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