A woman who spent more than two decades battling addiction, homelessness, repeated prison sentences and serious health complications is sharing her story as a warning about the dangers of early drug use.

Joanna Warner, now 43, says her journey into addiction began when she was just 12 years old after being introduced to cannabis while babysitting. What started with smoking weed eventually escalated into a devastating addiction to Class A drugs that dominated much of her life.

Looking back, Joanna believes cannabis acted as the gateway that opened the door to years of substance abuse, crime and personal hardship.

Introduced to Cannabis at Just 12

Joanna has spoken openly about growing up in a household affected by addiction and crime. She says she often found herself caring for her alcoholic father from a young age and was exposed to unhealthy environments throughout her childhood.

At age 12, she says she was given alcohol and cannabis by the families she babysat for. While many people use cannabis without progressing to harder substances, Joanna believes her early exposure played a significant role in the path she later followed.

Over the following years, her drug use escalated. By the age of 14, she had begun using amphetamines, and after her father’s death when she was 17, she moved on to crack cocaine and heroin.

“It was just really bad where I grew up,” Joanna has said. “Everyone’s parents were addicted to something.”

From Cannabis to a £300-a-Day Drug Habit

What began with cannabis use in childhood eventually spiraled into a severe addiction that saw Joanna spending up to £300 a day on drugs.

To fund her habit, she became involved in shoplifting and other criminal activity, following patterns she had witnessed growing up. Over the years, she was jailed nine times, with sentences ranging from a few weeks to several months.

She says addiction consumed every aspect of her life, affecting her health, finances, relationships and mental wellbeing.

At one point, she turned to prostitution to support her drug use and says she endured violence and exploitation while trapped in addiction.

Serious Health Consequences

The long-term impact on Joanna’s health was severe. She was hospitalized multiple times following overdoses and developed serious complications linked to years of drug abuse.

One of the most dangerous incidents occurred when injecting drugs caused deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot that nearly resulted in the loss of her leg.

She also experienced muscle deterioration, struggled to walk and faced ongoing mental health challenges. During several prison sentences, she was placed on suicide watch.

“I never thought I’d get out of my situation,” she has said. “I thought I was going to die.”

Finding Recovery

Although she attempted to quit drugs several times, Joanna says her turning point came at age 35 when she realized she would likely die if she continued using.

She began attending recovery meetings, where hearing the experiences of former addicts gave her hope that change was possible.

After securing funding for rehabilitation, she completed a grueling nine-month detox program and has now been drug-free for eight years.

Using Her Story to Warn Others

Today, Joanna has rebuilt her life. She runs a dog-walking business, enjoys CrossFit and recently completed a degree in Crime and Criminal Justice.

She regularly speaks in schools, prisons and recovery programs, often highlighting how her drug use began with cannabis at a young age before escalating into far more dangerous substances.

While experts stress that not everyone who uses cannabis will go on to develop addictions to harder drugs, Joanna hopes her experience will encourage young people to think carefully about the risks associated with early drug use.

Her message is that recovery is possible—but avoiding that path altogether is even better.