The Addiction Podcast-Point of No Return

Now is the time to get yourself or your loved one into treatment. There is always the New Year's resolution to get clean and sober and no matter how vehemently it is made, unless you or your loved one get treatment, the chance of it actually happening are slim to none. Get help now. Don't do nothing. If you do nothing, you will never forgive yourself.

Approximately one year ago, we interviewed Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on the podcast and she spoke about action she was taking from her "hat" on the opioid epidemic. Last week, she filed suit against Walgreens, CVS and various pharmaceutical companies for their part in helping to create and prolong this epidemic. We wanted to replay our interview with her as it's timely.

Beating the drum once again for getting help BEFORE the holidays - addiction does NOT take a holiday. Also the Florida Attorney General - Pam Bondi - has filed a lawsuit against two of the major pharmacies and several drug companies who are responsible for a large part of the opioid epidemic. Go Pam!

A few weeks ago we interviewed Michael DeLeon.  Michael is a former addict, former felon and since leaving prison for the last time he has dedicated his life to educating youth and inmates about drugs and the consequences.  His story is one of the most harrowing stories we've featured on the podcast.  He happened to be in Florida so we invited him into the studio to update us on what he's been up...

July 5th, 1992 and Lillo Brancato is a young man on Jones Beach.  He is seen by a casting agent and ends up being cast in "A Bronx Tale" as Robert DeNiro's son.  After being introduced to marijuana on set by a fellow cast member, he began experimenting with more and more drugs to become a heroin addict.  Now, after spending 8 years in prison for robbery which resulted in the wrongful death of a po...

Since Jason is traveling, we are posting today a previous interview of Derek.  We interviewed Derek very near the beginning of the podcast and this interview really brought home the reason we are doing this podcast.  We want to offer help and hope to our listeners.  Addiction is a horrible situation but there is hope.  But you must get yourself or your loved one into treatment and you need to do i...

This is Emily's story and that of her mom - Linda.  Emily is a recent Narconon graduate.  She started on drugs at 12 or 13 - drinking and smoking marijuana.  She gradually moved onto heroin.  She went to two different rehabs but neither of them got to the root of her deep seated issues for which drugs became a solution.  Her mother was familiar with the concept of sauna detox so when Narconon was...

This episode is an interview with two of the producers of a new feature-length documentary by Award-winning Editor Mary Sue Connolly.  The film is an 80-minute documentary set in the small town of Petersburg, West Virginia, a rural community tragically impacted by the opioid epidemic in our country.  Why West Virginia?  Because West Virginia was specifically targeted by pharmaceutical companies as...

Even those in the medical field are susceptible to addiction.  You might think that because they are more educated in the effects of drugs on the body that this would not be the case but today's episode is the story of a nurse who became addicted to Fentanyl and lost everything.  She's regained what she lost and more and has been sober for more than 10 years.  Her name is Kris Waite Labott and she...

Recently Canada legalized recreational marijuana countrywide.  This is really such a bad idea.  States in the US have legalized marijuana because they think they will make money, yet the states where it has been legalized are making less than 1% or their total budget from the taxes on the sale of recreational marijuana.  If you then add in the law enforcement and medical costs of people becoming a...

Kathy Dion has worked inside the addiction arena for more than 20 years.  She's worked with addicts and rehab facilities.  She is a certified specialist in addiction.  In her book - After Rehab - A Simple Guide to Aid in Lasting Sobriety - she gives 10 simple tips on how to help maintain sobriety and live a happy life.

Make sure you are sitting down and are prepared for an emotional roller coaster ride with Micheal DeLeon's story.  The story of addiction and crime and redemption doesn't get any more astounding than this.  Pot, heroin, cocaine, opioids, prison, gangs, rehab, it's all here. And here is a man who has not only turned his own life around but who is using his experience to change the lives of thousand...

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.