10. Addiction is Not a Crime, with Chris Dreisbach

Addiction is Not a Crime

Ken’s guest is Chris Dreisbach, a very different sort of drug warrior. Chris is CEO of Blueprints for Addiction Recovery, Inc., a multi-site drug and alcohol treatment provider, and co-founder of Second Chance PA, a pre-arrest diversionary program offering individuals opportunities for treatment instead of incarceration. What “sticks in Ken’s craw” this week is “Laws that kill citizens”.

Found in this episode:

What’s in the Mail Bag? 00:02:30-00:14:00

• Why would anyone want to be a politician?
• Spiderman’s advice for police officers
• Davy Crockett on housing affordability issues
• A fracking severance tax and “blood for oil”

A Conversation with Chris Dreisbach 00:16:15-00:45:00

• Providing a second chance for those with addiction problems
• Being at the right place at the right time
• Addiction - a brain disease
• Treatment center or a jail bed?
• Working with local law enforcement to help get people the proper treatment
• The steps to recovery

What Sticks in Ken’s Craw? Laws Killing Citizens 00:47:15-00:56:00

• Every 2.5 hours another Pennsylvanian dies because of the Opioid Crisis
• More citizens die from opioids than were killed in the Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq Wars combined, more than are now lost to guns and car accidents.
• The Opioid Crisis is a direct result of the War on Drugs.
• Portugal's solution: They ended their insane War on Drugs.
• According to Portuguese Health Ministry:

1. Reduced opioid use by 75%
2. Reduced opioid deaths by 85%
3. Reduced HIV infections by more than 90%

• It boggles the mind that some Pennsylvania politicians are doubling down on their insane War on Drugs

More Information:

Guests:
Blueprints for Addiction Recovery http://www.blueprintsrecovery.com
Second Chance Pa www.secondchancepa.com
A New Life Kitchens www.anlkitchensandbaths.com
American Society of Addiction Medicine http://asam.org/docs/default-source/advocacy/opioid-addiction-disease-facts-figures.pdf?sfvrsn=100c76c2_12#search=%222016%20facts%22
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Opioid statistics: http://pa.gov/guides/opioid-epidemic/
Opioid-Related Overdose Deaths: http://mass.gov/files/documents/2017/08/31/data-brief-overdose-deaths-may-2017.pdf
Scientific American Opioid Study: http://scientificamerican.com/article/people-are-dying-because-of-ignorance-not-because-of-opioids/
NY Times on Portugal:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/22/opinion/sunday/portugal-drug-decriminalization.html
National Institute of Health on Overdoses: https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates

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