John (not his real name) is 31 years old and is from a town in the south-east.
He has been smoking cannabis, drinking and taking valium since he was 13.
He is currently four months into a year-long stay at St Francis Farm, run by the Merchants Quay drugs project, just outside Tullow, Co Carlow.
"When I first started on cannabis it was easy enough to get. Nearly every one of my friends' parents were on valium so that was very easy to get as well.
"I tried heroin for the first time when I was 19. I was at a party one night and somebody was smoking heroin so I just tried it. I loved it, felt really stoned, very intense."
John said there was one lad selling heroin in his home town and three or four using the drug. But within six months of starting he said the number of people using had risen to between 30 or 40.
Six months after first trying heroin, John emigrated, travelling the world and abusing drugs.
After eight years abroad he returned to Ireland, sat his Leaving Certificate and started at third level.
Midway through his leaving cert he was offered heroin in a pub in his home town and began using again.
"By the end of the leaving cert I was injecting. I went to college and was dealing a bit at the time.
"Six months into second year I knew I couldn't keep it going. I was getting up in the morning, being sick, missing days I didn't want to."
John then started himself on a course of methadone, buying it from people who had too much. But he went back on heroin and dropped out of college.
John went to his GP for help and went to detox in hospital.
"I was in hospital for three weeks and was then referred here \. I was very angry about everything. There was depression, grief, sadness, I had a problem with everything.
"They don't cure you here but they give you the tools to do it yourself. You get confidence after a while."
John said there is a lot of group work and one-to-one sessions with staff.
"Ultimately I want to go back to college when I get out of here. I'll relocate to a different part of the country. It's not a case of running away, I want to make a new start. I want a better life. The only way to achieve that is by staying clean."