After 17 months in jail, world renowned cancer researcher, professor and meth addict/dealer Marcello Arsura couldn’t have said it better. Mr. Asura was sentenced to 35 months in prison for drug dealing while working for The University of Tennessee Health Science Center as a pharmacologist.
“I do really feel like a fool,” he said. “I had everything to lose and I chose to lose it.”
This was a man respected and looked up to by so many and he managed to lead a double life. As a degreed professor in the pharmaceutical field, he fully knew the effects of the drug that he ingested several times daily, yet crystal meth had a grip so tight on him that he threw all reasoning aside. It was only after 17 months in jail awaiting sentencing for drug trafficking and possession that he was able to reflect logically on his experience. Looking back at the arrest video he sees a man violently kicking and screaming trying to break the arresting officer’s grasp. Today he doesn’t even recognize that man.
“Crystal meth makes you crazy,” Arsura said, shaking his head. “It obliterated my ability to objectively assess my behavior. I did things I didn’t think I did. It was like I had out-of-body experiences.”
Aside from being sentenced to 35 months in prison, he was also ordered to write an essay on his experiences with illegal drugs and untreated depression. He also says he would like to re-enter the world of research; possibly studying the effects of meth on the human brain.
My hope is that a man with his knowledge and now real-world experience can turn this experience into something good. I truly believe these things happen for a reason and Mr. Arsura now has first hand experience with crystal meth that could potentially prove invaluable in the research world.
This drug is so powerful. I am told that after 1 use, this drug can become addictive.
1 comment:
I knew Marcello when I lived in Memphis. I moved away a year or so before his arrest, and before things got too out of control for him. I found your blog when looking to see if there was some resolution; the process seemed so slow.
I do hope that he is able to get back to some type of reasonable life once he serves his term. Prior to all this he was a good scientist and good person.
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