Tewksbury Resident Appears on ‘Katie’ to Discuss Dangers of Addiction in Suburbs
Zack Johnson and his mother Gina Borazzo, both Tewksbury residents, appeared on “Katie” with Katie Couric on Monday discuss Zack’s struggles with heroin addiction and the dangers of prescription drug addiction in the suburbs.
In an interview with Tewksbury Patch last week, Borazzo said she and Johnson chose to appear on the show in order to bring attention to the epidemic of drug addiction in the suburbs.
The two left the taping of “Katie” with much more than they anticipated.
At the end of the segment, Johnson was offered an all expense paid stay at the Cliffside Malibu treatment center in Malibu, California.
“I’ve tried everything in Massachusetts and New England,” Johnson told Couric. “When I get an opportunity like this how can I not take it?”
Moments before finding out he would be receiving treatment at a world class facility, Johnson was telling the story of his battle with addiction, one that he said would inevitably end in arrest or death.
“I don’t see any other way for myself right now,” Johnson said on the show. “I don’t think I have a bottom anymore unless I die.”
Borazzo said it is terrifying as a parent to have to cut your child off completely as a result of addiction, something she went through with her son.
“We live in fear of what he can do,” Borazzo said on “Katie.”
Johnson said it’s hard for him to be around his parents because he can see how his addiction has changed their lives.
“It’s tough for me to be around because I can see how I’ve hurt them,” Johnson said.
