The Addiction Podcast-Point of No Return

Jason is traveling to visit his folks but recently we had a father reach out on our Facebook page with the story of his son's addiction and treatment.  We thought you would like to hear his story.  As we've touched on over and over again, addiction affects those around the addict almost more than it does the addict and this story is a true representation of that.

A white paper was published in May wherein over 100 people who had done the New Life Detoxification Program (one of the components of the Narconon program) were examined and surveyed and the results are quite telling.  The experts have said it, not just Jason and Joanie.  If you have questions, it's worth a read.   http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0300060518779314

Jason just came back from LA where he met with people in rehab from Narconons across the world.  He also got to see parts of LA that are rife with drug addiction.  More on the commentary about the use of methadone and suboxone.

Dave Chase is - among other things - the author of a new book - The Opioid Crisis Wake-up Call.  This book is available as a free download at healthrosetta.org.  In it, he talks about how the healthcare system is contributing to the opioid crisis in this country and how some large companies are combatting this.  It's a different perspective on the whole addiction epidemic in this country.

We're heading into the holidays.  This is the time of year when some the friends and families of addicts don't want to "rock the boat" because they think that if they and the addict can just get through the holiday, all will be different.  The wrong thing to do is nothing.  If you know someone who is battling addiction, get help NOW.  And more explanation of an intervention.

Kurt was an addict for 26 years starting at age 15 in high school, to a 'functioning addict' to homeless. Happily married, two kids, nice house. Starting with pot, acid, alcohol and "I'll never do the needle", to cocaine, ecstasy but it wasn't until he was put on various psychiatric medications that his life took the most unbelievable morbid and sad downturn.  Several rehabs, family help then divo...

Dr. Rohit Adi has been an emergency room doctor for 26 years and has come face to face for 15 years with treating addiction. A highly certified "Addictionologist", Dr. Adi weighs in on what he sees every day in the ER with methadone, marijuana and synthetic drugs as well as the growing homeless issues that are drug related. Dr. Adi has strong opinions about the "drug for a drug" mentality.  He's a...

In today's episode Joanie and Jason talk about the K2 (spice) overdoses in Connecticut - 76 at one park all at virtually the same time.  One of the dangers of spice is that you never know what you are actually ingesting.  Instances of rat poison being part of the formula have occurred and this instance involved fentanyl.  And pot is in the air in Florida.  Scary.

We have spoken many times about the tragedy of the death of some of our most beloved musicians, actors, sports figures and other artists due to drug addiction and ultimately overdose.  This episode is an interview with Fabian Padro and Sam Hobson who run the Narconon facility in Ojai which is focused on providing the Narconon program to celebrities and other prominent figures.  It is set up to cat...

More and more we are hearing of celebrities and artists who are overdosing with the most recent being Demi Lovato.  More attention needs to be put on the addiction epidemic across the world but especially in the US.  The US is one of the only countries - if not THE ONLY company - that allows drug companies to advertise drugs to the consumer via mass media ads.  Sickening.

Professional drug interventionist Bobby Newman tells stories of his experiences in helping families and addicts make the ultimate decision-get treatment. Usually the friends and family don't know what to do or have tried everything, to no avail. That's when an intervention is needed and Bobby has seen it all. He's dealt with it all and can cut through the resistance and at times manipulative tacti...

Angela's journey included Percocet, Oxycodone to handle a sports injury, then alcohol and heavier doses of painkillers. Her downward spiral as a mother of three included a DUI, jail and losing custody of her children. Still in denial, an emotional intervention saved her.  Angela is now living a drug-free life with happy children.

Pot and alcohol in high school. Cocaine and heroin in college. School dropout, recluse. Four rehabs and still craving. Sound familiar? Today we interviewed Jillian, a recent graduate of the Narconon program. Her final call for help to her caring mother resulted in a truly happy ending.

In this episode Jason recounts the story of a family whose daughter had been through several 12-step programs and once again had disappeared into the dark hole of addiction.  Jason was able to give the parents hope and help for the daughter and another chance.  The road to being sober is not always easy.

In the first decade of the 21st century, West Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg along with Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi in shutting down the pill mills in the state of Florida.  He helped lead the fight in suing Perdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin. Now once again, unscrupulous people are trying to profit from addicted individuals and families.  Dave is now going after fraud an...

This week's podcast is an interview with Diane Stein who is the President of Citizens Commission on Human Rights in Florida.  CCHR is a mental health watchdog organization that pushes - among other things - for informed consent before people are put on psychiatric medications.  This podcast was prompted by the recent suicide of Kate Spade.  She was being treated for depression and likely was on an...

When friends and family members find out that a loved one is addicted, often - especially with parents - the first reaction is:  What did I do wrong?  Parents feel like they somehow failed their child or a wife thinks she failed her husband.  That's guilt and all it does is slow the process of getting help for the addict.  There's a difference between guilt and responsibility and it needs to be un...

Dr. Faye Jamali was a very successful anesthesiologist until she broke her wrist and was prescribed a large bottle of Vicodin to handle the pain. Unfortunately she soon learned that the drug would numb her to anything going on in her life and cause severe addiction problems, stealing and injecting the hospital's drugs, medical license put on probation and more. She has been clean and sober for 8 y...

After much research, some experts now disagree that addiction should be labeled as an actual "disease", but rather is a false assertion prompted and pushed by pharmaceutical companies to sell more product. Mostly resulting in substitution one drug for another in rehab. This episode is an interview with Nick Heather, Emeritus Professor of Alcohol and other Drug Studies in the Dept of Psychology at...

Morphine was supposed to handle opium. Heroin was supposed to handle morphine. Meth was supposed to handle heroin. Each 'cure' turned into their own addiction. There is a 150 year history including marketing heroin for 'fussy' babies. We interview David Aden, the managing editor of Center for the Study of Drug Addiction Policy who addresses some misconceptions and what national policies are being...

Nicole Donofrio heard our podcast and wanted to tell her story. She  grew up with an alcoholic father and then later in a relationship with an alcoholic.  She experienced abuse and at first made excuses, but finally realized she had to do something. Now she has a Facebook Group with more than 2400 members and through the group, she offers support to those affected by addiction through friends and...

Austin's story starts in Georgia at the age of 12, smoking pot. Soon graduated to a life on meth. Burglaries and prison and eventually losing his wife and infant.  Austin will shortly complete the Narconon program and asked to tell his story in the hope of helping others. His story will move you.

We have talked about how marijuana is a gateway drug.  This podcast discusses a study in Florida about how alcohol may be a worse gateway drug but in the end - does it really matter?  If someone gets onto heavy drugs from either alcohol or marijuana - the problem of addiction results.

Jim Meskimen is an incredibly talented - Hollywood film maker, actor, artist, impressionist and comedian.  Jim recently wrote and starred in a short film called "Son to Son" which address the subject of addiction from a very different perspective, a father and son, one an addict and one a dealer. Currently "Son to Son" is making the rounds of film festivals. Hear this intriguing story in our inter...

One of the hardest things the loved ones of an addict must face is how to get their addicted family member or friend to agree to treatment.  The addict must agree on his/her own choice, but how do you get that to happen?  This is very difficult but can be done. Bobby Newman is a professional interventionist and has a great record of getting addicts into treatment and on their way to a sober and ha...