A Canberra Times reporter interviewed a 17-year-old drug addict on this day 35 years ago.
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The youth said he was expecting his $100 fortnightly dole cheque, from which he would dedicate $80 to his drug dealer and keep $20 for rent and food.
After leaving a drug rehabilitation house, he'd gone to Civic where he spent the $80 on drugs so he "didn't have to feel cold or hungry or anything".
Aside from the clothes he stood in, he owned a quilt, a pillow, and a set of sheets.
"I had a clock radio 'till yesterday afternoon and I swapped that for a stick," he said.
In response to what drugs he used, he said "I take whatever I can get my hands on, I can't go two days without being stoned".
The youth was adopted at the age of three months. By 14, he left high school and at 16, his parents put him in a refuge.
He regrets what he did to his parents, and all he wanted was to sit down and have a birthday cake. He had a book of handwritten poems. "They're the only things I've got to show I'm human," he said.