substanceabuse on Gloucestershire Dailyhttps://gloucestershiredaily.co.uk/tags/substanceabuse/Recent content in substanceabuse on Gloucestershire DailyHugo -- gohugo.ioen-usTue, 26 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000From Weekend Use to Life Sentence: Alex Powell’s £80,000, Eight-Year Cocaine Addictionhttps://gloucestershiredaily.co.uk/from-weekend-use-to-life-sentence-alex-powells-80000-eight-year-cocaine-addiction/Tue, 26 May 2026 05:00:00 +0000https://gloucestershiredaily.co.uk/from-weekend-use-to-life-sentence-alex-powells-80000-eight-year-cocaine-addiction/Alex Powell, a 32-year-old engineer from Gloucester, found himself trapped in an eight-year battle with cocaine addiction that drained £80,000 from his life and left him fighting for survival. What began as an occasional “bump” on weekends to cope with exhausting 16-hour work shifts gradually spiraled into a full-blown dependence that consumed not only his money but his future. After separating from his fiancé in early 2016, Alex turned to cocaine as a way to lift his spirits during tough days.