Alderman Ricardo Munoz and the Traditions of AA

Chicago, they say is called “The Windy City” not because of a weather condition but because of the legendary dirty politics; a reference to the “wind bag” politicians. Alderman Ricardo Munoz is no stranger to controversy and questionable ethics.  Recently, Munoz disclosed he is an alcoholic and he sought treatment at an outpatient clinic.

Some would say this is a premature announcement, others would claim its inappropriate.  We all love the stories of redemption, those stories of people who were destroying their life, learned their lesson, and then moved on with their life to share their story and save others. The problem with this paradigm is that it is rare and can serve as a source of shame for people who don’t fit into this mold. Additionally, many people try to force their square peg into this round hole, abandoning honesty in lieu of fitting in.

This brings up the whole issue of anonymity in the recovery world.  There are a few ideas about this. The 12 step guard, fiercely defending the traditions of AA would say we must “always maintain anonymity at the level of press, radio, and film” .   The AA traditions seem to be solid, they have worked for a long time but there is an arrogance associated with this idea. It assumes that everyone who is in need of an arresting alcoholism is a 12 step zealot. Not True. It also assumes that advocacy is self-disclosure, also not true. There are many roads to Damascus and while, I believe that 12 step is what works the best for the most, who really knows. Alcoholism, the forgotten step child of public health, isn’t researched all that well so largely what we are doing is throwing pasta at the wall and seeing what sticks. Can you imagine if this is what we did with other diseases that impacted every American?

I think we need to re-think and update the very fabric of how we approach this issue and its long reaching tentacles. I am all for people sharing their struggles with alcoholism. I also don’t think we need to hide the imperfect struggle most people experience. I have no idea how effective Munoz is as a city official but I certainly support his decision to come forward and share his story. The HIV community clued in right away that silence=Death. Will we make that same discovery?

Damon Evans Fired For DUI!

Damon Evans has been fired as the University of Georgia’s athletic director after a DUI arrest.  It seems as though Evans forgot he was no longer a fraternity boy and currently an administrator at a major research institution. Police reports indicate that he had with him, a young woman (arrested for disorderly conduct in the incident) and red panties on his lap. No reports if the panties belonged to his passenger.  Evans made an attempt to coerce the officers into letting him go with a warning. They didn’t.  Who could defend this behavior? I always side with the drunk and I can’t come up with a defense. I will say that if Evans were white, we would have never heard of this. The officers would have driven him home and kept it all quiet, especially if UGA had a current championship football team. Call me crazy, but this all went down in Georgia. This is not to say that the arresting officers did anything wrong by arresting Evans. It is to say in the alcohol fueled sports world, there is a wide berth when interpreting the law, wider for tailbacks than lineman, wider for white people than black people. It’s just how it is. One of the things that is so wrong about our drug and alcohol policy is that black people pay a much higher price than white people. I don’t think that is unique to drugs but it seems more severe because its one of the ways we keep putting black people in jail.

He has made a public mea culpa and talked about the “dark cloud of shame” he has placed over UGA. Really? He did that? I am sure DUI’s are fairly common on the UGA campus. Granted as a faculty member it is different from a student doing this. Georgia chose to fire him. Yes, they fired him. God I hope Doug Tieman doesn’t read my blog, but he is the CEO of a treatment center and had a similar incident and he wasn’t fired. He is white, so I am sure that helps.

I did some research into the UGA alcohol and other drug policy. They do have a treatment program which is pretty standard fare. Students can be referred through various avenues mostly due to violations. So in otherwords, treatment is “clinical detention”.  It seems that the firing of Evans is a way the University can save face, can “do something” about it.  Did anyone consider a treatment option? Was that ever brought up at any of the meetings held to discuss what to do about this?

I really love colleges, I don’t like college because it is tedious and boring, but I like campuses and undergraduates, so I jump on issues like this one and I think Universities have a cultural responsibility to lead the way. Remember the 60’s? Didn’t we take cultural leadership from places like Berkeley? UGA could have handled this differently. I’ll bet there is a recovery community in Athens, GA. Did they make their voice heard? A sit in? A cold metal folding chair sat in front of the president’s office to demonstrate that Evan’s likely meets criteria for alcoholism and that he can be helped. He can get better and be an even better athletic director. I am guessing that nobody did that.  I wish the University president had called us, I would have encouraged him to deliver the following in a press conference: “in light of the recent arrest of Damon Evan, he has been placed on a medical leave while he undergoes a comprehensive assessment and likely treatment for alcoholism. We will take into consideration the opinions of those treating him before any final decisions are made regarding his future at UGA” Is that so hard?

What’s The DEA Selling These Days?!?!

I like to keep up on the DEA, just to see what they are up to. Nothing much changes, they list their most wanted, state-by-state, they state their latest bust of whatever drug cartel. There is no mention about how many people are engaged into an intoxicant free lifestyle, more than likely that is because they don’t really do all that much. The DEA, I guess is an important agency, they must do something. I don’t know what they do but they consume huge amounts of money, so let’s take it on faith that they do something.  I resent them because they are so well-funded when people really in the trenches in the drug war are ill-equipped and poorly supported. I had a field placement in a social work program at New York Hospital, people coming in with needles broken off in their arm, seizures, over-doses. It was gritty stuff. The copy machine NEVER worked, ever, it was a complete piece of shit. I am sure the DEA never has this problem. I’ll bet they have a decent coffee maker too.

Perusing the DEA website, I happened upon their gift shop. Gift Shop? The DEA sells gifts? Who would want a DEA gift? What is a DEA gift? Looking through the DEA gift shop, there are some very disturbing items. The DEA rubber ducky struck me as particularly strange. A classic tub toy, cute, fun but even more special since it has a police hat and DEA logo on it.  Is the duck able to bust into an apartment when not floating in a tub? The t-shirts, somehow were less odd. In addition to the duck, the DEA offers toddler romper suits that read “I’m gonna catch some bad guys, right after my nap”.  Clearly the DEA doesn’t like addicts. They consider them ‘bad” and they want to instill that into the new generation of romper suit wearers.

There is some kind of campy appeal to this. I think I will buy a stockpile of them and it will be my signature baby gift, along with a DEA duck.

A&E and Reality tv

I had a brief yet glorious career as part of A&E’s galaxy of stars. Me, dog the bounty hunter, and the guy with the disturbing hair that catches raccoons in peoples attics. The short version is that it sucked, the experience sucked, it took forever and nothing really happened, and now it’s over. A rant will ensue, make no mistake. Is it the anger of a disgruntled would be/ never was star? I guess there is an element of that but not really, I have other offers from other TV networks trying to get their share of the addiction/recovery pie. Is this right? Watching people and their dissent into the fray of addiction? Who knows, there are valid arguments for and against, maybe it’s two rights clashing?  As with everything dealing with addictive disease, there are no easy answers.

I don’t hate A&E for the obvious oversight that had “One Man Rehab” continued they would have expanded their audience to include teen girls with a crush on me. Not to mention the publicity they would have received when I was named “the sexiest interventionist alive” by People magazine. I hate A&E because they pulled the plug on their support of the recovery rally in New York City. The recovery rally is/was a critical event. It was a celebration of people in recovery complete with a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, speaker, music, etc. It put addiction on the same plane as other diseases, like HIV, breast cancer, etc. They all have walks in the city, our city, the metropolis of the American dream, New York, New York.  The exec’s at A&E have been avoidant, non responsive and dodged the questions regarding the event entirely. They have said they will be “doing something” but are non-committal as to what that “something” is, also they won’t answer how much money they will commit to the event, Additionally, they have told me the “permits alone will cost between 20 and 35k”. The city says ‘a few hundred-dollar processing fee”. So what’s going on? I really don’t know but whatever it is, it’s not good.  It’s not an expansion of the event, it’s an erosion of it. They killed it.

A&E is certainly under no obligation to underwrite an event for the recovering community. It needs to be said that not doing so is just not cool, ethical, or respectable. “Intervention” is their highest rated show, they make millions from it and yet they can no longer sponsor the event supporting the very community that made their show a hit. In my view that is like having a show called “final stages of AIDS”, making millions and then avoiding the people who organize the HIV bike ride events.

To add to their “dick” status, when it has been suggested that other sponsorship be sought they get angry and scold stating “this is exclusively an A&E event!” Is that right? The recovery rally is an event owned by A&E? I thought it was a community event sponsored by A&E. Again, what dicks.

I am on the hunt for someone else to step up to the plate and do what is right. Surprise! It’s not easy to find someone to cozy up to addiction. Even more of a reason that A&E sucks, now we have little time to put this together. So they pulled the plug and are holding us hostage, well they have tried to hold us hostage. Maybe they did, I don’t know.

Keeping Students Safe and Drug Free

There was a story in the Herald-News regarding the drug policy of Lincoln-Way high school and the zero tolerance policy on drugs and alcohol. It seems some parents think the policy is too strict. They appealed to the school board and the school board rejected the idea of changing the policy, citing reasons of keeping students “safe and drug-free”. Sure we all want that but if they were doing that would they need such a harsh penalty?

I like adolescent kids, I like their humor and their culture, although I hate rap and so I give them more latitude than most. The idea of an adolescent not trying intoxicants or waiting until marriage to have sex is fine, I guess, but not realistic. It’s a tough thing with adolescents because they certainly respond to narrow limits and boundaries, especially boys, but is it fair to think they won’t step outside of that boundary? It’s not. Kids don’t have the cognition for risk assessment that some adults have, that’s why they drive too fast, eat shitty food and act like assholes half the time (again, at least the boys do). When my son reaches the age of teen angst he will be told that intoxicants are not part of our family, I don’t give a monkeys balls what everyone else does, and we won’t accept drinking, or drug use and I will urine screen and breathalyze him. Do I expect that he won’t try things? No I do not.

There is growing literature out there about teenage drug use. Most of it says if they can delay their experimentation or trial period until the age of 21 they are exponentially less likely to develop a chronic problem. What’s the best way to steer kids clear of drugs. I really wish I knew. What I do know is that this kind of fear tactics (one strike and you’re out) doesn’t work. What they do is create a system of fear and secrecy, two things that never help any community with chemical use.

The school district in question has 7,000 students. Do they have any peer driven AA meetings, alternatives to teenage culture that does not include drinking? I’ll bet they don’t.  For years New York State had the Rockefeller drug laws. Mandated sentencing with no latitude, treatment alternatives, or discretion allowed. This sounds like that. Did the laws help the state, community, or addicts? No and this won’t help the high school system doing this either.  Ok, parents, let’s have another meeting and I will come and speak. They will dismiss me as a loud mouth, opinionated jerk, but when I get through with them, you will feel better.

Medical Marijuana Makes Sense!

Medical Marijuana is a topic that comes up when talking drug reform and policy. Currently 14 states have decriminalized medical Marijuana. Is this a good idea? In California one can go into a Marijuana dispensary and have a brief phone consultation with a doctor and they will give you a prescription for just about anything that ails you.  There are those who say this is a thin veneer for legal marijuana; that this is a not so clever street corner scam.  I am not so sure. I think more research is needed but there does seem to be some medicinal value, especially for cancer patients.

Illinois is the latest state to take on the medical marijuana issue. It may not fly there. The police are warning that this will only lead to “more crime”. That is a weak and frankly stupid argument. In one of the more bizarre comments I have seen, Phil Cline, former Chicago police superintendent says, “ The passing of this bill is going to lead to more crime and drug use. Street gangs (and by that he means black people) will open marijuana dispensaries and they’ll use the profits to buy guns and drugs and to bail out other gang members (again, black people).  Too bad he said this because there are people who will believe this because Cline has been a high-ranking police official. What is the truth about the legalized medical marijuana? Are they a good idea? Do they help people? Or are they, what people say, just a way to legalize marijuana.

If we have learned anything from prohibition it should be that taxing and regulating reduces crime. Has Cline not read the history of his own city where blood and violence in the alcohol trade were part of the daily life in Chicago during prohibition? Let’s say gang members open medical marijuana dispensaries. On a way, they have marijuana dispensaries already. They do dispense the product. If they dispensed the product out of a medical dispensary they have to pay taxes and don’t need guns. Kind of like, oh, alcohol a far more damaging substance than Marijuana.  As a side note, ALL states have decriminalized, taxed, and regulated alcohol. So in other words, yes, medical marijuana dispensaries are a thinly veiled way to legally distribute the product, but is legally dispensing the product legally a bad idea? No, no it is not.

Cameron Douglas – Making People Smile

The Hollywood kid problem. I have often thought that children of famous people are like marriage or communism; better in theory than practice. I think my favorite part of the Cameron Douglas case is his numerous quotes about how he lives to entertain and make people smile. By that logic, selling Crystal meth out of the Gansevoort hotel fulfilled his dream.  I am sure that made many people happy, at least for their night of clubbing in the meatpacking district.

The Douglas family had been plagued by addictive disease. Eric the much lesser known brother of Michael died after years of smoking crack.  I don’t know the man but I’ll take a wild guess and say Michael Douglas is no stranger to booze, who knows. In other words, Cameron comes by it honestly. His rich and powerful family pleaded with the judge to cut Cameron a break, I guess the judge listened because he got five years for a “10 year minimum sentence”. That makes no sense at all. If the minimum sentence is 10 years how did he get 5? The Judge scolded Cameron’s parents, which they may or may not deserve.

So many issues jump out at me from this. Is he a Hollywood brat, the product of poor parenting, a narcissistic culture? Yes, I am quite sure he is a less than pleasant human. Is he a criminal? I guess, he did break the law. Can he be rehabilitated? It doesn’t seem likely. He is 31 years old and has been this way for a very long time. It is possible that spending 5 years in jail will give him the motivation to create sustainable change but it won’t teach him any lessons. More than likely, he will manipulate his parents and blame them for the way he turned out. They will cave in to their guilt and provide him with some stupid life where he is invested in blame and scapegoating, which, by the way, will NEVER support a person in recovery.

This is a very difficult problem. Does he deserve a prison term? He might. Let’s not pull any punches. My general rule of thumb is to side with the kid, dog, or addict but often addicts not only deserve the mess they create, it may in fact be the best way to help them. Certainly, if they are going to get better, they need to take responsibility for their actions, and be held accountable.

Who knows, maybe Cameron Douglas will speak when he has five years sober and begin it by saying “my bottom was when I was sentenced to prison”.

Ron Nehring is Shocking on So Many Levels!

When will I learn? Where do I live in this drug world? Sometimes I think that the culture is shifting and we are beginning to treat drug use and/or misuse with some honesty and then I suddenly realize that I am really out of touch with the rest of the world.

California Republican Chairman, Ron Nehring issued a statement on where the party stands on the legalization issue on the November 2nd California ballot. Shockingly, they oppose it. Why am I shocked?  I thought Republicans were opposed to big wasteful government and nothing is more wasteful than arresting, processing, and incarcerating nonviolent Marijuana users. Nehring goes on to state unsubstantiated opinions about cost and, apparently he is clairvoyant because he seems to know what will happen should the measure pass.  He goes on to state that California Republicans will fight this and anything else to expand drug use. Does he really believe that there are people out there writing and sponsoring legislation to expand drug use? One of my favorite parts of the statement is that he calls Marijuana “dope” throughout and then draws the obvious conclusion that only “dopes” would vote for “dope”, get it? Aren’t Republicans funny?  I personally think that anyone who commits acts of domestic violence against women, as Nehring has been accused of, is a dope!

Nehring argues that whatever “taxes” are paid (why taxes is in quotes, I don’t know), they won’t cover the societal costs. Again, what is he basing this on other than his misguided opinion? Who does he think pays the cost now? YOUR taxes pay for whatever damage is done not to mention the cost of draining the police, courts and prisons.  Nehring states that the proponents are masking their effort as a revenue generator for the state. I wonder what he thinks is the hidden agenda, what are they masking exactly? Does Nehring and the Republican party think there are people out there thinking,” Wait until this is legal, boy am I going to smoke some weed, I can’t wait until it’s legal, oh boy oh boy!”

Drug misuse is very costly to society; nobody will argue that. What the legalization movement is about is not adding insult to injury. Why have layers and layers of damage to society when we can have less damage? How could I have ever thought it would be the Republicans to see this as an opportunity? I’ll bet Nehring has a crystal Scotch decanter in his office. What do you want to bet?

Voting to Legalize Marijuana in California.

Ahh, California, my homeland. It’s the state that nurtured me and made me the cynic I am today. Thankfully, for me and for Californians I live in New York but having spent the first 22 years there, I feel qualified to comment on the culture and of course their drug policy. I know what you are saying, “feelings aren’t facts” meaning perhaps I am not qualified but isn’t that what a blog is for? Unsubstantiated rantings about whatever? That’s what mine is for anyway.

California has a reputation of being a liberal bastion; groundbreaking culture where oddballs cast out of their home environment can feel safe. To some extent this is true, the epicenter of the gay culture found a home in an Irish Catholic neighborhood in San Francisco. Angela Davis shouted from the hills of Westwood at UCLA. Berkeley has long been a community and University of intellectual inquiry and liberal politics. The thing to remember about California is that it is huge and diverse and except for these pockets it might as well be Texas. Californians love the death penalty, guns, the Klan has a strong yet more subdued presence there. Ironically Californians love almost all things Mexican, the food (which by the way is one of the best things about the state), the architecture, as well as naming their cities and streets Spanish names. What they don’t love about Mexican culture are the people. They have staunch opinions about being bilingual and immigration. They vote to exclude immigrants from health care and education. This seems to be institutionalized racism because they all seem to love their individual Lupe, Maria, or Consuela whom they treat as an indentured servant. So in other words the message is: “Mexicans keep out; unless you will mow my lawn, care for my child, grow my food, bus my table, clean my house, then we welcome you North, amigo”. In a sense California is liberal but in a really militant way especially in the Bay area. There is a high expectation of political correctness in the social circles in the Bay area. A smugness that is off-putting, exclusive, as well as mystifying. What is it that makes them feel they have found the secret to happiness? It is a quaint place, aesthetically pleasing and the food is good but is it important? No, it is not. Certainly not to the degree it feels it is. For a place that celebrates diversity it is oddly rigid. If you didn’t go to UCLA or Stanford, live in the Marina and drive an Audi A4 you will never be a cool kid, not ever. Los Angeles? Not enough time to comment on that quagmire of vapid dudeosity they call a city. Oh what to do about the California problem? Get a burrito and a surfboard and join them? Hardly an option. Stay in Brooklyn and make fun of them? Watch their political climate closely? Yes, this will be a better plan.

Why California on the brain? The measure that will be on the November 2nd ballot to legalize marijuana. I have never made any secret about my position on marijuana: I consider it a dangerous psycho reactive drug and I encourage people to steer clear of it. I hate the culture that surrounds it; the complacency, the stupidity, the dirty hacky sack playing white kids with Dred locks that look like they need parenting and a bath. I really do not like hippies or their hypocrisy. With that said, I am a supporter of taxing and regulating a substance that clearly the people want and consume. Additionally, I would never support the government having the right to choose an individuals intoxicant, especially when the one they choose is one of the most dangerous ones out there.  California has clued in, or maybe they are thrust into this by their fiscal crisis. Whatever the motivation, California could be the first state to reduce illicit drug use by more than half, generate revenue and a tax base for something that already goes on, and allow a personal liberty that the government has no right to intercept. Where is the downside of this? Additionally, it would seem to merge various cultures in California. The Hollywood limousine liberals could feel good about themselves (although what would stop them?), the San Francisco smugness would be justified (in their minds) and the gun-toting Mexican hating, tract housing living conservatives should be happy that big wasteful government would be turning a loss into a profit. Will they be? Will these cultures align and be the first domino to fall in America? Who knows? Anyone who has ever tried to organize drug users to do much of anything knows, addicts don’t vote. They are too self-centered, often high and unaware of any civic responsibility. Addicts in recovery are of course a different breed of cat. Will they put the bong aside, the Doritos away and turn the Xbox off long enough to vote on an issue that impacts them? Maybe they won’t. Their weed could increase in price and dealers will deliver. It takes minimal effort to get high at the moment so maybe they won’t do it.

The polls suggest most voters favor the move to make marijuana legal. There are voices out there dissenting. One is Pastor Ron Allen, a crack smoker turned cleric, (really is there any better kind?) who is one of those “Just say no” evangelicals voicing bizarre opinions based on his sample of one of what to do about the drug problem.  Other’s are surely to surface opposing this issue, likely they swill scotch and hate Mexicans but culturally stereotyping people is really not part of my bag of tricks so I will leave them alone.

Which California will emerge on November 2nd?  I hope it’s the one that will approve this and end a piece of the senseless, bloody drug war. I say either end the prohibition of Cannabis or reinstate the prohibition of alcohol. Ok, California, its, like, you know, up to you to lead the nation on this one.

High on Cocaine

Cocaine has a very long history, all the way back to the Incas when Spanish conquistadors were impressed with the longevity of the natives who were chewing on the cocoa leaves. Freud was a cocaine addict and prescribed it for everything from depression to psychosis. He was nuts, nuts for coca.  Cocaine is a 92 billion dollar industry and we New Yorkers lead the world in Cocaine consumption, yes, the city that never sleeps. Cocaine has an almost mythical power. It has ebbed and flowed in and out of fashion. The 70’s saw a huge resurgence and it was regarded as the sophisticates high. One of the things that is consistent with all of the things we are told about Cocaine is the racists message that it makes black people go crazy. You can’t let them have cocaine, they will rape all the white women and they will create crack houses! The Crack house is a cultural icon of waste, poverty, violence, all the things that white people fear about black people. The truth is WAY; WAY more white people use cocaine than black people, yet almost no white people serve time on cocaine charges. The institutional racism and erroneous messages are yet another unfortunate by-product of the war on drugs. Cocaine psychosis is horrible, so are the seizures that can happen doing coke, cardiac arrest and all the other potential, but none of this is limited to black people. What is most insulting about the racial divide in the drug war is the white people posturing that goes on about the bad, bad drugs. People who wouldn’t dare laugh at a fried chicken joke will profess themselves human rights liberals while they snort coke at a suburban bar-b-q. So who pays the price for the cocaine trade? Black people. They are shot, killed, and incarcerated while white people have a grand old-time and dry out at a Malibu rehab.

The race issue in the drug war doesn’t really get talked about all that much. It is something I think about, but with a problem as complicated as the drug war we never seem to get to what a horrible thing it is that we incarcerate people for a health issue. It’s a human rights violation in my view. Someday, we may look at our prisons with as much remorse as Manzanar. What brought this to my attention was Texas Ranger’s manager, Ron Washington. He failed a drug test, admitted to using cocaine and Nolan Ryan, Texas Ranger general manager has stuck by him. Great work on Ryan’s part (Ok, I am a fan, so I am sure it helps color my opinion).  The Texas Ranger’s seem to have a realistic take on drug use and they seem to want to help. That’s pretty good in this world of “just say no” and shame. I am with Ron Washington all the way. He did say he did it “Only once”. Really? Just once? The ONE time you did one line of coke you were tested? What are the odds? In the words of George Jefferson “Oh, nigga, puuuahleassee!” This is up there with not inhaling but OK; it’s a move toward honesty.

The media is handling this as they do with drug issues; platitudes, shame, lessons to learn, weakness, should know better, what kind of example, the standard messages. Nobody is applauding his willingness to admit a problem and address it. Why is this racist?  Because, if he were white, it would be less of an issue. An issue that would blow over quickly. In 2007, Tony Larussa, manager of St. Louis was charged with a DWI. He was asleep and by asleep I mean passed out, behind the wheel of his car, in the middle of an intersection. It took police several attempts to wake him. It was in the news and when he returned home to St. Louis, he received a standing ovation. He could have killed someone. Could the line of coke that Ron Washington did kill someone? Not likely. Maybe himself but not a mini van full of kids the way Larussa’s incident could have. What would have happened if Larussa were black? What if Ron Washington were white? I don’t know the issues of each man but whatever they are, I hope they get a handle on their use. Waking up in the middle of an intersection? That doesn’t sound like recreational use to me. Snorting coke knowing you would risk your job and reputation? Sounds like a problem to me too.  Of all the things that bother me about the drug war, the overt racism is certainly up on my list. When do we get honest about that? The days to come will reveal more about Ron Washington’s case. I hope the Ranger’s stick with him and I hope he is honest about it in the media. More than anything, as a baseball fan, I hope they call me if he needs a sober companion because after all, it’s really about how it relates to me.