Harm Reduction Radio - Hams

Our first guest is Dr. Andrew Newberg, author of How God Changes Your Brain and other books. Dr. Newberg studies the effects of religious experiences such as glossolalia (speaking in tongues) and meditation on brain activity. Drugs and alcohol are not the only things that can alter your consciousness and make your brain light up in different ways.   Our second guest is Adam Zimbardo, a marriage and family counselor located in California who works with addiction issues as well as alternative sexualities including gay, transgender, and BDSM.

Our first guest is Dr. Robert Minor the author of When Religion Is an Addiction. Dr. Minor is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at The University of Kansas and the founder of The Fairness Project which promotes fair and positive understanding of all human beings.   Our second guest is Mark Tuschel the author of Living Sober Sucks! (but living drunk sucks more). The NIAAA tells us that most people get over an alcohol addiction on their own without AA or rehab and Mark Tuschel is an example of this self-recovery.

Our first guest is Dr. Gabor Mate, author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction. Dr. Mate works with Insite, Vancouver's safe injection facility and with the Portland Hotel Society which houses otherwise homeless drug users.   Our second guest is Dr. Erika Dyck, author of Psychedelic Psychiatry: LSD from Clinic to Campus. Dr. Dyck is an expert on the history of LSD therapy for alcoholism.

Our first guests will be Ilse and Mark of stinkin'-thinkin'--an AA deprogramming blog.   Our second guest is Liz Michael of Moder8, a program for people who wish to moderate their drinking.

Our first guest is Jim Christopher, founder of SOS (Secular Organizations For Sobriety, also known as Save Our Selves), a non religious abstinence based alternative to AA. He is also the author of How to Stay Sober: Recovery Without Religion and other books.   Our second guest is Andrew Tatarsky, author of Harm Reduction Psychotherapy: A New Treatment for Drug and Alcohol Problems.

Our first guest is Dr. Robert Meyers who is a co-author of Get Your Loved One Sober: Alternatives to Nagging, Pleading, and Threatening and one of the developers of CRAFT: Community Reinforcement and Family Training, an evidence based approach to dealing with a loved one's drug or alcohol problems.   Our second guest is Craig Whalley, the executive director of LifeRing--a purely secular sobriety support group for people who wish to abstain from drugs or alcohol.   As always Stanton Peele joins us to close the show.

Our first guest is Amy Lee Coy, author of "From Death Do I Part: How I Freed Myself From Addiction," who will tell us of her journey to self-recovery from addiction. Data from the NIAAA suggests that self-recovery, rather than formal treatment or AA, is the most common way for people to overcome addictions.   Our second guest is New York City addictions therapist Brian Murphy LCSW M Ed. Brian is CEO of Self-Led Solutions, a harm reduction based practice which helps people to make changes in ways which they choose for themselves.   Stanton Peele joins us to close the show for the week.

Our guest is Cyndee Clay of HIPS--Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive--a harm reduction agency focusing on sex workers headquartered in Washington DC. Stanton Peele joins us to close the show for the week.

Our first segment will be about InSite, North America's only safe injection facility. InSite is located in Vancouver, BC Canada. Research shows that not only does InSite prevent overdose fatalities, but also that clients who engage with InSite are far more likely to make use of detox and treatment facilities than those who do not.   Our second guest is Patt Denning PhD, who is the author of "Over the Influence" and "Practicing Harm Reduction Psychotherapy" as well as a director at the Harm Reduction Therapy Center in San Francisco and Oakland. Dr. Denning's work has revolutionized the way we approach drug and alcohol problems.   Stanton Peele joins us to close the show for the week.

Our first guest is Marc Kern PhD who has been providing non 12 step addiction treatment alternatives in Los Angeles California since 1983. Dr. Kern is a co-author of the book "Responsible Drinking" and helps clients to achieve goals of abstinence, moderation, or harm reduction.   Our second guest is Renee Franklin, Certified Moderator and Board Treasurer for Women For Sobriety (WFS). WFS was founded by Jean Kirkpatrick PhD in 1975 to help women alcoholics abstain from alcohol. The WFS program is highly positive and features 13 affirmations.   Stanton Peele joins us to close the show for the evening.

Our first guest is Sharon Stancliff MD, medical director for the harm reduction coalition, who will discuss opiate replacement therapy using methadone or buprenorphine and overdose prevention using naloxone (narcan). Our second guest is Katie Witkiewitz PhD who will discuss her work with relapse prevention. Stanton Peele will join us to help close the show.

Our first guest is Allan Clear, executive director of the Harm Reduction Coalition, who will tell us about HRC's functions as a harm reduction trainer and coordinator as well as some of the history of needle exchange and harm reduction in the US. Our first guest is Stacia Cosner from Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP http://ssdp.org) who will tell us why and how students oppose the war on drugs.Stanton Peele closes with his thoughts for the week.

Due to a communications error our first guest missed the show and I did a monologue abut HAMS--he is interviewed at a later date. Our second guest is Dee-Dee Stout, the author of "Coming to Harm Reduction Kicking & Screaming: Looking for Harm Reduction in a 12-Step World." Ms. Stout is a bridge-builder between the traditional treatment paradigm and the harm reduction approach. Stanton Peele joins us to close the show.

Our guest is harm reduction pioneer Dan Bigg from the Chicago Recovery Alliance who will share his experiences in harm reduction with us. Stanton Peele closes the show with his thoughts for the week.

The media and movies like "New Jack City" paint a picture of crack cocaine as a black ghetto drug which is immediately addictive, totally uncontrollable, and leads to an epidemic of crack babies. But is there really any truth to this media hype? Experts Mark Kinzly and Kevin Irwin join us to dispel the myths about crack and give us the real facts without the hype.

Our first guest is Melanie Solomon, author of "AA Not the Only Way." Melanie is one of many people who did not find the 12 steps helpful in dealing with her addictions and as a result has devoted herself to making a compendium of alternatives for all who can benefit from a different approach. Our second guest is Terry Morris who works at The Speed Project in San Francisco. The Speed Project is a harm reduction project for gay men who use methamphetamine. Terry will be sharing with us her experiences with harm reduction support groups and harm reduction techniques for meth users. As always Dr. Stanton Peele will close the show with his thoughts for the week.

SPECIAL: Dr. David Sinclair will be visiting us from Finland to tell us about The Sinclair Method of pharmacological extinction of alcoholism using naltrexone. The Sinclair Method has been adopted as a standard treatment protocol in Finland and boasts up to an 80 or 90% success rate.

Our first guest is Dr. Henry Steinberger who will tell us about SMART Recovery and Cognitive Behavioral approaches to substance abuse problems. Dr. Steinberger is a past member of the SMART Recovery board and currently practices psychotherapy in Madison Wisconsin. Our second guest is Reverend Raquel Algarin who is the executive director of the Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center in Manhattan. Rev. Algarin will tell us about the wide variety of harm reduction services offered at her facility--it is a lot more than just needle exchange. As always we reserve the final 10 minutes of the show for Stanton's Corner, where Dr. Stanton Peele will comment on addiction issues of the day.

Our first guest is Dr. Amanda Reiman of UC Berkeley. Dr. Reiman has made an in depth study of medical marijuana dispensaries and the use of cannabis to treat addiction. Her publications include "Cannabis as a substitute for alcohol and other drugs" (PMID 19958538). We will be discussing the success rates of marijuana maintenance programs. Our second guest is Dr. Ed Wilson from Non 12 Step Alcoholism Treatment http://www.non12step.com . Dr. Wilson will be discussing with us the fact that it is possible to recover from alcoholism without spirituality or a higher power, and that secular programs which rely on science have far higher success rates than do 12 step programs which require a spiritual solution. We will close with our regular weekly feature--Stanton Peele's thoughts of the week.

Dr. Mary Ellen Barnes, president of Non 12 Step Treatment, will be our first guest of the evening and she will discuss the evidence-based treatment protocols which she uses at her alcoholism treatment facility in California. Her web site is http://www.non12step.com Our second guest is James Gierach from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP www.leap.cc). Mr. Gierach is a Former Cook County, Illinois State Prosecutor who will be speaking out against the war on drugs. As always we reserve the final 10 minutes of the show for Stanton's Corner, where Dr. Stanton Peele will comment on addiction issues of the day.