The Addiction Podcast-Point of No Return

Lee Burns says himself that with his upbringing there was no real reason to start drugs except that at a young age he started down a road of self doubt and invalidation. He got clean, has stayed clean and is a very successful entrepreneur and public speaker.   https://leeburnsgames.com/

There have been several news articles printed about how addicted mothers give birth to addicted babies.  This podcast interview is from the viewpoint of the addicted baby.  Kim Mathis was born addicted and lacked all of the things we count on our mothers for because her mom was an addict.  However, it made her even more determined to not only survive, but excel at everything she did.  Now she has...

We recently published an episode with Dan Zsido (former Pinellas County Sheriff's deputy) about vaping and we have gotten some very passionate feedback. We're talking about it again today on a special episode with Michael DeLeon from steeredstraight.org. Fasten your seatbelts because it's going to be a bumpy road. As mentioned, we are not talking to adults who want to vape. We just don't want kids...

Eric Burgess excelled at baseball.  Then, due to a bad car accident, his world and his family fell apart.  Starting with marijuana at a young age, he moved on to crack cocaine before he finished high school.  He not only took the drugs, he sold them.  He was addicted to the drugs and addicted to the lifestyle of no responsibility.  Finally in August 2018, he died from smoking crack cocaine that ha...

About 29 years ago, a public school teacher told Barbie Rivera that her 6 year old son had a mental disorder and she needed to put him on a mind altering drug - Ritalin.  Barbie thought that was nutty as her son was very bright, normal and already bilingual. She started home schooling him now has her own school - called HELP Miami.  Her story of how the drug companies offered to pay her $5K every...

Dan Zsido has had 15 years of narcotics investigative experience with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. He established and supervised the the Strategic Diversion Task Force investigating pharmaceutical crimes, doctor shopping, fraud, trafficking and more. His current presentations and training target the dangers of "vaping", especially in the teen population, the e-cigarette delivery systems a...

Erin's story is horrific for any mom to deal with.  Not only did she lose her beloved son to a heroin overdose but when she started a foundation to spread his story in the hopes of helping others, she was arrested.  Here is the tragic story of a young man with a very bright future in hockey who overdosed after being prescribed opiates.  Here is also the story of a mother who doesn't want any other...

Justin's struggle with addiction is not so different from other former addicts' stories and yet, it's different. He started on drugs, alcohol and Adderall when he was young and in school, and ended up on heroin and methamphetamine.  After 10 different rehab programs, he tried a holistic route and now he is clean and sober - and happy to be alive and helping others. 

Jennifer Gimenez had it all. She was a beautiful Argentinian young lady who became a model and graced the cover of all the top fashion magazines. She appeared in films with stars such as Johnny Depp and Tom Cruise. Then she found cocaine and her life spiraled out of control. Jenn has now been clean and sober for over 13 years,is helping others, and hopes that her story will inspire others to get h...

Tim Ryan has been a huge success in business. He's made millions. But drugs and alcohol took everything away from him - his money, his companies, his marriage and even his son. How do you come back from that? With faith and a belief in himself action. A nationally renown speaker, his work was the subject of the A&E TV series "Dope Man". and has been featured in many publications, podcasts and...

There are many kinds of addiction. Our guest on this episode was addicted not only to cocaine and Adderall but also gambling. He has always been a successful entrepreneur but for him that came with the cost of addiction. Now clean and sober - largely through his own efforts, he is giving back to leaders and through raising money for charity. This is Michael Dash's story.

Pastor Michael Carter began his journey into addiction at the tender age of 6 where he saw that those who used drugs had money, power and influence.  He snorted heroin at age 9 and his drug use continued from there.  Finally reaching his Point of No Return in his 20s, he got clean and sober and now helps others through Victor Newman Ministries - a non-profit group founded by himself and his wife,...

Recently there was some fake news about kids smoking bed bugs.  It appeared that the television station reporting same, said that it was a joke and that it really wasn't true.  We don't think it's funny.  There are too many horror stories about the drugs that ARE being used to make up things like this.  Colorado is finding that young people are abusing marijuana.  Ya think?

Dr. Basha Jordan has been a pastor for decades. But more importantly, he is known as The Hope Doctor.  Why? He himself has been challenged and is a former addict who has been in recovery for years.  So he's "been there and done" that and uses his experiences to deliver hope to individuals and loved ones trying to deal with addiction. His book "The Pipe and the Pulpit" is an impactful story of deni...

An interview with Susan Korabek, mother of Landon Korabek. Landon Korabek was a talented athlete, a bright student, and an extraordinary guitarist. He was full of life and love. His future was bright with possibilities. Landon died unexpectedly in 2010 at the age of 17 from a prescription drug overdose. Sadly, there is no future now for Landon. Like so many others, he did not understand just how l...

Chris' story at the outset doesn't sound that different than many of the stories we've told on the podcast. What does it take for someone to reach the "point of no return"? In Chris' case it took 7 rehabs, 3 overdoses and 4 stints in jail to get there. But once he did, and arrived at Narconon Suncoast, he changed his life for good. He has been clean and sober for 3 years - has a wife, a son and a...

Jay's story is one that we haven't heard before.  Prescribed psychiatric medications at a very young age, he ended up addicted to several of those as well as some street drugs.  Finally, he realized he didn't have a mental disorder, he was addicted.  When he spotted this, he told his psychiatrist that he wanted to get off all of the medications.  He was told that he could but only to take differen...

Joanie and Jason back in the studio and talking addiction.  What is denial really?  So often Jason encounters parents and loved ones of addicts who say that there's nothing they can do because the addict is in denial.  First of all, there is ALWAYS something you can do.  Just reach out to whoever you trust and get help for your loved one.

In the past, we have interviewed Narconon graduates and related their story of addiction, treatment and sobriety.  We have also interviewed members of the families of former addicts.  In this episode, we have all three of those involved - Josie (former addict) and her mom (Nadja) and dad (Jim).  They each have their own perspective on addiction and what each experienced with Josie's addiction and...

Today's episode is an interview with author Dave Chase.  His latest book focuses on the Opioid Crisis.   The opioid crisis is not an anomaly.  Instead, it's a self-inflicted wound, driven by a catastrophically dysfunctional health care system, leading to what has become the largest public health crisis in 100 years.  Fortunately, proven antidotes exist  -- all created and spearheaded by forward-lo...

Diane Stein is the President of Citizens Commission on Human Rights in Florida.  She adds a unique perspective on the role that psychiatric mind-altering drugs play in the addiction epidemic we face today.  It's not a small role and if psychiatry has it's way, addiction will be labeled as a brain disease and treatable only with further medication.  Substituting one drug for another will not result...

This is the story of one unbelievably unethical doctor in West Virginia - Dr. Raj Masih - who was not only responsible for at least one death, but for 100s if not 1000s of people becoming addicted to prescription pain killers.  Doctors across the country are now being arrested for this crime against humanity.  Kelly worked for this doctor and her stories will raise the hair on the back of your nec...

Bobby Newman is an interventionist with a 90% success rate of getting people into treatment. He is a former addict, so knows all the whys and wherefores that prevent the addict from getting clean and sober. Bobby has developed a series of videos to help YOU to do your own intervention and get your loved one into treatment NOW.

Today's episode is an interview with Ted McGrath.  Ted is a highly paid consultant, coach, motivational speaker, actor and entrepreneur.  Following his struggle with addiction, Ted created a movement called The Good Enough Movement with the mission to help people realize that no matter what their circumstance or dream, they are good enough to achieve their goals.

Benjamin is from Denmark and started on drugs when he was DJing in Denmark.  He is now clean and sober and wants to help spread the word to others.  He goes into depth about his experiences on the Narconon program.  He suggests that communication is a good first step for anyone addicted.