The Addiction Podcast-Point of No Return

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...

This is the second time we've had Amy on the podcast.  She is the Deputy Director of Drug Free America and Save our Society from Drugs.  She is one of the foremost experts on marijuana and the legalization thereof.  She has a very educated perspective of what it is like now in Florida - now that we have medical marijuana.  There are attempts to normalize marijuana without taking into account the p...

We've been getting some heat lately from people who love methadone and suboxone.  What can we say?  We want you to live a drug free life, not dependent on any addictive substance - and yes, methadone and suboxone are addictive.  We hope that you will live a drug free life and if you disagree with that - oh well.  Why would we want anything less for you?  We know it's possible, so that's what we wi...

Craig DeRoche was the youngest Speaker of the House in the state of Michigan.  When his alcohol addiction became public and out of control, his life totally fell apart. Now fully recovered, he has his life and family back and is making huge strides in helping people with addiction and in the criminal justice system.  This is Craig's story.

On-site at the 6th Annual Drug Prevention Summit. Thom Browne about what is added to drugs to make them more potent and lethal. He has a master's degree in criminal justice, is the President and CEO of the global criminal justice and demand reduction consulting firm Rubicon Global Enterprises. He created treatment systems and prevention programs in over 70 countries on five continents during his 2...

Today we spoke more about marijuana.  Lynn Posyton works for a company and her main job description is to educate children and other groups on the truth about drugs.  She uses materials available for free from www.drugfreeworld.org .  The point is that her employer is a businessman helping to fight the drug addiction epidemic.  Bonni Snider works for Bay Care and also talks to people about drugs a...

Today's podcast is an interview with Garth.  Garth is 26 years old and began his addiction history when he was 12 years old and smoked his first joint.  He then moved on to heavier drugs, tried a 12 step program and ultimately attempted to get himself off heroin with methadone and suboxone.  Neither of these worked.  His wife got him to Narconon and he is a new man.  Take hope from his story.

Joanie was at the 6th Annual Southeastern US Regional Drug Prevention Summit and interviewed several of the attendees.  This podcast is an interview with Steve Collins Director of Central Florida HIDTA ( High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area  program).  He presented at the Summit about a report about marijuana and legalizing it has affected Colorado.  There will be an upcoming report on the effects...

Obviously we struck a nerve with our outright condemnation of Kratom in our last episode.  We want to let you know that we don't think Kratom is right or wrong.  The main point is that it isn't fully researched and until that time, those people taking it are to some degree guinea pigs for the manufacturers of Kratom.  Some people swear by the effectiveness and some people have died from taking it....

People are touting the new drug Kratom as the solution to Suboxone addiction, but did you know that Suboxone was touted as the solution to Methadone; Methadone to Heroin and Heroin to Morphine?  Kratom is a drug.  In fact the FDA has just labeled it as an opioid. Substituting one drug for another usually doesn't work.  Not if you want to live a happy and sober life. Listen, learn and make your own...

There's really nothing new in the field of substance abuse and nothing that Narconon hasn't seen.  Having said that some addicts are now cooking up meth in their own homes as an alternative to heroin but the highs and lows of meth are different.  Bottom line, even though Jason has seen everything in terms of addiction, he knows how to handle whatever comes up.

Rony grew up among the gangs in Miami.  Introduced to drugs by his cousin, he rapidly moved from marijuana to heavier drugs.  After a stint in the US Navy, he started abusing Xanax which ended his Navy career.  Now Rony has completed the Narconon program and is clean.  He is training at Narconon to help others overcome addiction.  In fact, if you to www.narcononsuncoast.org,  you might encounter R...

When people think of drug or alcohol addiction, often the addict is thought of as the victim.  However, the real victim, we feel, are those close to the addict because they live with the fear that the addict will overdose, or get arrested, or wind up in the hospital.  The addict started with a choice, the friends and family didn't choose to have an addict amongst their loved ones.

This podcast is an interview with Pinellas County Sheriff Robert Gualtieri.  Sheriff Gualtieri has been dealing with drugs for decades in this area and so has a law enforcement perspective on the problem.  However, expecting law enforcement to be the solution to substance abuse is like putting the proverbial finger in the dike.  It's way too late on the chain.  What is needed is prevention, educat...