The Addiction Podcast - Point of No Return

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 from 'functioning addict' to homeless. Starting with pot, acid, alcohol and "I'll never do the needle", to cocaine, ecstasy, heroin- but it wasn't until he was put on various psychiatric medications that his life took the most unbelievably morbid and sad downturn. Several rehabs, family help then divorce and unhappiness, but now clean and sober with his life back together, seeing his kids again and more. His story is not for the faint hearted but has a happy ending.

Dr. Rohit Adi, an emergency room doctor for 26 yearshas 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. Dr. Adi has strong opinions about the "drug for a drug" mentality. He's a man with a passion to take responsibility for the area of addiction and since he has relatives both in the U.S. and India who have suffered from drug and/or alcohol abuse, it is personal for him.

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 cater to their needs in terms of privacy and security and thus fulfills a need in this arena.

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 tactics of an addicted person, even though down deep they want help. And he's very successful at it.

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 was diligent in shutting down the pill mills in the state of Florida.  Now once again, unscrupulous people are trying to profit from the addicted individuals in the country.  State Attorney Aronberg is now going after the sober homes and rogue rehabs in the state of Florida.  He has helped get the legislature to stiffen the penalties for patient brokering the rehab industry - across the country.

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 anti-depressants.  One of the side effects of such drugs is suicidal tendencies.  Enough said.