The Addiction Podcast-Point of No Return

Hon. Jim Carroll has substantial experience as a legal advisor to two White House administrations, federal government agencies, and a Fortune 25 company. He counsels clients on complex and sensitive issues involving government and internal investigations, corporate ethics and compliance programs, and white collar defense. In his 30-plus years as an attorney and a Washington insider, Jim has also built a reputation as a go-to choice for strategic business and policy counseling. In addition to his role as a Partner at Michael Best, Jim is also a principal at Michael Best Consulting LLC. Previously, Jim was a co-founder and principal of DC Consulting LLC, a consulting firm specializing in public health, pharmaceutical and substance abuse and regulatory risk involving law enforcement issues. Earlier in his career, Jim spent a decade as in-house counsel at Ford Motor Company where for many years he was the Company's Global Director of Compliance. Jim also served as the nation's "Drug Czar" for three years, following his unanimous confirmation by the United States Senate. Jim's significant federal government and legal experience include the following: - Starting in 2018, served for three years as the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy after being unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate. Under Jim's leadership as the "US Drug Czar", the U.S. saw its first year-over-year decrease in overdose deaths in 30 years. - Served in a number of high-profile posts at the White House between 2016 to 2018, including roles as Deputy Chief of Staff and Deputy White House Counsel. - Appointed General Counsel of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. - Spent 10 years as a legal advisor to the Ford Motor Company. Jim served as the automaker's Washington Counsel and Global Director of Compliance. During Jim's tenure there, Ford was named one of the "World's Most Ethical Companies" for three consecutive years by Ethisphere Institute. Jim was also General Counsel to the Ford Motor Company Fund, the company's philanthropic arm. - Served as Deputy General Counsel and Acting General Counsel to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. - Served as Associate Counsel and Special Assistant to the President between 2002 to 2004. - Attorney at the Department of Justice, Office of Legal Policy. Selected as Assistant Ethics Counsel in the White House Office of Counsel to the President. - Served as Attorney Advisor to the Department of Justice, Executive Office for United States Attorneys. Jim began his legal career as a prosecutor in the Virginia Commonwealth Attorney's Office in Fairfax, VA. He went on to serve as Assistant Bar Counsel for the Virginia State Bar before transitioning his career to the federal level.

Dan's career started as a dancer on Broadway and on award show stages with Britney Spears. After transitioning to a choreographer, he worked with Britney Spears, NSYNC, Jessica Simpson, Kylie Minogue, Justin Timberlake and Usher. Although he quickly became known for his work dancing and choreographing for pop music superstars, Karaty broadened his reach with powerful dancing and cutting-edge choreography in commercials and events for iPod, Best Buy, Mattel, Dance Central 2, Miller, Xbox Kinect, IKEA, and many more. In 2005, So You Think You Can Dance debuted in the US with Dan as a judge. After three successful seasons, he took the format to Europe where he became the Simon Cowell of the Netherlands and Belgium leading judging panels for numerous talent shows. Dan, with his effortless cool brand, made his acting debut by starring in Soof, the number one film franchise in Dutch history. Despite keeping his personal life private and his effortless cool brand, Dan took the brave step of sharing with the public his lifelong struggles with anxiety and alcohol. Dan is a doting and devoted father and husband that made mistakes due to his struggles. In addition to releasing another film and returning to the judging panel of Got Talent, in 2022 Dan is launching a podcast – If I'm Being Honest – which will strip away surface facades to deliver the real, in-depth and sometimes ugly truths of his life, and those of his courageous guests; hopefully revealing unique paths to happiness, success, recovery and redemption.

Marc Berkman serves as the CEO of the Organization for Social Media Safety (OFSMS), which he has grown into the world's preeminent consumer protection organization focused on social media. Under Marc's leadership, OFSMS has developed a state-of-the-art social media safety curriculum and has taught essential safety skills to hundreds of thousands of students, parents, and educators across the world. Marc has also guided OFSMS' advocacy efforts leading to the passage of groundbreaking social media safety legislation like Jordan's Law, the nation's first law to deter social media-motivated violence. And Marc has spearheaded major partnerships between OFSMS and prestigious non-governmental organizations, including ones with DARE: International to expand access to social media safety education and with U.C.L.A. to undertake innovative social media safety research. Previously, Marc served for over a decade as a senior advisor to members of the United States Congress and the California State Assembly. During his time as a legislative aide, he developed and helped pass into law numerous legislative initiatives to protect vulnerable children and families. Marc has been featured in notable publications like the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Business Insider. He received his Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School and his Bachelor of Arts from UC Berkeley. Marc lives with his wife and two children in Los Angeles, CA.

By the time Roger Smith was a teenager he was living on the streets of Santa Monica and addicted to drugs. He dropped out of high school, ran into trouble with the law, had his best friend shot right next to him while running away from a failed robbery attempt and, at one point, was so down and out and desperate for a fix in his early thirties that he walked into the Pacific Ocean expecting never to come back. Being an entrepreneur as a young child selling comic books on the streets of New York, he was no stranger to hard work and sales. He ascended the corporate ladder to become the CEO of American Income Life Insurance Co, National Income Life Insurance Co. And Liberty National Life Insurance Co. He is also the recipient of the Yitzhak Rabin Legacy Award, Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award, Healthcare For All Champion Award, Sol Stein Award, as well as numerous other awards and publications. He is the father of 5 adult children (Nicole, Conrad, Emily, Adam, Amiah), proud grandfather of Maggie Mae, and currently resides in Florida with his wife Demi and his 2 dogs Penelope and Chrome.

Beverley Thomson is a writer, researcher and speaker with a focus on psychiatric medication including antidepressants, benzodiazepines and ADHD drugs; their history, how the drugs work, adverse effects, dependence, withdrawal and development of patient support services. Her aim is to help inform and empower the patient to make informed choices about medication. She has a particular interest in withdrawal management and prescription drug-induced suicide. In the past 10 years, she has worked with organizations such as the British Medical Association, the Scottish Government (as part of a working group addressing the issue of prescribed drug harm and dependence in Scotland), the UK Council for Evidence-Based Psychiatry (writing evidence-based summaries to be used by professionals and the general public), and the UK All Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence. She has contributed to articles in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and mainstream media including TV. Author of Antidepressed: A Breakthrough Examination of Epidemic Antidepressant Harm and Dependence Antidepressed breaks down the growing issue of antidepressant use, harm and dependence—how we got to this point, what's happening worldwide every single day, and most importantly, where we go from here. Providing information that both patients and mental health professionals desperately need, Antidepressed exposes the holes in mental health systems and highlights the desperate need for reform. Featuring compelling accounts from real people whose lives have been irrevocably harmed by prescription antidepressants, Antidepressed provides proof that there is no such thing as a magic pill—and that pretending otherwise risks the lives and well-being of those who need help the most.

Leonard Lee Buschel overcame addiction and has devoted his life to giving back to writers in recovery by creating a safe and supportive outlet. Leonard was born into an idyllic Jewish family in North Philadelphia - - he had loving parents and a three-year-old brother. At just two weeks old, Leonard was dealt a blow that would derail the solid middle-class path that was laid out in front of him. His father suffered a fatal heart attack on his way home from his job as postal clerk. As a boy, Leonard gravitated toward the corner candy store where the local bookie and a group of cigar-smoking, streetwise philosophers who bought and sold hot merchandise, became his father figures. It wouldn't be long before Leonard got into smoking marijuana. What's worse is that he wouldn't go a day sober for roughly 40 years. After decades of struggling with an addiction that led him to become a drug dealer, Leonard was 'struck sober' and has happily been so for 27 years. He is the founder of Writers in Treatment as well as the director of the REEL Recovery Film Festival and Symposium, which he founded in 2008. Leonard also is the editor and publisher of the weekly Addiction/Recovery eBulletin as well as the producer of the annual Experience, Strength and Hope Awards in Los Angeles. He recently published his memoir, HIGH: Confessions of a Cannabis Addict, which is a stunning account of his drug-dealing days and near-death experiences. The REEL Recovery Film Festival: Writers in Treatment is multi-day event is a celebration of film, the arts, writing and creativity. Showcased are filmmakers who make honest films about addiction, alcoholism, behavioral disorders, treatment, and recovery.

Michael Gray is the CEO of Actus Analytical, Inc., which develops spectroscopy solutions for public safety compliance, illicit drug detection, agricultural productivity, and other applications. Michael and his wife Nancy founded The Actus Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, in 2018. The Actus Foundation advocates for solutions to treating the entirety of the overdose epidemic problem in America, including the largely forgotten constituency of intermittent users. He founded, with partner Ed Kobilis in 2019, the Fentanyl Awareness Coalition - a coalition of tens of thousands of advocates in the US. Michael is a popular speaker, offering unique analyses and suggestions for creative solutions to a new problem, i.e., an old problem with a recently altered paradigm. Michael walks participants through the murky world of the drug problem clarifying the threat and dispelling myths. The Actus Foundation also advocates for the mentally ill, striving to deliver the message that mental illness is a disease the entire family suffers, and suffers in isolation; there are no well-worn paths to solutions available to those in chronic states of mental illness. For all our success in medical science – diagnostic practices, treatment/care and patient advocacy – our nation has left behavioral science in the stone age. Our practice of psychiatric care – diagnostic practices, treatment/care and patient advocacy – is the ugly stepchild hidden in the attic as the country proudly displays her medical science wonders to the world. In addition to advocacy, Mr. Gray is offering his 35 years of professional expertise in the world of scientific instrumentation as another element of his work on behalf of the victims of overdose. As the Interdict Law and other legislative activity considers nascent technological advances in the ability to detect illicit drugs at the street level, Michael adds his professional expertise to that debate. With experience in the areas of Infrared Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry, Michael is participating in the development and deployment of portable testing for narcotics, at the field level, as a means of confirming suspected illegal substances and protecting First Responders.

My wife and I live in Raleigh NC. I grew up sheltered in a wealthy suburb, Roslyn, on Long Island. Attended UPenn as an undergrad and BC Law 1980. I left the law after 8 years and went into business. My son, 35, is a MD/PhD practicing medicine in Boston. He and his wife have 2 little ones, a boy and girl, awesome grandkids. My daughter is expecting a boy in July. I had another daughter, Stephanie, who was troubled from the age of 3. Both of my daughters were adopted at birth, 3 days apart. Steph was eventually diagnosed as bipolar and at 17 became a heroin addict. Steph's mom and I had split up a few years prior to that. I became Stephanie's prime supporter for the next 9 years. I wrote my novel The Long Desert Road while Stephanie was excelling, had a good job, was sober and for the first time felt really good about herself. I had such high hopes, and my novel is uplifting. One of the book's 3 central characters, Lauren, was fashioned after my experiences with Stephanie. Steph even helped me with some of the young dialogue. I completed the novel sometime before the outbreak of Covid. Stephanie died of an overdose on Oct. 2, 2020, during the isolation of the pandemic. It was horribly surreal when my novel was released 3 months later in January 2021. https://www.amazon.com/Long-Desert-Road-Alex-Sirotkin-ebook/dp/B08VW3XFY4/

A successful businesswoman and well-known political leader, Congresswoman Mary Bono (ret.) was hailed as the "embodiment of powerful American womanhood" by the Washington Times, rising to become Chairman of the influential U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade. In April of 2022, Mary was awarded the prestigious Distinguished Alumni Merit Award from her alma mater, the University of Southern California. Today, she is widely recognized as a powerful advocate for issues important for addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery. Mary was elected in 1998 to serve California's 44th (later changed to 45th) Congressional District after the untimely death of her husband, entertainer turned Congressman Sonny Bono. And in 2012, she became the first ever Chairman of the Women's Policy Committee (WPC) in the House.

Nicole Woodruff is a Tampa-based occupational therapist and yoga teacher who specializes in treating chronic pain and pelvic floor dysfunction. After losing her sister to an opioid overdose in 2019, Nicole dedicated her life to helping others find alternative ways to manage pain through her holistic occupational therapy practice. Through her memoir, Nicole hopes to raise greater awareness around addiction and how it affects family systems, sharing her story to help destigmatize the way society views addiction and encourage others to speak out. She has also started two virtual support groups: Siblings of Addicts and Siblings of Addicts Who Have Passed Away. Learn more at nicolewoodruff.com On June 13, 2019, Nicole Woodruff got the call she had been dreading for years. Her sister, Amanda, had suffered a fatal overdose. Amanda had become addicted to heroin as a young woman. For five years, Nicole and her family struggled to help as Amanda cycled through the process of getting clean, starting to recover, and falling back into using. Saving My Sister is a memoir about navigating addiction told through a sister's love, sharing the fear, hope, disappointment, stress, frustration, and ultimate loss that all too often finally ends the cycle, leaving families wondering what else they could have done—or whether they did enough. If you have experienced addiction firsthand, or if you love someone who has, Saving My Sister is a poignant reminder that addiction affects not just individuals but families, that you're only human, that you're all going to need help, and that you're not alone.

After losing her husband to accidental overdose, Cheryl shares his journey through active addiction, road to recovery and his final battle lost to overdose. By exposing the horrific realities of the opioid epidemic, her mission is to raise awareness and educate on how the opioid epidemic is not only ripping families apart emotionally but also financially by diminishing careers and draining financial assets.

Christy is the mother of a 27-year-old 4 year recovering addict – her son. She and her daughter share their story to give hope, share their experience with addiction and end the stigma associated with addiction.

Ed Ternan is a husband, father and businessman. In May 2020, he lost his son 22-year-old son Charlie, who was poisoned by a counterfeit prescription pill. Since that time, Ed and his wife Mary have dedicated themselves to informing young people about the new risks of self-medication and recreational drug use in the age of synthetic drugs like fentanyl. The Ternans have formed a nonprofit charity called Song for Charlie, where they create and distribute social media campaigns and educational materials. Their programs provide fact-based resources directly to young people in plain language and encourage healthier alternatives for managing stress. Charlie died on May 14, 2020 after taking a pill he purchased from a dealer he connected with on Snapchat. He was told the pill was a Percocet, but it was actually a realistic looking counterfeit made of fentanyl. After Charlie died, Mary and I did our research and discovered that other young people were dying from what we call Fentapills. We also learned that the authorities were aware of the problem, but that the information was not reaching the kids. So, we decided to make it our mission to inform young people directly about this new danger. After concluding that we had no legal recourse against Snap, we decided to see if we could make them our ally. We connected with Snap executives through our personal network and convinced them that the counterfeit pills being sold on their platform required and aggressive response, on the same level as child sex trafficking. They engaged with us quickly and together we formed a coalition of platforms and tech firms that produce and distribute awareness messaging directly to kids and parents. We also help them on the monitoring and enforcement side, serving as subject matter experts. We have reached over 52 million unique viewers across eight platforms since our awareness campaign launched in July 2021. The tech coalition provided the seed money for a national, 2-year awareness campaign undertaken by the Ad Council that will launch in August of 2022. Ed Ternan serves on the Ad Council's Expert Panel with personnel from the CDC and Shatterproof. Song for Charlie spearheaded the first ever National Fentanyl Awareness Day on May 10, 2022. We got a bipartisan Senate Resolution passed, gathered over 400 corporate and nonprofit partners and assembled an Advisory Council comprised of experts in Supply Reduction, Demand Reduction, Harm Reduction and Social Media. Mary and Ed were among 75 family members impacted by the fentanyl crisis who attended a conference at DEA Headquarters in Washington DC. Building on the momentum of National Fentanyl Awareness Day, Song for Charlie has convened a panel of 12 experts from relevant subject areas to brainstorm new approaches to the drug crisis.

The only child of revolutionary activists and educators; a doting Ethiopian father and a strong-willed African American mother, Fawna Asfaw felt her life shatter when she lost both her parents prematurely to illness. As grief pulled her into a downward spiral of addiction and shame, Fawna had to learn to harness her power and rebuild her life with a new perspective that changed everything. Fawna spent her newly fought for sobriety studying addiction while writing a powerful and emotional memoir, Sober Daughter. A riveting book in which she recounts feeling paralyzed by the monumental task of advocating for her parents' medical needs and eventual hospice care. After their heartbreaking premature deaths, she buckled under the realization that she had no idea how to live without them. Unable to process her loss and overcome by grief, she collapsed into alcohol-induced psychosis and despair—until a catastrophic seizure landed her in a remote treatment center without a penny left to her name. That's when the backbreaking work of her personal redemption began. She sacrificed everything she owned, to build an entirely new, sober life on her own her terms. This meant doing the back breaking work of auditing what worked, what didn't and also taking courageous evaluations within herself to determine how she could show up in life as her highest self. Fawna attended the most prestigious dual diagnosis treatment center in the United States and studied with world renowned doctors, therapists, clinicians, mentors and leaders to be able to get well and in the process, put together her teachings in a meaningful and motivating way to help others achieve what she thought was only a dream. Since attending treatment on her own, Fawna has now become a powerhouse in the recovery industry. She currently oversees a private and prestigious young women's transitional sober living in Los Angeles, CA. She mentors young women in sobriety, works one on one with clients and offers group workshops, organizes sponsored sober events, programs, and meetings. Fawna has organized interventions, family support groups, interfaces with top clinical program directors in Los Angeles and is deeply embedded in the elite Los Angeles Recovery Society. Fawna is also a highly sought-after speaker and thought leader on recovery, sobriety and wellness. Fawna has founded her own inclusive and diverse company: The Good Wrk for all people who want to elevate their recovery through her unique and specialized Recovery Coaching service, sobriety courses and much more. With millions and millions of people struggling with sobriety and addiction every day, the world is looking for a fresh, new take on an often too old and too exclusive, boring space. Fawna's unique background and perspective is what makes her at home in Beverly Hills or Skid Row - which is why she is turning recovery on it's head with her vibrant energy, extensive knowledge and reliability to all those who struggle around the globe.

Christopher Dale is an experienced public relations professional, writer and recovering addict. In addition to being a regular contributor to Addiction Recovery eBulletin, he has been published in a broad array of prominent outlets, including The Daily Beast, Salon, Parents.com, Dogster, New York Daily News and Tribune Syndicate. He writes on a wide range of topics, including addiction, mental health, politics, parenting, travel and rescue dog advocacy. This interview centers on Chris and his beautiful wife – Patty Li – and not only his struggles with addiction, but her loyalty in standing by him through his recovery.

Ray entered Restoration Ministries when it became very clear to him that God called him to be here. After graduating from Harvey House in 1989, he worked an outside job while continuing to live at Harvey House. He eventually became the Harvey House Director. In 1997, when the executive director left for another position, Ray was entrusted as Acting Director for months until the board realized he was the best man for the job. He was named Executive Director of Restoration Ministries in 1998. Since then, Ray has helped over 200 men and women successfully complete their recovery programs. In 1991, Ray started a youth group for teenagers in Harvey and surrounding suburbs, and he became a youth pastor at Spirit of God Fellowship in South Holland. He was also instrumental in starting Restoration Ministries' youth outreach programs. Ray is an elected member of Thornton Township District 205 School Board, representing the many families who entrust in him their children's education. In May of 2020, Ray suffered a stroke. When his family asked for prayers on social media, more than a thousand replied that they were praying for him. People who Ray had cared for, mentored, and inspired over the years—plus their families, their children, and friends—all prayed for Ray's recovery. Ray is back spending three days a week in his office, counseling Harvey House residents.

John Brownlee is a former federal prosecutor whose prosecution and conviction of Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of the widely abused opioid, OxyContin, was portrayed in the hit Hulu series Dopesick, starring Michael Keaton, Rosario Dawson, and Jake McDorman. He was appointed United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia in 2001 by President George W. Bush and served in that position with great distinction for nearly 7 years. After his over a decade of service at the U.S. Department of Justice, he became a criminal defense attorney and successfully defended numerous individuals and corporations, including former Governor Bob McDonnell. Prior to law school, he served on active duty in the U.S. Army in the infantry and in the Judge Advocate General Corps (U.S. Army Reserves), and is a graduate of the Army's Airborne and Ranger programs.

My name is Tim Lodgen I am 45 years old ! After a 27 year addiction to alcohol and drugs, suffering with bi-polar disorder and surviving multiple suicide attempts I am 1 year 2 months clean and sober ! I share my story of hope and recovery as much as possible to those still suffering in hopes to reach them so they know they are not alone . So that they know we can recover and live the lives we have always wanted too!

Gina McDonald grew up in a household with an alcoholic father. While in high school, she experimented with alcohol and marijuana. When she turned 21, she unfortunately followed her father's footsteps and started drinking heavily, eventually becoming addicted. After having her daughter at age 26, Gina started participating in outpatient treatment for her alcoholism. Gina was clean and sober on and off for years, but after being prescribed opioids following surgery, she became hooked on them and got opioid prescriptions wherever she could find them. Once her addiction became unmanageable, she was thrown out of her house and ended up on the street. She started using meth in addition to the pills. After losing everything, Gina was picked up by the local sheriff in the midst of meth-induced psychosis. They offered her treatment or jail. She chose treatment at the urging of police and thanks them to this day for intervening in her addiction. Gina has been clean since 2012 and is an active member of the recovery community. Gina's daughter, Sam, began experimenting with marijuana in high school and later moved onto cocaine and heroin. She ended up on the street, frequenting the Tenderloin. In a positive step, Sam recently admitted herself into rehab where she is in recovery My name is Jacqui Berlinn and I am trying to save my son, Corey, from death by fentanyl. I used to hide my story out of shame. But I realized a few years ago that remaining silent didn't help my son or myself. Corey is one of over 100,000 unsheltered people in California. Many are suffering addiction to fentanyl and other hard drugs. Jacqui and Gina – along with other mothers – founded Mothers Against Drug Deaths. They are moms who want to keep kids from losing their lives and futures to fentanyl. Many more of them are stepping up, as parents, and citizens of California, to demand that government and law enforcement shut down the drug death markets, create psychiatry for all, and adopt a "Shelter First" policy for drug addicted homeless, so they can get the help they need. They've had enough. As mothers of children killed by fentanyl and mothers of homeless addicts living on the streets of San Francisco and Los Angeles, they're expanding our advertising campaign statewide and calling on Governor Newsom to immediately close the deadly open-air drug markets that are killing children. It's horrifying. Parents the across the world should know that California cities are unsafe for children and families. It's no wonder that hundreds of thousand people and businesses have left California. Many of them left citing our open-air drug markets.

Danielle "Dani" Schaffer is a lifestyle blogger, podcast host, educator, activist and mom. Cultivator of kindness, weekend warrior and red-carpet wanderer, Schaffer grew up in New York City, earned a master's degree in education, and taught digital media for almost a decade before shifting her focus to her true passions - family, fashion, home decor and travel - by creating the lifestyle brand City Girl Gone Mom. Wife to a Navy dentist, and Mom to four, Schaffer is a true city girl turned suburban San Diego mom, who captures the ups, downs, struggles and juggles of mommyhood across multiple platforms including The Mom Confidential podcast, citygirlgonemom.com website and her social channels on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. In late 2018, Danielle lost her only brother – Scott – to an overdose at the age of 33. Scott was just one case in tens of thousands of Fentanyl related deaths in our country over the past year. According to a National Vital Statistics System report recently published from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fentanyl is now the drug most frequently involved in overdose deaths in the U.S. Schaffer serves as an advocate for breaking gender stereotypes, and she is a champion and spokesperson for combating the opioid crisis. Schaffer presently lives in San Diego with her husband, their four children and three dogs.

Johnny Stack was born on February 7, 2000 and died by suicide on November 20, 2019 at the age of 19. He was an incredibly intelligent, funny, charming, handsome young man, which you can see in his tribute video. We are a normal suburban family and did normal family things. He had a happy life, a 4.0 GPA with a scholarship to college, and a family who loved him very much. Unfortunately, we live in Colorado, which was the first state to legalize marijuana in 2014, when Johnny was 14 years old. Johnny's Ambassadors is a non-partisan, non-profit, grass-roots alliance of individuals and organizations around the globe concerned about the harms of youth marijuana use. We are parents, coalitions, impacted family members, healthcare professionals, teachers, and nonprofits who seek to reduce youth marijuana use through education, prevention, and awareness. We use evidence-based, scientific research and experts to teach the impacts of today's high-THC marijuana on youth mental illness and suicide ideation. Our allied organizations come together to save the lives of our youth, and Johnny's Ambassadors actively promotes their activities. Our Mission: Johnny's Ambassadors educates parents and teens about the risks of today's high-THC marijuana on adolescent brain development, mental illness, and suicide. Research shows today's high-potency marijuana causes mental health issues and higher incidence of suicide when used recreationally and illegally under 21 years of age. Our Vision: To dramatically decrease the incidence of adolescent marijuana and substance abuse, mental illness, and suicide, to allow our youth to live productive, happy lives.

In this podcast episode, we interview the courageous authors of "American Cartel-Inside the Battle to Bring Down the Opioid Industry" - Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz. Scott and Sari give behind the scenes detail about their definitive investigation and exposé of how some of the nation's largest corporations created and fueled the opioid crisis. The book is an indictment of the astonishing corporate greed and government complicity; of mercenary lobbyists and lawyers sustained by bought-off politicians - with names that may surprise you. During the interview, Scott describes how employees of drug distributor AmerisourceBergen Corp. wrote an email making fun of the theme song for the "Beverly Hillbillies." This parody describes how "pillbillies" drove south to obtain drugs at Florida pill mills. "Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed / A poor mountaineer, barely kept his habit fed," the song begins, chronicling how Jed goes to Florida, which is described as having a "lax attitude" about pills, or "Hillbilly Heroin." Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz are Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporters for The Washington Post. They were both lead reporters on the Post's "The Opioid Files" series, which was a Pulitzer Finalist for Public Service in 2020. The book is available at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/American-Cartel-Inside-Battle-Industry/dp/1538737205. Here's the link to the adaptation that you can access for free. https://wapo.st/3uthr1a

Name is Jonathan I like to go by Jonny. I am a recovering addict of approximately 4 years. I believe the main reason I was able to become successful with my sobriety is accepting I was an addict and I needed 100% change! That included everything around me! Jonny now is co-owners of a boutique hotel in Medellin South America for cycling enthusiasts - https://lavillamedellin.bike

Etel Leit served as a commander in the Israeli Intelligence. She received her BA in languages from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem and her Masters in Leadership and Education from Pepperdine University, Malibu. She is pursuing her Ph.D. in Transformational Psychology. Her transparent therapy style, sincere compassion, direct and raw talent for inspiring those in need of clarity make Etel Leit an empowering leader. Leit is the author of three books, one of them is a 5 books series catered to different styles of families (single parents and gay parents). Her third and best-selling book "UnAddicted To You – Loving Yourself Through the Darkness" is a combination of a woman's powerful coming of age memoir and a potentially life-changing addiction self-help book, inspiring an interactive quest that seeks to help readers to find their true light, grounded spirituality, and sobriety. Etel's television appearances include features at NBC Brian Williams Evening News, KTLA Morning Show, Fox 11 Morning News, WEtv Growing Up Hip Hop, Style Channel Tia and Tamera, and more.

This podcast episode is an interview with Bobby Newman and the family of a young woman (Lexie) who participated in the intervention. The family members include her mother - Tammy; her grandmother - Diane; her great grandmother (deceased); and her Uncle Brian. These family members did what had to be done to save their young Lexie and get her to treatment. After completing the program at Narconon Arrowhead, Lexis is clean and sober and happy to share her story with others.

Jeffrey B. Simon is a legal commentator and founding partner of SIMON GREENSTONE PANATIER, PC. Ranked as one of the Top 10 Personal Injury Attorney's within America and Co-Chair of the National Opioid Litigation Conference, Mr. Simon is focused on bringing crucial legal, consumer protection, and public health issues to the forefront for mainstream audiences. Jeffrey currently serves as Chair of the Texas Opioid MDL Plaintiffs Steering Committee, a group that seeks to hold drug manufacturers and other supply chain corporations responsible for their role in creating and prolonging the opioid epidemic in Texas. In 2017, he filed the state's first opioid-related lawsuit against drug manufacturers and supply chain corporations on behalf of a governmental body. Jeffrey was one of the lead attorneys for Dallas County within the state's first opioid trial. Jeffrey is a frequent speaker on the scope of the opioid epidemic. For the past three years Jeffrey has served as co-chair of the national Opioid Litigation Conference, bringing together medical, legal, and law enforcement experts to discuss how to reduce the social and economic harms of opioid overuse.

Jay Lind is a 47 year-old addict in recovery. He has lived in and around Chicago for his entire life. He is a father of two, a former high school English teacher, and author of Between the Lines: A Memoir about Addiction, Empathy, and Evolution. For years, Jay Lind lived between the lines of society's moral and legal boundaries. But his smooth, privileged life was interrupted when his dad died and his drug addiction snowballed out of control. Between the Lines is the moving saga of Jay's descent into addiction, his darkest choices, and his struggles in recovery, as told through short vignettes about the many people who touched his life at some of the most critical times. Jay gained perspective and strength through the guiding words of his father, the unexpected strength of his brother's love, the heartfelt wisdom of his therapist, and the resilience of the addicts he met along the way. But he also learned from people he never thought he would know: a polygraph administrator, a humble celebrity, a veteran with PTSD, and the Assistant State's Attorney in charge of prosecuting him. If you've ever wondered whether the small interactions of our everyday lives truly matter, or whether a few kind words can really make a difference, Between the Lines reminds us that they do—and that they can. Bio: Jay Lind grew up in Oak Park, Illinois. After traveling the world, he came home to become an English teacher. He married a wonderful woman and they started a family. But when his father was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, his occasional drug use exploded into full-blown cocaine addiction, culminating in terrible choices that threatened everyone he loved. As an addict in recovery, Jay found the strength to bounce back from his collision with rock bottom. He continues to make progress today.

Ashleigh Nowakowski was born in 1984 in southeastern Wisconsin. Growing up with a sibling who struggled with substances created a home environment that was less than ideal. Once her brother found recovery, Ashleigh, along with her parents, created Your Choice to Live Inc., a non-profit organization specializing in drug and alcohol prevention education. For more than a decade, Ashleigh has been speaking in middle and high schools educating parents, teachers, and community members, and working with high-risk youth. Ashleigh is the voice of many who are silently living through their siblings' addiction. Ashleigh has a Master of Public Administration, a prevention specialist certification, and is working towards her substance abuse counselor certificate.

In 2009, Liz founded the nonprofit Horses Healing Hearts. Liz personally experienced the struggles of growing up in a turbulent alcoholic home. At the age of 24, Liz lost her mother to liver disease. During the last ten years of her mother's life, it was the support of mentors and horses that gave her the strength and inspiration to survive. Motivated to "pay it forward" Liz created HHH to help the children standing where she once stood. In her Executive Director role, she oversees the daily operation of the charity in close collaboration with and under the guidance of the HHH Board of Directors. In May 2016, Liz was invited to testify before the Bipartisan Task force to combat the Heroin epidemic. In support of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, she shared the detrimental effect of severe trauma these children may survive but then carry into adulthood. A prevention advocate, Liz urged lawmakers to create a more strategic approach providing services to ALL family members impacted by the family disease. Liz is a national subject matter expert and sought-after presenter on topics such as Children of Alcoholics/Addiction, Equine Assisted Therapy, and turning adversity into empowerment. Some of her presentations include: The ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experience ) Youth Eastern Summit 2017 (the same lecture forum as renowned experts as Dr. Vincent Felitti); Drug Endangered Children's Conference (Reno, NV 2016) and EAGALA National Conference (Kentucky 2016) (evidence based model). Since 2009, Liz has been published in Palm Beach Post and The Sun Sentinel almost a dozen times, as well as other periodicals such as Equestrian Living Magazine, Paradigm, Sidelines, Sober World, Are Bodega, and Wellington Magazine. Liz earned her Bachelor of Arts – Communications degree from University of Dayton in 1992. She is also certified in the EAGALA Model (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association) as an Equine Specialist.

I was a police officer for 26 years. Sixteen of those as an undercover narcotic agent rising to the position of Commander. I experienced many traumatic incidents during my career. In 1998, I was diagnosed with an incurable neuro-muscular disease that caused the loss of feeling, mobility, and strength in my hands and feet. After 30 surgeries to stabilize my feet, I developed an addiction to opioids. I was diagnosed with work-related PTSD, then my daughter was diagnosed with a serious illness with a poor prognosis. This caused me to go into a downward spiral that I never recovered from. After a failed suicide attempt, I made a series of poor decisions that landed me in federal prison. With the probability that I was going to go to prison and may die there, I answered the calling of God. God placed people in my path to teach me the gospel. I had never believed in God, but I knew that God was calling me to minister to police officers who are suffering from trauma. While in prison, I obtained a master's degree in Theology and Christian Counseling, a Doctorate Degree in Christian Counseling, and a Certificate as a California Registered Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counselor. While in prison, I counseled inmates, preached God's word, and led bible studies. God healed my daughter and healed my PTSD through the Christ-Centered Healing process. They experienced God's healing power and transformation through biblical principles. After just over 8 years of a 14-year sentence, I was released due to Covid-19. I was a police academy instructor and considered an expert in police tactics, pursuit driving, narcotic enforcement, the first responder culture, and first responder PTSD. I often speak to those who are suffering from traumatic experiences and who suffer from addiction. I am working as an Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counselor and do Pastoral Care in a men's residential rehabilitation facility in Northern California. I wrote the book called, Christ-Centered Healing of Trauma: Healing a Broken Heart and just finished the companion book, Christ-Centered Healing of Trauma: Study Guide, that's perfect for church small groups. These books are on-sale now at www.ChristCenteredHealingBook.com.

Kelli Richardson Lawson is an Emmy Award-winning creative visionary and purpose-driven business leader with over 30 years of global experience in brand-building. She is the founder and CEO of JOY Collective, a Black and woman-owned marketing and creative agency based in Washington, DC. JOY was named the 6th fastest growing agency of 2019 by AdWeek and recently won the 2020 Global SABRE Award for the Best Campaign for Dove/The CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair). In 2017, her eldest son entered high school and everything felt normal. He was a 15-year old freshman with straight A's, a host of friends, and a swimming career that brought him an invitation to attend the Olympic Training Center for a Diversity Camp. What Kelli and her husband didn't realize is that doctors would soon diagnose their beloved son with severe depression and anxiety in the spring of 2018. Upon hearing those words, a profound sense of shock and sadness reverberated through Kelli and her husband. Unfortunately, the situation and their ability to handle it continued on a "free fall" descent. When they found out that he had been experimenting with marijuana, they tried all of the parental tactics: they fought against it and declared "no drugs in our house" and the problem persisted. We punished, removed electronics, and even took the door off of the bedroom, and the problem persisted. We had him transported to a wilderness program in North Carolina followed by a therapeutic facility in Connecticut, but the treatments failed and his issues seemed to worsen. His grades dropped severely and eventually his love of swimming wained. Throughout it all, Kelli and her husband often felt scared, helpless, and alone, despite the many wonderful therapists they called upon, but over time, they opened up and discovered that other parents in their networks faced similar struggles. Kelli is also CEO of The SonRise Project, a safe space for parents of children who struggle with mental illness or addiction challenges. The SonRise Project is dedicated to helping sons and daughters lead mentally healthy lives while providing a safe space to share and support families dealing with mental illness and addiction issues across the country. These calls are meant to be a safe space to gather, share, and learn from experts and other parents who are experiencing mental challenges and addictive behaviors with their sons and daughters. During these calls, listeners are welcome to ask questions, share thoughts or simply listen as our experts cover various topics surrounding the mental wellness of our sons, daughters, and our families as a whole. Kelli hosts weekly calls every Sunday morning for parents to share in an environment that allows growth and healing. Kelli is a graduate of Howard University and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. https://www.thesonriseproject.com/

I'm Lea, a speech-language pathologist, mother, wife and teletherapy content developer. After two years of recovery and sobriety, I took the deep dive to write the book I needed to hear while I was neck deep in the darkness and despair of my husband's active addiction. I needed to hear the true story of someone who overcame incredible odds and came out better, stronger, and happier from their struggles. I never found the book I needed so I had no choice but to write it myself. With the help of copious amounts of coffee, my Al-Anon group, friends, and family, a fantastic editor and a graphic designer, I made my dream into print, audibook and e-reader form. But honestly I wanted to give up. I only stuck with it because I wanted to tell my story with the hope that someone would feel less alone. Feeling alone is the absolute worst feeling. I love to write and spend my time editing a state park newsletter (save the red bellied turtles!), teaching literacy to kindergarteners as a volunteer in my son's classroom, developing teletherapy content for use with children with special needs, and posting on social media about recovery and checking on my senior neighbors.

After College, Michael Brown was assigned to the DEA Detroit, Michigan Field Division Office. Director participated in several high-profile narcotics investigations and later volunteered for the first DEA Detroit Field Office Mobile Enforcement Team as the primary undercover agent and liaison officer with local and state law enforcement agencies. Director Brown (1991-1996) after successfully graduating from the Ranger Training Battalion was accepted into the DOJ- DEA's special operations program, Operation Snowcap, serving four tours of duty in Central and South America. During Director Brown's assignment he worked closely with Bolivian Counterdrug Special Forces units and was responsible for managing combat assault operations targeting clandestine narcotics manufacturing laboratories, clandestine air strips, illicit precursor chemical storage locations, locating fugitives and the development of counter-drug intelligence. During additional assignments in Pakistan, Director Brown worked in conjunction with the British Serious Organized Crime Agency and the British Special Air Service (SAS) Units pertaining joint counter-drug operations with the Pakistani Anti-Narcotics Special Investigative Intelligence Unit based in Quetta, Pakistan. Director Brown managed all joint undercover operations with Pakistan counterdrug units and developed operational field training programs. During 1999-2000, Director Brown volunteered for a six-month Tour-of-Duty to Port-a-Prince, Haiti, acting as the principal training officer for the Haitian Counterdrug Maritime Unit. In 2004, Director Brown was transferred to the DEA Houston Field Division, where he was responsible for managing DEA investigations, participating in undercover street operations, and coordinating enforcement actions with other Federal/State law enforcement agencies. During 2019 to 2021 Director Brown was transferred to the DEA headquarters in Washington D.C. Director Brown was assigned as Staff Coordinator for the DEA Office of Foreign Operations (OFE) for Middle East-Europe-Afghanistan-India. During June 1, 2021, Director Brown, retired after 32 years as a special agent for DEA and started his new position with Rigaku Analytical Devices as the Director of Counter-Narcotics Interdiction Partnerships. Rigaku is the leader in the development of specialized counter-narcotics analyzers for the identification of unknown substances. In this new role, Director Brown is responsible for designing and implementing strategic planning to enhance the ability of law enforcement agencies using advanced technology to identify and mitigate the threat posed by Transnational Organized Criminal groups and their proxies related to trafficking in dangerous narcotics and illicit precursor chemicals. Director Brown's vision incorporates the use of advanced law enforcement technology as a critical tool in combating the evolution of Transnational Organized Crime groups as they progress in the development of new precursor and pre-precursor chemicals essential to clandestine drug production and international drug distribution.

Nadia Davis is the recipient of multiple state and national public service awards and has been a public figure in California for over two decades. As a young high-profile lawyer, Nadia served on the school board and represented the wrongfully convicted. She then led local and state efforts to improve collaboration of services for victims of interpersonal violence and was elected as county supervisor. She is the former long-time spouse of Bill Lockyer, California's former Attorney General and Treasurer, with whom she now happily co-parents. Her experience with PTSD and addiction in the trenches of a highly publicized abusive relationship led Davis through the challenges of public shaming, injustice, arrests, mandated treatment, and a total lack of privacy for personal issues. Her memoir, Home is Within You, details her courageous journey to wholeness and health in a powerful homage to finding one's truth and worth. Nadia captures heritage, justice, and personal recovery into a tour de force utilizing prose, poetry, and letters to her sons. It is also a defense of privacy and motherhood, as well as a call to action against shaming of women and ineffective, often damaging policies toward struggling families. Davis suggests more compassionate methods of treatment and restorative justice enabling those in recovery from trauma and addiction to ultimately find their personal truth and strength within.

Well obviously my name is Josh. Basically in a nutshell as it were I was a careered musician and was very successful in many capacities. I once owned a recording studio with Gordon Raphael (producer of the strokes & Regina Spektor) after getting my own record deal I worked on my debut album with Anthony Braun Perry and Scott Montoya (both from the band the growlers) and was well on my way. I have met and worked with many successful musicians and others in the entertainment business for years, and had built up quite a catalogue of gear and equipment along with a nice shiny resume. I had a house a supportive girlfriend who actually quit her job to work with me on my career full time because she believed in mine that much. I had custody of my autistic and diabetic son from a previous relationship. Life was good then I gave it all away for one small yet very big thing. That thing was so elusive and so deceitful. It was so romantic looking and yet so insidious. That thing was heroin. I've dabbled in drugs and alcohol for a long time and they sunk their teeth into my life long ago but I was always able to go dry for a while so I thought I had it under control. Through everything I've lost and all the problems I've gained it all changed October 1st, 2021. You see after a few jail stints and a prison sentence I basically just resigned myself to drugs and thought ok music is over so I'll become a full-fledged criminal. But this last year I got in trouble once again with the law and to my surprise instead of sending me back to prison they gave me probation and when I screwed that up I thought surely they'll send me back now but they didn't; they gave me a corrections based treatment program. When I left there I relapsed once again while living with my brother and ended up getting into a huge fight with him about who was the better addict. My brother had his own demons but in his mind he was ok because he was still living in his own place with a job and a car. So he kicked me out after the fight and that was the last I ever spoke to him. I feel very fortunate indeed but it came with a price and with consequences. Sadly my brother passed away from drugs a few months ago as did my ex girlfriend so those things and a few other things blessed me with the gift of desperation. But I'll tell you, through my brother's death I was able to be reborn. On September 31st, 2021 I was parked in a car I had borrowed from a friend while he was doing some time in jail and I tried to shoot myself in the head not long after I found out about my brother. However, before I could get the gun against my temple it randomly went off right before I got it in the place I wanted. So I had just done a bunch of heroin and from the adrenaline shock and the last bit of drugs; I fell asleep and woke up to cops knocking on the window of the car I was in. They found me with a gun, drugs and all sorts of other illegal things. They should have taken me back to jail then prison, as I'm already on probation. They were about to, when all of a sudden the police officer asked me what I was doing with the gun and I told him. So he doesn't say much and we get in the car and I assume I'm going back to jail to finish my sentence and we pull up to this building I've never seen and I say where are we? He says I'm bringing you here to detox because I don't think you need jail or prison again. You have quite a rap sheet and it won't fix you to go back. I think you need help, so do yourself a favor and get it. That was my higher power working in my life and I felt it for the first time in a long time. That was October 1st, 2021 and I've been sober ever since. I go to meetings; reach out to people; and help wherever I can; and I work a 12 step program. I honestly wish I would have started a long time ago because it's the best thing I've ever done aside from having my son. So yeah! My recovery comes first as does my program. I surrendered myself to a higher power and realized my life was unmanageable and that I desperately needed and wanted a change. Now I'm learning to love myself again and I started some projects but I'm focusing on helping other bands again but I also help other addicts. My story could be so much longer but this is as I said in a nutshell!

On October 4, 2016, the trajectory of Jeff's life changed with one phone call. Prior to that day, Jeff was living the American Dream. He had a great family, was a successful entrepreneur running a financial services firm in Iowa, and was seemingly coasting through life. The morning of October 4, 2016 Jeff received the phone call that is every parent's worst nightmare. His oldest son, Seth, had died from fentanyl poisoning. He was 23 years old. Jeff soon realized that he had two options. He could go down a road of anger and despair and become bitter, or he could use his situation as motivation to become better. He chose the latter. Jeff decided to take a step back from his career as a financial advisor and focus his attention toward making a difference. He became an advocate for bringing awareness to substance use and addiction in teens & young adults. He began speaking at high schools and community events and joined the board of a local treatment facility that Seth spent time at before his death. In 2020, Jeff founded his own non-profit, Choices Network, Ltd. dedicated to educating kids, parents, teachers & coaches on the importance of making positive choices. That same year, he wrote his first book, "This One's for You: An Inspirational Journey Through Addiction, Death and Meaning" and started the Living Undeterred Project. Jeff is currently organizing the Living Undeterred Tour with the goal of building a network of contacts and resources to help develop alternative solutions to the mental health and addiction crises.

"Big Al" Szolack (born 1950) is a retired American basketball player best known for his time spent on the Washington Generals, the traveling exhibition team who plays against, and always loses to, the Harlem Globetrotters. He played for just the 1974–75 season, one in which the Generals lost all 245 contests. Szolack became a favorite among the Globetrotters and was selected as the "unwitting" participant in many of their pre-determined entertainment plays. Szolack was raised in Woodbury, New Jersey. He was described as "reed-thin" but was a "sniper" on the basketball court while playing for Woodbury High School, from which he graduated in 1968. His ability earned him all-conference and all-county honors, and Szolack then continued his career at Atlantic Cape Community College for two years. After community college, Szolack attended Glassboro State College (now called Rowan University), a then-NAIA school located in Glassboro, New Jersey. He was an integral player on the team, serving as one of their best substitutes off of the bench for head coach Jack Collins. In both seasons the team qualified for the national tournament. Szolack graduated from Glassboro State in the spring of 1973. Right after college, Szolack tried out for the Scranton Apollos in the Eastern Professional Basketball League, but he was the last cut and did not make the roster. He came upon the Washington Generals when he went to see the Globetrotters at the Spectrum in Philadelphia and obtained Red Klotz' phone number. Szolack spent the next year touring the world and playing against (losing to) the Globetrotters. They played seven days a week and sometimes played twice in a day. After his exhibition basketball career ended, he moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and became a bartender. Then, his 54-year-old mother—with whom he was very close—died from a heart attack. He began to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol, and even admitted later to using up to $1,000 worth of cocaine per day for a time. From ages 27 through 34, Szolack's life was in ruins. In an interview, he later admitted, "Drugs turned me into a thief, a liar, a cheat ... One day I found myself sitting in a corner, holding a shotgun. I lived the life of a vampire, peeking out windows for hours at a time. Sometimes I had only enough energy to get from the bed to the sofa. I was sick, very sick. I didn't live ... I existed." He now goes by the nickname Al "Hugs Not Drugs" Szolack and serves as an abuse awareness director at Hammonton High School in Hammonton, New Jersey. He is also a motivational speaker and runs an annual basketball camp which he calls "Big Al's Basketball Camp." Szolack travels across the United States giving speeches, many times at colleges and universities, and he is on the NCAA-approved speaker roster.

Aaron Reed accepted an International teaching position at a prestigious prep school in S.E. Asia, and in 2006, he and his wife relocated their lives to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Soon after the birth of his daughter in 2009, he found myself swallowed into the belly of the city's drug scene with a raging meth addiction. Within months he was recruited as a drug mule working for both the Nigerian and Khmer cartels, running kilos from S. America to S.E. Asia to support his habit. He lost his job, his wife and his child. In Bogota, 2015, he was finally arrested while muling three kilos onto a plane and was thrown into Colombia's most feared and treacherous prison. The prison experience proved to be the worst and best experience of his life. He has been sober since 2016 and has since published a true crime novel detailing both his downward spiral into addiction and his road to recovery.

Dr. Tracy Strawberry is an international speaker, published author, CEO, and wife of baseball legend Darryl Strawberry. After many years of battling addiction, alcoholism and other life controlling issues, Tracy surrendered her life to Jesus Christ and experienced a radical life transformation through the power of God and the process of change. By sharing her testimony openly, with biblical solutions and practical application, Tracy is a highly sought after international speaker with requests to deliver her powerful messages of how to experience lasting change, re-inventing yourself, experiencing God in the most difficult of times, overcoming your past, and becoming the very best "you" that God created you to be, and much, much more! Tracy now holds a Doctorate Degree in Theology, with a focused study in Cultural Restoration and Leadership. She holds her Masters Degree in Business Administration and Management, with a Bachelors in Ministry Leadership. Dr. Strawberry is the Author of several publications including, Clean Sober & Saved, a Christ-Centered Recovery Curriculum that is established globally. In her weekly programs and traveling ministry, she teaches biblical truth with practical application to deliver a message of faith, redeeming hope, restoration and freedom in Jesus Christ. Tracy believes that those who are lost will be found and those who are bound will be free! Alongside her biblical teaching and preaching platform, she is an international business consultant with a specialty in assisting Pastors, Governments, and other Leaders with infrastructure and organizational development, strategic planning, and the creation of innovative solutions needed to reach culturally diverse demographics and territories.

Robert grew up in small town Georgia, admittedly more interested in sports and the outdoors than academics. He graduated high school in 1998, attended Marion Military Institute from 1999-2000 and earned a Bachelor of Science from the United States Air Force Academy in 2003. Earning the rank of 2nd Lieutenant at graduation, Robert went on to flight training, first at Vance AFB, then being awarded his pilot wings at Ft Rucker, AL, in 2005. Throughout his career, he flew over 1500 flight hours as a UH-1N Instructor Pilot and a HH-60G Pilot. Diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and a Traumatic Brain Injury, he was medically retired at the rank of Major in 2015, after 12-1/2 years of service. Major Scoggins is a combat Veteran of Balad AB Iraq; Khandahar Airfield and Camp Bastion, Afghanistan; and Camp Lemmonier, Djibouti, Horn of Africa. As a HH-60G Combat Rescue Pilot, he conducted 252 Combat Missions, totaled 291 Rescued/Recovered, and 151 Lives Saved. Over 200 of those missions and almost all of the 291 Americans, allies, and civilians were in Afghanistan, 2010. Robert is married to Jacqueline Scoggins and is the proud father to four uniquely creative and beautiful children. He lives with his family in Colorado where he gets by as a full-time dad, and a part-time writer, speaker, painter, farmer, and entrepreneur.

Author Peter E. Murphy looks forward to celebrating his 50th year of sobriety after waking up in a gutter when he was 21. He has since fashioned a life of service to others by leading hundreds of workshops for thousands of writers and teachers in the United States and abroad. In addition to being the founder of Murphy Writing of Stockton University, Peter has been a consultant to numerous organizations including The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Educational Testing Service and countless school districts from coast to coast. He has been an educational advisor to three PBS television series on poetry with Bill Moyers. And after his second visit to the Rose Garden where he was recognized as a Distinguished Teacher by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars in the Arts, Bill and Hillary Clinton added Peter to their Christmas card list. Peter began writing his memoir in progress, "Once Upon a Time You Lived in a Castle," to better understand how his mother's suicide and ongoing abuse by a priest led to his addiction to alcohol as a teenager. Writing in general and poetry in particular led Peter from New York City, where he grew up, back to Wales, where he was born, and where he decided to rise out of the gutter and change his life.

Andrew Zimmern knew from a young age he wanted a career in food. After attending The Dalton School and Vassar College, he cooked in New York City restaurants for Anne Rosenzweig, Joachim Splichal and Thomas Keller, amongst others. Andrew helped open and run a dozen restaurants, and at the same time was also an addict spiraling out of control. After a year spent living on the streets, an intervention by close friends brought him to the Hazelden Foundation in Minnesota. Transforming his life around sobriety, Andrew took a job washing dishes at Minneapolis' Café Un Deux Trois. In 1992, he was named executive chef and during his six-year tenure, turned Un Deux Trois into an awarded, national caliber restaurant. An Emmy-winning and four-time James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, writer and teacher, Andrew Zimmern is regarded as one of the most knowledgeable personalities in the food world. As the creator, executive producer and host of Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods franchise, Andrew Zimmern's Driven by Food and Emmy-winning The Zimmern List, he has devoted his life to exploring and promoting cultural acceptance, tolerance and understanding through food. In 2020, Andrew returned to television with the MSNBC series What's Eating America. His latest series, Family Dinner, airs on Chip & Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Network and steams on Discovery+.

Danny Strong is a multi-award winning writer, director, actor, producer who is the creator, showrunner and director of the hit Hulu series Dopesick, starring Michael Keaton and Rosario Dawson. He was also the co-creator, executive producer, writer and director for the hit FOX series Empire. He also wrote the screenplays for the films Recount, Game Change, The Butler, Rebel in the Rye (which he also directed) and co-wrote The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 & 2. He won two Primetime Emmy Awards, two WGA awards, a Peabody and a Golden Globe Award for Game Change, and earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for Recount. As an actor, he's appeared in major roles in a number of iconic TV shows and films, including Billions, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gilmore Girls, Justified, Girls and Mad Men.

Rick Mountcastle served as a federal prosecutor for more than 32 years, first at the Department of Justice and later at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia. As a senior trial attorney in DOJ's Criminal Tax Enforcement Section, he prosecuted criminal tax cases throughout the United States. In 1993, Rick was awarded DOJ's highest honor, the Attorney General's Award for the Trial of Litigation, for his work as the lead prosecutor in the trial and conviction of a Russian organized crime leader and his associates for a multi-million dollar motor fuel excise tax scheme, United States v. Balagula, et al., in the Eastern District of New York. While at the U.S. Attorney's Office from 1995 through 2018, Rick served in numerous roles, including as a criminal division Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA), a civil division AUSA, the chief of the civil division, the First Assistant U.S. Attorney, the Principal Deputy U.S. Attorney, and the interim U.S. Attorney. He was the lead prosecutor on several high-profile health care fraud cases, including the first Purdue Pharma prosecution (featured in the Hulu series "Dopesick"), the criminal and civil false claims prosecution of Abbott Laboratories for the fraudulent marketing of the anti-epileptic Depakote, and the Universal Health Services, Inc. False Claims Act litigation. Rick previously served four years as an active duty Army JAG officer and 24 years as a National Guard and Army Reserve JAG officer.

Mary Sue is a film editor, filmmaker and video journalist. She specializes in Avid editing, and also shoots and produces her own independent films. Mary Sue has worked on feature documentaries as well as TV segments, news clips, ads, promos and online content. Mary Sue divides her time between Brooklyn, New York and Ireland. Mary Sue Connolly is an Irish filmmaker and former Editor/Producer for CNN and CBS. Overdosed is a documentary directed and created by Mary Sue. This film highlights the troubling turmoil of the deadly American opioid crisis as it unfolds in the small town of Petersburg in rural West Virginia, the state hardest hit by this epidemic. Through interviews with former drug dealers, over-prescribing doctors, DEA agents and local community members, Mary Sue Connolly uncovers a shocking narrative of the pharmaceutical industry's intentional plan to target opioid sales to an impoverished, under-served community and the resulting addiction, prison and overdose cycles of its citizens. Overdosed follows the perspectives of various members of the community, with a focus on a former drug dealer named Bre McUlty (who also serves as producer on this project). Having grown up in a home torn apart by drugs and forced to survive by any means necessary, her story offers one of hope. She transformed her life after serving five years in federal prison, much of it in solitary confinement. Bre weaves the narrative as she tours the decimated region, blending her personal story of addiction and destitution with that of the rest of the town's victims. Overdosed focuses further on giant pharmaceutical companies and their responsibility for the over-distribution of legal addictive opioids and the consequences that have led to the escalation of both a legal and illegal drug epidemic. The film also features Kevin Bowman Kevin Bowman has a history of addiction and being in and out of prison and literally had a spiritual revolution and made a vow to himself to change his life and he did. He is now working and living in Huntington, married with a son and a daughter about to arrive any day.

Pam Gaslow designed catalogs for J. Crew, performed stand-up comedy, even worked as Henri Bendel's only female security guard. Pam Gaslow has had an eventful life -- including once being threatened by her family with disownment over her Depressed Hot Girl blog -- and it's about to get even more so with her first-personal confessional, "DON'T BRING YOUR VIBRATOR TO REHAB: A Somewhat Comedic Memoir." It's a hilarious chronicle of her journey toward sobriety from a toxic marijuana addiction, told with candor, honesty, absurdism, and the trademark wit that has brought her to comedy club stages across the country. The New York-born writer is also a contributor to The Huffington Post, The Good Men Project, The Times of Israel, and Newsbreak. Gaslow, who also works as a mixed-media artist, once owned and designed children's clothing lines under the brands Pamela Jo (for girls) and Handsome Jack (for boys). Now based in Miami, she is sober and enjoys visiting petting zoos on weekends.

Brian is a graduate of Penn State University and The University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He has been in long term recovery from alcohol, cocaine and bulimia since April of 2007. Recognized for his memoir, The Addicted Lawyer: Tales of the Bar, Booze, Blow, and Redemption, an unflinching look at how addiction and other mental health issues shattered his successful career, he frequently speaks on the topics of addiction, legal ethics, recovery, and redemption at colleges, universities, conferences, non-profits, and legal events across the United States and in Canada. His columns have appeared—and he has been quoted on these topics—online and in print newspapers around the world. He is a graduate of Penn State University and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He currently resides in Dallas, Texas, with his wife and two cats. Brian is the younger brother of Dallas Mavericks owner and entrepreneur Mark Cuban. The Ambulance Chaser is his first novel.

Ed Bisch's son died of an overdose of Oxycontin. Ed didn't sit by. He started researching Oxycontin and its manufacturer - Purdue Pharma; AND the family behind it - The Sacklers. He has been fighting this battle for years and doesn't see giving up until both the company and the family are made to take responsibility for the countless deaths due to oxycontin addiction and overdose. In December 2020, Ed appeared in the MSNBC special - The Forgotten Epidemic. Beth Macy parsed her evolution from papergirl to ink-stained author with Longform Podcast host Evan Ratliff: literally being the only female newspaper deliverer in my small Ohio hometown, where she learned to roam around talking (interviewing, really) to all kinds of people. It's still her favorite thing to do. Among her favorite essays is a 2021 New York Times piece about the rural-urban divide and about the fiercely loving and complicated relationship she had with her mom, a displaced factory worker who taught her feistiness, introduced her to libraries, and a love of home cooking and rescue dogs. Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local—and Helped Save an American Town 2014 Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother's Quest: A True Story of the Jim Crow South 2016 Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America 2018 Finding Tess: A Mother's Search for Answers in a Dopesick America 2019

Ashley Bedsole: I am a stay at home mom to four kids, 3 boys and a little girl. I homeschool my oldest 2 boys and my two toddlers. I also run the household. I started my blog in August of 2021- a year after my father passed away. I started off writing about grief and loss, family life, addiction and recovery. Once I started writing about the experience my husband and I had in treatment together, I realized that many people were intrigued by our story and wanted to know more. I write it in parts now and created a private contact sheet on my site so that I could connect with my readers. The outpouring of support has been amazing, I would eventually like to take the addiction and recovery part of my blog and turn it in to a book. I want to help as many people as possible and show that recovery is not one size fits all! My husband and I just recently celebrated our 3rd year of clean and sober living.

With the recent series on Hulu - Dopesick (based on the book by Beth Macy) - there is even more light to be shed on the shady tactics by Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family. This podcast features kick-ass, freedom fighter mom Cynthia Munger; and best selling author of the book - Pharma - Gerald Posner. Together they discuss the recent bankruptcy ruling and what's in store for the Sacklers going forward.