COLUMBUS, Ohio — Drug addiction is on the rise in Ohio.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Ohio has the 7th highest drug overdose death rate in the country, but one man is making it his mission to change that and his solution may be surprising.
What You Need To Know
- Josh Guhl started a cleanup initiative called "You Can Recover" to help people in recovery after overcoming addiction himself
- Guhl is now eight years clean
- His initiative started from an Earth Day Grant he received through Ohio State
The Recovery Centers of Ohio is helping Josh Guhl with his cleanup initiative "You Can Recover"—an idea he started to help people in recovery.
“Boredom is a relapse trigger,” he said. “And so, it just comes from my personal experience that you have to have find a purpose and stay busy.”
This initiative is also healing for Guhl after struggling with addiction himself.
“When I was using, nothing else mattered,” he said. “Everything was about getting the drugs, whether I had to steal, whether I had to do whatever I had to do.”
Guhl started using drugs in his 30s before things escalated.
“Started out just liking to get high, and then moved on to having to stay high in order not to be sick,” Guhl said. “Then it just transformed to unmanageability.”
Guhl overdosed twice and nearly died until, he said, a run in with the law saved him.
“So, I did not recover by choice,” Guhl said. “I got a charge. I was on probation. I, of course, continued to use. And probation basically started putting me in jail. They basically just kept me in jail until I became agreeable to treatment.”
He’s now eight years clean and finding purpose in cleaning the environment and helping others as a chemical dependency counselor, spreading some hope everywhere he goes.
“Recovery is really about finding your path and what it is that’s going to keep sober and hopefully this gives some joy to their life,” he said.
Guhl’s cleanup initiative started from an Earth Day Grant he received through Ohio State.
If you or someone you know needs help battling addiction, there are resources out there. You can contact your local alcohol, drug abuse and mental health services board or SAMHSA at 1-800-662-4357.