Woman honoured for beating drug addiction

A Smiths Falls teen who shares her story about battling addiction to try to prevent others from following in her path has been given an award in recognition of her accomplishments. Jessica Weihrich, 18, was one of seven recipients of the Courage to Come Back Award presented by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation. Weihrich is the embodiment of what the award stands for. She has been to the bottom of addiction -- morphine, heroin and crack -- all before the age of 16 and clawed her way back up. She was in and out of rehab. There were times her mom didn't know if her daughter was alive or dead. But with her mother's help, Weihrich battled back by enrolling in a methadone program and attending Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. laura.czekaj@ott.sunpub.com .

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