"For me it was never actually my own medicine cabinet, but it was my friends school who were going to their parents medicine cabinet," said Aaron Emerson, a recovering addict.
By age 15, he was abusing prescription drugs.
"Eventually Oxycontin turned to heroin because it was a lot cheaper and a little more potent," said Emerson. "I eventually did that, and it was the worst mistake of my life."
It's a mistake Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail has heard of one too many times.
"Addiction to opioid prescription or the prescription narcotics is often the gateway into heroin," explained Vail.
A growing trend that's affecting younger people.
Latest numbers from the Capital Area show 3.4% of 8th graders, 9% of 10th graders, and 15.9% of 12th graders have reported using prescription drugs illegally.
"Solutions are harder to come about when it's a complex problem that has multiple issues playing into it," said Vail.
That's why the county is working on educating the teens and encouraging safe disposal.
"Keeping them away from our kids usually has to do with just getting them out of the house," said Vail.
So people like Emerson won't have access to the drugs to begin with.
"The time when I realized that I needed to do whatever it took was the day that my dad had to drop me off at a homeless shelter because he couldn't have me in his house anymore," remembered Emerson. "He tried everything."
Now Emerson's trying everything to stop other teens from going down the same path.
"I had a pretty good sports career in front of me, and you know who knows where that could've taken me," wondered Emerson. "Who knows where I could've gone."
He's been in recovery for more than two years and hopes by sharing his story he can make a difference.
"Using all those mistakes to try and help people not do the same stuff I did," said Emerson.
