Hard Knox Talks: Your Addiction Podcast

Send us Fan Mail "I stood on that bridge, thinking about ending the pain. I was 9 years old." Jessica Grew up immersed in addiction. "I remember knocking myself out on a prison toilet, on purpose, I didn't want to be there." Tune in this week and listen to Jessica #takeofftheblinders around the traumas inflicted on our youth by a broken system. We'll talk about how it...

Send us Fan Mail "In my 25 years researching the traumas of colonization and addiction, the best solution I have ever found came though talking with a dog." Colleen is a faculty member in the Department of Sociology and Past Research Chair in Substance Abuse at the University of Saskatchewan. "Animals come from a place that is before judgment, because of this, people who have been s...

Send us Fan Mail survivor speaks up. "I was committed and I jumped, but I woke up on the floor. The belt broke." Cody survived a horrific car crash. And while the crash didn't kill him, the trauma nearly did. "The 2 most defining moments of my life were the day I jumped, and the day I found my purpose." I wonder if those were the same day. Even if that's true, he stil...

Send us Fan Mail "I had a visual of stabbing myself in the chest, that's when I realized something was still wrong. I was 2 years sober." Alannah struggled with mental health well after she made the decision to quit using. "I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, but it wasn't until I had my ADHD diagnosis that my life really turned around." Tune in this week and...

Send us Fan Mail "I was homeless for 7 years, my addiction took me there." Earl was a wrestler in his teenage years, Bedford Road Collegiate, Saskatoon, SK. Things were great until they weren't. "The cops closed up my eye, bashed my head into a wall, broke my foot. When the cruiser pulled into the ally I knew what was happening. I seen this before." Standing before the JP,...

Send us Fan Mail “Ibogaine is a powerful psychoactive substance, it can stop your heart. I was dying anyway, so I said my goodbyes, and I went into the treatment.” Tanis is a member of the Canadian Association of People who Use Drugs. “These substances are illegal, so treatment is underground. I had nurses and other practitioners available for safety and support through my whole experience.” She i...

Send us Fan Mail "During the first wave of the pandemic, we saw more overdose deaths than COVID deaths in Alberta." Marshall works in the emergency room at Foot Hills Medical Center in Calgary, AB. He is also the Chief Scientific Officer for The Newly Institute. The Newly uses Ketamine to treat people with PTSD and Substance Use Disorders. "Ketamine can remove intrinsic psychologica...

Send us Fan Mail “Us drug users are the only people that you can kill 20,000 of between elections and not even get a mention in the campaign race.” Garth is nationally known for his advocacy and his Podcast "Crackdown". As a member of The Drug Users Liberation Front (DULF), and the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) He's done some wild shit. Buy drugs on the darknet, test...

Send us Fan Mail "I wouldn't hit him with the hammer, so they made me clean up the blood." "I'll never forget the smell." Chey grew up surrounded by chaos. Generational trauma, addiction, abuse. "I didn't want to leave my friends houses, they had nice rooms, lots of food..." growing up in the middle of all that pain led her down a dark path. "I too...

Send us Fan Mail "I stabbed my wife 3 times because she wouldn't let me finish my bottle." "Did you finish the bottle?" "Yep." Dr. Rob Kelly is a renowned addictions consultant, but it hasn't always been this way. He has a dark past as many of us in recovery do. Tune in this week and listen to Rob #takeoftheblinders around the realities of alcoholism with a...

Send us Fan Mail "I have a fracture in my skull where they beat me with a hammer. I had to be identified by my fingerprints." Beverly was a shot caller in a notorious Saskatoon street gang. Lost in the abyss, she was fueled by power and drugs. "I was in the room when they named the gang. I remember the song that was playing." From a young age, Beverly was exposed to trauma that...

Send us Fan Mail Gang life, drug dealing, homelessness, needles. Rob's lifestyle ended him up in the hospital, heart valve hanging on by a thread. "I put my I.V. pole in my drug dealer's back seat so we could drive around the hospital parking lot and smoke meth." Rob didn't have a terrible upbringing, he made friends easily but something inside him had other plans. "I...

Send us Fan Mail "I get judged because people don't think I have lived experience." Jacqueline grew up immersed in recovery, but not detached from the realities of alcoholism. Her mom put down the bottle when she was 6, it was normal to see church basements. "I didn't know other kids didn't go to meetings." As she grew up, her mother instilled the importance of s...

Send us Fan Mail "There are still times I don't remember from my childhood." Allan grew up in a Mennonite community. Alcohol wasn't present in Allan's childhood, but sexual abuse was. Throughout his 20's Allan faced challenge after challenge with mental health, addiction, and their associated behavior's "I was on 12 different kinds of medication." Tune...

Send us Fan Mail “I remember the onset of the Opioid crisis; nobody saw it coming” Rob Tanguay, MD FRCPC is a doctor in addictions medicine and the founder of the Newly Institute in Calgary Alberta. “The Newly Institute offers rapid access to intensive outpatient programs providing innovative mental health, addiction, and trauma therapies. Access to treatment will lead to reduced suffering, increa...

Send us Fan Mail Viewers' discretion advised. "This is where the grenade went off when the SWAT team raided us" Scorched walls on the mansion Corey lived in with many others, lost in the life. Corey had a military upbringing, white picket fences. But when Corey's dad was discharged they moved into a very diverse setting where Corey was always scared for his safety. Being the so...

Send us Fan Mail Derek grew up with a great family, his passions nurtured and encouraged from a young age. He could play hockey and everyone knew it. His relationships with friends, family, and teammates were good. Nobody saw it coming. As he moved forward in his career as a hockey player it was clear that if you wanted to party, you wanted to hang out with Derek. Always the last man standing. Alo...

Send us Fan Mail Sharon was born into chaos. Molested from 3 years of age, Sharon grew up thinking it was normal to take money for sexual favors.  On the streets of Regina, SK, Sharon cut her teeth in hard drugs, addiction, prostitution, and crime.  It was easy because mom, dad, and everyone else was doing it.  As the years passed, Sharon was in and out of jail, watching people die all around her,...

Send us Fan Mail Daina's journey into trauma started as early as 4 years old. Being violated at such a young age left Daina feeling incomplete and alone; she started using alcohol and drugs at 12 years old to escape the pain. Sometimes the world is just too real. Not knowing what healthy relationships looked like Daina found herself pregnant at 15 and the trauma passed to the next generation....

Send us Fan Mail From Lisbon, Portugal, Jose remembers what it was like growing up in the midst of a heroin epidemic. He also remembers when Portugal decriminalized illicit substances 20 years ago in an effort to curb the devastation. As a Toxicologist and a member of the European Workplace Drug Testing Society (EWDTS), Jose has gained a unique insight into what's working over there. He is al...

Send us Fan Mail Mario remembers what it was like seeing gang members living the life as young as 13 years old. Cars, money, women, he wanted to feel the acceptance from them that he never got from his dad. Working in a gas station was decent money for a 13-year-old boy but selling weed was better.  It wasn't long before he got kicked out of his family home and moved to Saskatoon with a relat...

Send us Fan Mail Barb grew up with a lot of positive reinforcement despite having a father struggling with alcoholism and a mother who worked a lot. When she realized she was gay at 17, Barb felt the stigma that so many others like her did in the 90's. The Vancouver rave scene is where Barb felt at home. Or at least it was what she thought home should feel like. Weed quickly turned to MDMA an...

Send us Fan Mail Dwayne Cameron talks about his own journey through addiction and recovery and tells us what he is doing to improve workplace safety culture. Through training and education, Dwayne is making a difference that is keeping employers more protected, keeping workplaces safer, and helping their employees get the help and services they need. If you love what we do here please join the con...