Something with Substance

Hey, it’s Julie, talking with Joanne Peterson from Learn to Cope again. It’s been fifteen years since Learn to Cope was formed. Learn to Cope is a peer led, family support system that serves families whose loved one is struggling with addiction. My family is one of the many beneficiaries of Joanne Peterson’s weekly meetings (Quincy contingent). Learn to Cope has an event coming up October 17 to recognize those who’ve made things better along the way, to celebrate the friendships that have developed and to remember those who’ve lost their lives to addiction. I thought now would be a good time to find out how much progress has been made in the last fifteen years regarding addiction, addiction treatment, the stigma of being addicted and the role of big pharma in the current opioid epidemic.  (Hint: Big pharma is guilty as hell: read here) What I learned from this conversation is compassion is still in short supply for those who are struggling with addiction and for the people who love them. We can do better. We must do better. And, IMHO, it’s going to take a substantial paradigm shift regarding how we understand a human being’s authority over their own body in all matters. So many of us, all over the planet, use substances for a myriad of reasons. The most socially acceptable in this society is alcohol. But you and I both know cannabis, cocaine, speed, hallucinogens, opiates, sedatives, tranquilizers etc etc etc are also used recreationally. It isn’t until the substance become ‘problematic’ that the person imbibing is culturally negatively labeled. Otherwise it’s party on dude, especially with alcohol. I’m not here to condone or condemn. What I would like is a more honest conversation about drug and alcohol use. For tickets to the event and more information on Learn to Cope, click here:  https://www.learn2cope.org/   

Once again, Learn to Cope founder Joanne Peterson is my guest. I wanted to talk with her about the current status of Attorney General Maura Healey’s litigation against Oxycontin pushers Purdue Pharma that’s been in the papers recently. Enlightening to say the least. We find out Friday (February 1, 2019, tomorrow) if we get to see the information Purdue wants held from the public. Go get ‘em AG Healey. Also, here are a couple of articles that pretty much have me in a rage, and a link to the Attorney General’s office if you have a story to share that could help the case. And as always, if you or a family member is struggling with addiction please reach out to Learn to Cope. There are meetings and an anonymous message board with support and compassionate, helpful information.  https://www.learn2cope.org/ https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/01/30/healey-suit-shows-recipe-for-addiction/vN7skjkLlSTESFvH7uLtJI/story.html?fbclid=IwAR33QOP7WFTGdb8png46BFp_VwKJVe16T2LNigs4u34TGzdrEn4wm7EZlFY https://www.alternet.org/2019/01/how-trump-can-tackle-a-genuine-national-emergency-and-look-good-to-his-base-without-building-a-wall/ https://www.mass.gov/orgs/office-of-attorney-general-maura-healey

The voters of the commonwealth have spoken and the majority of us would like the adult population to be able to use cannabis recreationally (again) without going to jail. After two years of handwringing and stalling by the state, and ‘not in my backyard’ community voting (“What about the children???”  Yea? Whatabout the liquor stores?), two recreational ‘marijuana dispensaries’ have finally opened….waaaaay out in western Massachusetts. Long lines, terrible traffic, a few badly behaved cannabis customers relieving themselves on residents yards (please knock that off) and a couple million dollars spent on marijuana products in less than a week, illegal users have come out of the shadows. Yes. All of ‘those people’, of all ages and all backgrounds, have been using cannabis illegally for goodness knows how long and for just as many different reasons. In this segment of “Something With Substance” I have a matter of fact conversation with Daniel Ameduri. His name came ‘across my desk’ with the title “Is It Worth Legalizing Pot To Light Up Your State’s Economy?” I was curious if it is worth it. So I asked his publicist if Daniel and I could have a conversation and voila!

Have you ever read an article or an opinion piece and wished you could talk with the person who wrote it? Me too. After reading the piece below and some of the public responses to said piece, I decided to send an email to Buzzfeed reporter Dan Vergano and find out who he was and how he came to write what he wrote. Dan was funny, generous and also very knowledgeable about the current opioid epidemic. https://www.buzzfeed.com/danvergano/the-opioid-crisis-isnt-a-metaphor?utm_term=.rdJPVaJDl#.aeYklX91Z 

I frequently get email inquiries from publishers wanting to know if I’d like to interview a person about their new book and so many times I’ve seen topics that have caught my attention and wished I could speak with the author. Well, now I have this platform. I was SO excited to be able to say “yes I’d love to talk with Edward Rosenfeld about The Book Of Highs, 255 Ways To Alter Your Consciousness Without Drugs! And after researching Mr. Rosenfeld, I was even more intrigued. He is, by far, one of the most interesting, intelligent, conscious men I’ve ever spoken with. I could feel his energy over the phone line. This book is just a small part of Edward Rosenfeld. Talking with him left me with more questions. I’m hoping for another opportunity to speak with him again one day. In the meantime, here’s something else he’s working on, currently under construction…and not a moment too soon. http://worldworking.net/

Hi! It’s Julie. This is Podcast #3. Longtime local harm reduction advocate Gary Langis (soft “g” in Langis) is my guest. He talks about what harm reduction is, how far we’ve come in protecting those who are marginalized in society and how far we have yet to go. (Hint: we still have a long way to go.) If you’d like more information on harm reduction, here’s a couple links to some helpful sites; one is national, one is local. http://harmreduction.org/ http://harmreduction.org/connect-locally/massachusetts/northeast-behavioral-health/

Hi, Julie Devereaux here. For this podcast, I talk with Alexis Pleus (she says it’s “Ploose…like loose!”) ☺. Alexis lost her son to an overdose and has subsequently formed an organization called Truth Pharm.  Though this opioid epidemic is tragic and ugly, the beauty is in people like Alexis who I believe are leading us in a more civilized, compassionate direction. Here’s a link to Truth Pharm: http://truthpharm.org/