Smith visited two separate doctors to secure a prescription. As she rotated through drug court, Narcotics Anonymous meetings, jail for relapsing on cocaine and house arrest enforced with an ankle bracelet, she said her gabapentin abuse wasn't detected until she arrived at the residential recovery center.
Today, Smith sticks to the recovery process. Expecting a baby in early July, her successful completion of the program not only means sobriety but the opportunity to restore custody of her eldest daughter and raise her children.
She intends to relocate her family away from friends and routines that helped lead her to addiction and said she will help guide her daughter away from making similar mistakes.
"All I can do is be there and give her the knowledge that I can about addiction," Smith said, "and hope that she chooses to go on the right path."
This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.
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