His Parents Were Cops— He Became a Heroin Dealer

Both of Josh's parents were police officers. He grew up surrounded by law enforcement, riding in patrol cars and spending time at police stations. But instead of following in their footsteps, he became everything they were fighting against — a heroin addict and drug dealer. In this episode, Josh, a former heroin dealer describes growing up in Maple Valley, Washington, an affluent suburban town hiding a deadly underground drug epidemic. After undergoing spinal surgery at just 15 years old, he was prescribed powerful opioids that helped set him on a path toward nearly two decades of addiction and crime. What started with selling weed and cocaine spiraled into prescription pill trafficking, heroin dealing, violent robberies, overdoses, and a criminal underworld where nobody could be trusted. He reveals how he nearly died from a cocaine overdose at 16, narrowly escaped involvement in an armed pharmacy robbery, watched close friends get murdered, and lost more than 30 people to the devastating drug epidemic that consumed his hometown. But after years of injecting heroin and destroying his body, Josh finally reached a breaking point. This is the story of a police officer's son who descended into the criminal underworld, survived a life that killed so many of his friends, and somehow found his way back. Go Support Josh! YouTube: @Joshpellz IG: https://www.instagram.com/sweet_leaf_co WANT TO BE A GUEST ON THE CONNECT? Send us an email explaining your story and why you think you'd be a good fit to [email protected] Join The Patreon For Bonus Content! https://www.patreon.com/theconnectshow 0:00 Meet Josh Pellz: The Suburban Gangster 5:11 How Prescription Pills Flooded the Suburbs 11:34 Growing Up in the Epicenter of the Opioid Crisis 17:53 Overdosing on Cocaine as a Teenager 24:05 The Dark Reality of Heroin Addiction 30:01 Drug Busts, Informants, and Robberies 35:15 A Close Call With the Police 41:57 Betrayal, Murder, and the Drug World 46:57 From Prescription Pills to Black Tar Heroin 54:21 The Long Road to Getting Clean 1:00:03 A Generation Lost to Overdoses 1:05:03 The Fort Bragg Cartel and Big Pharma 1:11:07 A Drug-Fueled Crash and His Cop Father 1:16:03 A Violent Confrontation and Police Trouble 1:21:49 The Deadly Consequences of Suburban Gangster Life 1:27:41 Recovery, Selling Weed, and Getting Robbed 1:33:15 Becoming a Gun Dealer 1:40:27 Building a New Life and Business in Oklahoma 1:45:39 Sweet Leaf, YouTube, and Life After Addiction Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices