Nobody will hire Max Perutz anymore. Increasingly, people run in fear. This is what addiction does. When you are no longer yourself, no longer human, you must be zombie.

Drug Addiction

Max is the ultimate drug addict. Anything, everything, it matters not. However, there is a definite preference for hard drugs. Lots of it too. Heroin is his real vice. Traded his soul for it a long time ago. One frequently finds Max passed out. Sometimes, one finds him needle in vein. More often than not, it is clear he has been chasing the dragon. And chasing it hard. Always, he looks sick. Even dead.

That is not all, though. Not for Max. There is this love for crystal meth too. He readily stabs everyone in the back for it. This drug is ravishing his face, turning him skeletal. It is sinking his eyes and dirtying his teeth. No matter the cost, this appetite needs satiating, and he will not stop until he gets it. This addiction is not only destroying his life, but the lives of everyone around him too.

Work Life

There is no job that Max can do. He is too high all the time. Every job he has, he loses. Nobody can trust him with money. With any sort of reliability. He is always late. Always hungover or outright high. He worked as a server for a while. It ended badly. He lied non-stop, and there is talk that he stole to support his drug use. Eventually they fired him. Obviously. As one would. One should.

He had another job too. Some unfortunate restaurant employed him as Manager. This too was fleeting. Very short-lived. His drug use became an issue, making him dangerous to have around. Even worse, he was selling drugs on the side there to further fund his habit. Again, there was talk of theft. As is always the case whenever Max is around.

Tattoos

Then, there are his tattoos. Look, we all love a good tattoo, but not all tattoos are good. Some are awful. Horrifying. Some look like someone scrawled on your face while you were sleeping. Like Max has. He goes for tattoos when he is high on drugs. Frankly, it shows. It is sad. These tattoos are permanent. They disqualify him for most jobs. They scare people. Especially kids.

Crimes

Max is a criminal. He must be to fund his drug use. Petty theft mostly, but these crimes are escalating. Since he cannot hold down a job, he has no qualms about taking money from others. Stealing from jobs, stealing from family, stealing from friends. Picking pockets. Robbing people, some say even armed. Housebreaking. He pawns other people’s things.

There is fraud too. Plenty of it. What started as check fraud against friends and family is now a new business scam every day. Max is creative, one must give him that. However, his drug use is affecting his criminal career too. He is so high all the time. So clearly after more drugs. As such, he is really bad at it. Almost nobody falls for his obvious scams anymore. At least nobody that knows him anyway.

Relationships

Max destroys relationships with friends and family. With love interests too. Everybody is at odds with Max because of his drug use, his stealing, and his attitude toward them. He lies. Cheats. Engages in risky behavior that puts others in harm’s way. This is someone who will do anything, everything, to fund drug addiction, including putting loved ones in danger.

Romance is fleeting. Hurtful for those who get too close to Max. He is angry. Irrational. Irritable. Like with family, Max lies to his boyfriends. Cheats on them. Steals from them. Nobody stays long with him. They all leave. With haste. Drugs have taken everything from this man. Not even love remains. Of course, family will always forgive. But, will they?

Everybody worries about Max Perutz. About him and about the wider community around him. This is clearly sickness. Severe illness. When drugs destroy people in this way, it has a ripple effect that changes living for other people. What is more, there is risk to life. His life. This is drug abuse at its worst. The kind that overdoses. That kills. We sincerely hope this never becomes the case.