drugs or alcohol since. Mark said self-help groups, exercise and helping others have all been key for his recovery.
He studied for diplomas in counselling and family therapy and in 2009 opened his Harley Street practice, counselling people with addictions to drugs, alcohol, gambling and more.
Mark moved to Croydon a year ago and has already started to counsel addicts in the borough.
Mark predicts that as Croydon becomes a more sought-after place to live, more commuters will move here.
"There's going to be an influx of people and they are going to need help to deal with high pressure jobs," said Mark. "Addiction is a completely equal opportunities condition – it can affect anyone."
Eventually Mark hopes to set up a residential rehab centre in Croydon. His approach to addiction starts by identifying if someone has an addictive personality. If they do, he helps them work towards complete abstinence. If not, he helps them break their habit.
He said: "I help people see the harm addiction is causing them. I help them break down the denial about their problem to see the potential in their future, and I support them and encourage them achieve their goals.
"You have to change people's thought processes. If you just get them clean, they will start using again."
Mark works voluntarily for a helpline and visits colleges to talk to students about addiction.
"I was a disillusioned young man around the wrong people at the wrong time, a lot of this is about redemption," he said.
Mark's life has brought him in contact with many famous faces, and after prompting from Pete Townshend of the Who, in 1999, he wrote his first book, Nothing to Declare: Confessions of an Unsuccessful Drug Smuggler, Dealer and Addict.
Last year he published the sequel, The Ongoing Path. Both books and information about Mark's counselling services is available at markdempstercounselling.com
