Too many 'good times'

I look at these photos and they really make me think about how it all went wrong so easily? On the first photo I was a drug virgin, had never touched anything and certainly never planned to!

The second photo was taken about 8months later and we were both off our head on pills, but I think the second photo sums it all up for me? I'm out of my mind & theres my mate, looking haggard and drawn (which I didn't see until a few days ago) and theres me, almost looking up to him and idolising him.
I always thought that I only ever had good times when we were together and he could do no wrong? I think it shows here? I don't for one second blame him for my situation, I can't stress that enough! I'm putting no responsibility on him, what I am saying is that I think that for whatever reason I was pretty vulnerable at the time (as was he) and I was looking for someone to create some happiness and escape in my life, (as was he) and that's what I got but not in the way I wanted?
He opened some doors that I had never come across, my problem is I should have listened when he tried to shut them for me, but I didn't I kept pushing and pushing and eventually I made my own way through. I was warned so many times and had I took notice I would have been sat telling a very different story right now??
Predicting that I was venturing too far down a very dangerous path he closed me off, shut me out from all the bad things that were around me and told other people to do the same, but being devious and determined I found a way round all of his decoys and sought my own path to destruction.
I can pin point the very weekend that my desire/want turned to 'need' and became my addiction. It was when this photo was taken that my spiral of decline began...

I had the chance to rough it out and stay away but it was too easy to be drawn in and in some warped way I felt like I needed the negative experience of addiction?
I almost wanted to learn a life-lesson in order to progress, develop and move on with myself and my life, but I hadn't bargained on exactly how hard it would be and the catastrophic knock-on effects of reality? I guess I had romanticised the notion and was extremely naive of the consequences?
But as always I learned the hard way.... not always the best way?
I do believe that everything happens for a reason though and I'm going to make sure that this is the turning point of my life in many more ways than one?

x x