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Former cocaine addict shares his recovery story

BBC Published Jun 28, 2026 Reviewed Jul 1, 2026 ✓ Reviewed by citations.press editors

Michael Nicholson has been clean and sober for four months, the first time in nearly 20 years.

4 months · duration clean and soberabout 20 years · duration of addiction Michael Nicholson, recovering drug addict

In 2023, 1.3 kg of cocaine was seized in Jersey, with a street value of £267,400.

1.3 kg · cocaine seized267400 £ · street value Jersey's authorities, government

Michael Nicholson underwent 11 weeks of treatment at Silkworth.

11 weeks · treatment duration Michael Nicholson, recovering drug addict

Jersey authorities reported 34 confiscations of cocaine last year, compared to 19 in 2023.

34 confiscations · confiscations19 confiscations · confiscations Jersey authorities, authorities

Jersey authorities seized 1.3kg (46oz) of cocaine in 2023 with a street value of £267,400, and 10.5kg (370oz) last year with a street value of more than £2m.

1.3 kg · cocaine seized46 oz · cocaine seized267400 £ · street value10.5 kg · cocaine seized370 oz · cocaine seizedmore than 2000000 £ · street value Jersey authorities, authorities

In the most recent year, 10.5 kg of cocaine was seized in Jersey, valued at more than £2 million on the street.

10.5 kg · cocaine seizedmore than 2000000 £ · street value Jersey's authorities, government

Jersey authorities reported 34 cocaine confiscations last year, compared with 19 in 2023.

34 confiscations · cocaine seizures19 confiscations · cocaine seizures Jersey's authorities, government

Michael Nicholson has been clean and sober for four months, which is the first time in nearly 20 years.

4 months · clean and soberabout 20 years · timeframe of addiction Michael Nicholson

Jersey's authorities reported 34 confiscations of cocaine last year, compared to 19 in 2023.

34 confiscations · cocaine19 confiscations · cocaine Jersey's authorities

Jersey's authorities seized 1.3kg (46oz) of cocaine with a street value of £267,400 in 2023, and 10.5kg (370oz) with a street value of more than £2m last year.

1.3 kg · cocaine seized46 oz · cocaine seized267400 £ · street value of cocaine seized10.5 kg · cocaine seized370 oz · cocaine seizedmore than 2000000 £ · street value of cocaine seized Jersey's authorities

Michael Nicholson stated his goal is to save one life by sharing his story.

1 life · lives saved Michael Nicholson

A recovering drug addict has said cocaine "took everything" from him, causing his life to spiral out of control until he finally got help.

Michael Nicholson started taking the drug "years ago," saying it "went hand-in-hand with weekends, partying, football and alcohol".

As his personal struggles mounted, including the death of his dad, he said he had found himself using cocaine to "numb everything".

Nicholson eventually went to addiction support group Silkworth for help, which he said was the best thing he had ever done.

"My life was a mess, an absolute mess," he said.

"I was just pushing people away. When you're an addict, everyone else is the problem, you're not the problem.

"I took the drug, then the drug finally took me and took everything with it."

Nicholson said he "could get cocaine quicker than I could get building materials most of the time at work" and the habit had crept into his days as well as nights.

There has been a sharp rise in cocaine seizures in Jersey, with acting Det Ch Insp Mark Hafey recently saying it was "the drug of choice" on the island.

In a warning to others, Nicholson said: "I lost everything. My home, my family, my job, my van, my tools, but I lost myself.

"I needed help, I didn't know where to turn."

Nicholson believes it was his eventual call to charity group Silkworth, the only residential rehabilitation treatment centre in the Channel Islands, which saved him after he underwent 11 weeks of treatment there.

He hailed the experience as the best thing he had ever done and said he has now been clean and sober for four months for the first time in nearly 20 years.

He said: "When I was in active addiction, I became a liar, a manipulator, a user, everything I'm not.

"I found the real me again in there and it was just an amazing experience. It was the best thing I ever did."

Nicholson said he had shared his story because "if I could save just one life, then all of this would have been worth it, the missing piece in my jigsaw".

Jersey's authorities said there had been 34 confiscations of cocaine in Jersey last year, compared to 19 in 2023.

They said 1.3kg (46oz) of cocaine had been seized in 2023 which had a street value of £267,400, compared to 10.5kg (370oz) seized last year, which had a street value of more than £2m.

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