Basketball player shares a life with and without drugs

by Trisha Ingalls

Chris Herren’s story contains a frank account of drug use and its consequences.  This is part one, the second installment will be in next week’s issue of the Chronicle.

NEWPORT — When former NBA basketball player Chris Herren was 18, he made a decision that changed the course of his life forever. He tried cocaine.  As he explained to more than 200 people at the North Country Union High School auditorium on November 30, his addiction was part of a generational problem that he hopes will end with him and his children.

Mr. Herren was brought to North Country by Lila Bennett, executive director of the Journey to Recovery Community Center (JTRCC).  In a small ceremony prior to the event, she handed out sobriety chips to four people.  One person received a one-year chip; one received a six-month chip; one, overcome with emotion, received a four-month chip; and another received a chip for his first two weeks of sobriety.

After a brief introductory video, Mr. Herren walked out to the podium and started talking….