JP Morgan To Fund Drug
Habit Talks Recovery
By Dr.Fourkan Ali
Emily
McMillan credits rehab for saving her life after a cocaine addiction led her to
steal over £10,000 from her employer, JP Morgan.
A British woman who collapsed in court after being convicted of
fraud and theft has literally risen over the past six years and overcame the
cocaine addiction that brought her to that rock bottom moment.
Emily McMillan was working in her mid-20s as a personal
assistant to top senior executives at JP Morgan. She was also spending between £200 and £700 a night
on cocaine and legal highs,
despite the fact that her £32,000 annual salary didn’t come close to covering
the cost. At her worst, McMillan was snorting four grams of cocaine per day.
“I don’t think I ever really managed life, money or
relationships very well,” McMillan told the Independent. “Working in London, paying higher prices and
indulging in the party scene took its toll. I didn’t sleep much in the last six
months of my using, and I was extremely detached from reality. I borrowed money
from everyone who loved me enough to trust me, without the means of paying it
back.”
While under the influence of cocaine, she began stealing from JP
Morgan through the corporate credit cards she had access to. McMillan
stole over £10,000 in 2011 to repay a range of debts. Unsurprisingly, the bank
caught wind of the missing money during a routine audit and she was arrested
after owning up to the theft.
McMillan pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud and one count of
theft. But the judge mercifully spared her a prison sentence after noticing her
eagerness to both pay the debt back and kick her drug habit. She was instead
ordered to repay the money back and sentenced to community service and six
months of drug rehab.
It was her nine-week stay at Focus 12—a charity in Bury St
Edmunds, England, that offers residential substance abuse treatment—that she
believes saved her life.
“Getting clean and going through rehab was the hardest thing
I’ve ever done,” she admitted. “I had to change everything about myself.
Recovery means facing all of your demons. It takes persistence and recommitment
daily to ensure abstinence.”
Since finishing court-ordered treatment, McMillan has continued
to attend support group meetings. She’s even since landed a job at Focus 12 and
hopes to help others overcome their addictions.
“Not everyone is lucky to have the kind of support I did,” she
said. “It is important that we realize the lie 'once an addict always and
addict’ is dead.”
Sources: The Fix
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