Coming from an ex meth dealer who still struggles with addiction this was so inspiring. Im having a hard time making that transition to "normal" and I needed to hear this. Thank you.
I work security and once had a shift at a methadone clinic. [Edit for clarity: I'm fully aware that methadone and methamphetamine are different things. But they are linked through addiction, and the clinic i had a shift at was for treatment of opioid addiction.] Probably the biggest takeaway was how varied the clients were; everyone from clearly unwell homeless people in rags to comfortably-off middle-class people. One dapper chap, in an expensive suit and coat, has just moved from a long-term rental at a 4-star hotel to a long-term rental at one of my town's most prestigious hotels, just because he wanted to upgrade. He had no shortage of funds, he showed no visible signs of addiction, but he was fighting the same illness as everyone else in that queue. It's also one of the quietest shifts I've worked. Nobody was there to make trouble or get in fights - they'd worked hard to get into the programme and just wanted to get there, take their medication, and get on with their lives.
@@awmperry What I was really trying to point out was that when an opiate addict still has access to proper nutrition, bathing, and financial means to dress well, you would never be able to tell one is addicted to opiates unless you actually see them high because opiates themselves have no impact on a person's physique even after decades of use, unless of course they inject and inject poorly and destroy their veins or get infections. Meth on the other hand absolutely ravages the body and you can spot a hardcore meth user a mile away.
People may be misled by the nomenclature, so let me make sure people realize that meth stands for methamphetamine, while methadone is a drug used in opiate addiction. The more famous opiates are heroin, codeine, oxycodone and fentanyl.
This guy is so incredibly down to Earth, calling out his own percieved privilege. That judge saved his life. Giving him the opportunity to turn his life around rather than giving him immediate jail time was 100% the right call. Now he's a professor instead of just another ex-con that is almost guaranteed to reoffend. If only there were more judges like that one.
@@nukleus-sj9yb When I quit using, I went to rehab for a couple years. Nearly all of us were on probation, for drugs, robbery, possession… and only stayed out because we kept our piss & our acts clean. I was one of the very, very few white men, out of hundreds of people, over those couple years in rehab. I think it has more to do with what you do, how you carry yourself, and whether or not you really are cleaning up, than what you look like.
@@Humblemogger do you even know what liquid anhydrous ammonia is sweetie?! Its not your average store bought fertilizer. Its highly flammable, liquid and amazing for cooking. Better than buying ammonia from the store and making it that way. Definitely chemist type sht out here, just no beakers like he said. But we do use mason jars from time to time. Can also definitely tell you know neither about farming nor cooking besides what you see on tv and are told. 🤣🤣🤣
Any profits I made from running or selling drugs went away quick bc of my addiction. I ended up going to prison not directly bc of drugs but for five counts of bank robbery. Being in prison got me sober but took me away from my daughter. I feel blessed that I didn't die and that my ex-wife still kept the idea of me in my daughter's mind while I was away. I've been back almost 8 years now and feel confident that I won't become a bank robbing junkie again but the thought of losing it all is still present and makes me appreciate everything, every moment even more.
As someone who works in the mental health field but doesn't have personal experience with these types of drugs I really loved this piece. Thank you for calling out both the drug dealers and the government. The dealers put the drugs in kids hands but what does the government do? They pull a gun on the drug dealers or, even worse, the young kid who has an addiction and puts them in jail. Maybe they need to listen to people like this and realize if you wanna stop drugs maybe give the kids a better choice.
Not every drug dealer sells to kids. In fact, most don't bc it draws heat and will get you pinched really quick. Plus it's gross. The people who sell to kids are usually the stupid cousin/friend/brother of a real supplier who wants to be a "big baller" too but doesn't have two brain cells to rub together. Might sound harsh, but it really is true. Common sense isn't common and lots of the guys who get in the drug business have more ego than brains. But! Though dumb, paranoid, incompetent, and big ego'ed dealers are out there, most aren't. The really big ones are all business, and actually want to **prevent** dead bodies from popping up around them. They want money, not attention. And the smaller dealers are actually providing a needed service no government is willing to do. People out there need their meds and literally can't get treatment (for lots of reasons I won't get into here). Most have jobs and families and bills they need to pay, so they have no choice but to keep up their habit to stay functional. Not all addicts are homeless degenerates, quite the opposite. Most are 100% functional...as long as they can get what they need. Which is where the street dealers come in. The clients already have an addiction by then, and usually their main guy can't be reached so they go looking for another. Good plugs who keep consistent product are valuable, and keep loyal customers. Customers that would be a burden on the State if unable to get their meds. Of course, the government could fix all of this with a stroke of a pen, but (like most people) Congressmen don't understand the problem, at all. They don't even know the difference between Facebook and Twitter, so they're just not equipped to fix it, even though they are the only ones who can.
wow, it's such a gift to hear this man speak! I read his book years ago, while I had an active heroin addiction and was about to give up everything for one last shot at life. I would definitely recommend his book to anybody struggling. everything he said about incarceration, recovery, and the war on drugs deep resonated with me. everybody is impacted by addiction, not just those using. chronic/ intractable pain patients who struggle to get treatment due to legal restrictions on opiates, and how those have impacted doctors, are impacted. loved ones of addicts who deal with mental health issues because of the stress of seeing a loved one suffer, and sometimes have brushes with death, are impacted. addiction is a problem for everybody.
Never heard this man's name. But boy did I do a double take when he said after everything, after he can't get a job delivering pizzas... He went back to school, earned a Masters... THEN A PhD. Very compelling.
i agree, he is great but he's still so lucky because he would need to pay for education. if it was a different person with less funds, they wouldn't have the option to study.
He says "Drug addiction affects all of society...we need to get it out of our heads that the people who struggle with addiction are other than us because they are all of us.The war on drugs has been a war on those people and that is us."
It's truly amazing how prevalent addiction really is. And like he mentioned, it can happen to anyone. It took a lot of conversations with a close friend who battles it and self thought to really understand it even just a minute bit.
when you listen to what he said, it's not really amazing it's taht prevelent at all. Society's actively working to prevent anyone with an addition escaping it, so a small wrong decision in life, or experimentation that people think is innocent, traps them in a lifetime of addition. Harly surprising 10% of people would experiment with this stuff as teens or at some point in their life when things go bad, not to mention medical issues & doctors prescribing stuff they get addicted to & then cant' get help getting back off
A great look behind the curtain! I really appreciate how Adi touches on so many different aspects of drug manufacturing, distribution and use. I especially liked how he acknowledged his own privilege and also the scathing but totally accurate assessment of the war on drugs as a whole.
Absolutely! we need to find a better way to help people, kindness not cruelty, assistance not punishment. Drug addiction is not a crime, it's a sad trajectory :/
I’m like 15 seconds in and I can already tell this is gonna make me sad. My husband chose meth over his family and I don’t know that he’ll ever be the same. He left a year ago after me trying to help him get clean for 2 years. But I haven’t filed for divorce because I’m holding on for dear life to the little sparks of the old him I see once in a while when he calls to check on me. This crap devastates families. I have seen people come out the other side though after lots and lots of determination to get out. That said, relapse is so easy even after years clean.
Don't give up hope, but don't sacrifice yourself for someone who doesn't want to change either. 3 years is a long time to 'wait'. You deserve happiness, too. I hold hope for YOU!
Listening to this gives everyday people a look at a world that is usually show in only one light.. addiction has many facets. It has always been with us, always will be with us, as long as humans exist. It is how we approach it and deal with it. This man was given Grace, he saw the way forward, guidance was there and fought his way out. A guiding light he has become.
Some can for sure but it's not that common to end up with the right set of circumstances like this guy did. Back in my Hometown I can count on both hands how many of us were able to walk away from that world, And in the 30 years since I've lost count of how many didn't and ended up in the ground.
Adi is so articulate and good-natured. I love his outlook and criticisms of the War on Drugs.. I would be curious to hear a deeper dive into his story. Great video, Insider
agreed mate im from the UK and I've seen this problem first hand with cocaine, weed, drink its a problem across the world right now. I I'm working to beat my own problems with weed, recovery was working and education for me. I'm sober now and learning IT its been a long ride but its worth it, If anyone is reading this and struggling with their own problems keep going with that dream it will work if you put the work in, good luck!
This has been one of the most sober and objective viewes on issue of drugs i have come across I am not from US so i only read about your drug scene, but there are some fundamental similarities everywhere, like how one becomes a drug dealer. Its not like you wake up one day and go "whoa, i am a dealer now". Its a long process that takes you there without you noticing it. I have been using drugs since i was 15. Back than it was purely psychedelics like LSD and mushrooms. It wasnt untill I went to collage, when i started using meth (we call it pervitin here) and the reason why i did was to literaly buy time. I had to work a full time job to pay for my studies and i still had to atend lectures, so I would use meth to make it trough. And slowly i began to enjoy it, do it more often, even had needle stuck in my vain a few times.... and so i wanted more. Many of my firends were musicians and trough them i got the suplies. Than i made "friends" (i am using quotes here because there are no friends among addicts. Its harsh to say it but when having to choose between friend and a drug, junkie will stab you in the back in a heartbeat) with some guys, who knew some guys further up the chain... and so i could buy it cheaper, and sell whats left for profit, or broker up deals in exchange for meth.... do favors like drive for the deals, have some guys crash at my playce when they had to lay low.... I used to carry a katana to deals (luckily I never got to use it) as a deterent. I could have carry a gun, knife or whatever, but there is an inherent fear factor in having a guy in a coat, with bigass blade standing around smoking a cigarette. It started to go downhil when i finished collage. I no longer needed meth, but it now was part of me. Part of my lifestyle and it was becoming hard to shake off. It might sound strange but i am a religious person and i belive i was given a one last chance, and i took it. Once i was at an outdoor punk festival a friend of mine was organising. I was high on meth and mushrooms (which by the way is a very tough combination) and in the midst of all that i had a moment of clarity. I was siting in the midle off all that mess aound me and saw those wrecks of human beeings around me and a sudden realisation dawned on me: I can either stay and become a living corpse, or walk away and live. And so i did. I moved out of my flat, i deleted all social network accounts, changed phone number and went abroad to work, to get out of the enviroment and social group i was in. I returned after few months and started anew. It has been like 5 or 6 years now. I am clean (i dont even drink anymore) I got steady job, got maried and eventualy enlisted to the army. In retrospect i have fond memories of those times, now that its behind me, but i would never like to get back. I had a chance to get out and i took it. Some of my friends didn't and it swallowed them. ....some of my friends are not around anymore
That line "I no longer needed it but it was a part of me" is such a hard earned insight to be able to articulate and really important for others to hear. Even if not everyone might understand it firsthand, I think it resonates for a lot of people who were faced with subpar and disingenuous options for coping during difficult situations for whatever the reason. Like toxic family situations, and internalizing other self destructive habits. I'm very glad you were able to find clarity, get away and reset your trajectory for the better plus be able to share your story with others here. Please do continue to take care and be well.
As a criminal defense attorney, I agree 100% that our interdiction methods don’t work. I’ve represented many alleged dealers in my state, and the (extreme in my opinion) penalties don’t seem to deter dealers. I just had a guy last week facing 36 years in prison for having 38 Xanax pills in his possession. That’s insane. It’s almost worst with meth. In my jurisdiction, if you have more than 10 grams of meth, they charge you with dealing. Those charges don’t usually stick at trial, but most of these clients aren’t real dealers. At most they sell a half gram or a gram here or there to fund their own addiction. They’re still homeless, indigent, and certainly aren’t profiting. Yet our oh so wise district attorney/prosecutor continues to charge these people with dealing. I don’t know the solution nor do I pretend to. However, what we are doing is NOT working and hasn’t been working since the war on drugs began.
You Are a shining example of what is possible when afforded an opportunity for change - even though that change was offered with a limited punishment and dire consequences if you did not succeed. The war on drugs itself is lost - we did apparently learned nothing from the disastrous consequences of prohibition. I believe focusing on education, diversion, and opportunities for recovery and reeducation we would end greater success.
This is a smart guy right here, when you stand to loose everything just being healthy and free starts sounding pretty good. Once you get your life in order and have nothing to stress over you don't want anything else.
I remember in the 2000s, I'm in a place where tons of people cooked meth, either "shake n bake" one pot stills or however. We were in one of the highest per Capita states as far as cooking. Then the Mexican crystal stuff came in, and like he said, nobody cooked because it made no sense. Suddenly you only saw crystal, in about 2009. It was crazy how fast it happened. Glad he got sober, always good to hear. I wasn't big into meth but got sober in 2017. It's worth it, 1000%.
Woah, I recently had this Revelation myself. I used to think I need to quit my addiction to get my life back on track, wait till everything is perfect to start. I realize now that I can start working out, I can start taking action and eventually my addiction will subside, and if it doesn't I at least have taken action and bettered myself in the process instead of waiting for some perfect circumstance that will never occur
If you ever smell a lot of cat pee while walking by a house, that's probably a meth lab (: they told all the kids this in elementary school in Georgia when I was a kid and I found several by myself on accident. It was nuts back then.
I always really appreciate that these videos aren’t afraid to let the speakers be honest about their experiences with the criminal justice system. And that you ask them what they think needs to change/whether the “war on ___” actually works. It’s always really enlightening.
Very much appreciated. I am a degreed chemist and biologist (no Heisenberg here) and am fascinated by the processes by which people work through these paths... of course that is why narco/arms/$$ shows and movies are interesting... and why interview such as this takes away the glam and reveals the underbelly as best you are able to tell... with us knowing there is more not being said. ** COMPLETE sidenote because your discourse reminded me of this - I had some very personal discussions (when going through some mental bull$h!t that put me in the very most darkest of places for several reasons now resolved... life happens crap/get past it fidiot/lingering static noise but wtfever) with a counselor who'd done Federal time in several states as a dealer. Having a kid finally gave him the push to chase life and not the rush of drugs and coin. I remember him telling me to be careful of the word "punk"... cause us "civilian's" toss it around like a minor slur. He said if you get called a "punk" in prison... you punch... you hit... even if you get the crap kicked out of you because if you DON"T hit... you will live every second of your time as a punk and anybody will know you are weak, you're to be used, and with nothing but time for people to F w ja. His first job out he was painting and the old man at the bottom side told him to "hurry up you punk"... and he froze with clenched fists... and then went back to being a better him and hurried up... but that is a trigger word I do avoid now.
@@chrissmith3509 fair enough and honestly truth. just gotta know their trigger prob might become violently yours... but, again, you are correct. I've stepped away from arguments with "you have the problem. you're the one pissed off. i'm fine."... that kinda ended in a breakup for All The Right Reasons.
As a recovering addict, his story is moving and inspiring. My active addiction began after I had completed my education and started my career. Now, after catching a couple felonies, my education and experience in my field…is worthless. I was a medical laboratory technician, and I was a special education teacher. Neither employ convicted felons. I’m nearly finished with my probation, and once I do, I’m eligible for expungement. Hopefully after I expunge my record, I can rejoin the professional areas I worked so hard to enter.
I know it’s a lot different for the both of us because I live in Canada but when my chargers got dropped, I immediately got a job within like three months and haven’t had any problems other than a few relapses. Been clean for 2 months now. Keep fighting back bc you will get ur life back
this was very interesting. glad you turned your life around and grats on the doctorate! the story you mentioned is not biblical, but is the sword of damocles in which someone with great power or wealth seems to live a charmed life but has to always be paranoid about someone taking it
Bar none this is the most powerful and impactful talk about prior drug distribution… very well spoken, insightful, and extremely relatable.. I really appreciated his thoughts on the issues with tackling issues with addiction
Thank you for sharing this. I always wondered how people got away with cooking meth in the city. What you said makes a lot of sense. My experience with it goes back to the late 1980s and early 1990s in the rural parts of the Mojave Desert either in the Antelope Valley or outside of Barstow. It was a limited group of cooks in very sloppy operations. They would often set up in very remote places, usually abandon mining shacks or abandon homes; anywhere that could avoid aerial surveillance or someone smelling it. The cooks were very sloppy and messy while leaving behind a very toxic mess for someone else to clean up. Like he pointed out; the cooks could set up, cook the product, and be done in a couple of days. A hazmat team had to be called in to clean up the mess. If any one could have seen the chemicals and conditions the meth was cooked in, they would never touch the stuff again. The LA County and San Bernardino County deputies were very aggressive in fighting the meth problem in the early 1990s but were always one step behind the cooks. By the time deputies found the labs, the cooks had moved on. Meth heads are paranoid and like to talk, especially when facing jail time. But the meth problem was so rampant that for every dealer or cook that went to jail, two more were ready to take their place. I never touched the stuff. I became aware of the problem having grown up in the area and saw a lot of good friends get sucked into the meth problem. These were people that came from good families and had good jobs but somehow decided to dabble in meth and got sucked into it. They lost their jobs, marriages and their homes. It was sad. I also work for a public utility and saw the labs where the cooks stole electricity to cook at night. I still live in the rural Mojave Desert, but as the narrator pointed out, the problem is now opiates and heroin. I don’t know which is worse; meth or heroin.
Gdm, i came here to see a funny laid back adventurous guy and got sat down and taught a lesson in government econ and substance abuse. Beautiful. Props to you man, you sound like a very knowledgeable and nurturing. I do struggle with substances, thanks for getting a bit of the stigma off my shoulders. I appreciate it.
There is a back road that runs parallel to the 14th hole of a local golf course with a deep ditch between the two. Occasionally after a heavy rain a garbage bag will float up onto the edge of the rough. Usually containing multiple Gatorade bottles with meth goo and Sudafed type packages.
I have been struggling with addiction bc i had a kidney removed when i was 15 and then i quit after high school and joined the military and then my ex got me back on them after i got out of the military and now i have just quit again i pray i never relapse i have come so far in life i have everything going for me and i dont want to lose it
Awesome. I would love to help others how he does. I am a recovering alcoholic addict junkie . By helping others I will be helping myself also on my own sobriety.
Everything was amazing in this story.... accept for 12:45. Why this had anything to do with his story is beyond me. Kinda soured the ending but none the less a great insight.
This man’s eloquence blew me away!! I’m so impressed by the thoughtful approach he takes to his past. I love that he openly acknowledges his privilege and is advocating for those who weren’t as lucky. I’m a big fan. (Ps: his 5 star review of the Cartel’s reliability kind of did have me cracking up.)
Here's a guy who helped to fuel other's addictions, telling me how the government don't do enough to stop it or fight it in the correct way. Seems the the reality of lengthy incarceration had a positive effect on him, by his admissions, it worked. His time in rehab worked on the Judge.
That's not true that p2p methamphetamine is stronger than pseudoephedrine meth. The Leukardt reaction between p2p and methylamine give you a raceminc product - meaning 50% of your total yield is the l- isomer, which is a nasal decongestant. You can buy levomethamphetamine over the counter. The pseudoephedrine HI/P method gives you only the dextro isomer - the active one.
I met a chick in San Diego and after hanging out with her for 3 days she brought me out to the high desert that had 2 conex shipping containers buried under the sand. It was a high class meth lab that was in use as we walked through. Let me be clear that she was not on meth. I had no idea she was involved in it. I just loved the fact she had matching Porsches. She let me drive any car I wanted. I got to top out a Porsche.
I experienced similar to the judge experience on a MUCH smaller scale, when caught speeding & police officer decided I was sorry for what I had done & let me off with a caution. I wasn't sorry, but I was guilt tripped into changing my driving & not speeding. I wonder how many people out there have experiences where they've been trusted by those meant to punish them & given softer sentences than they deserved & totally changed their behaviours because of it, WAY more than they would have if being "correctly" punished. Makes me feel like maybe society's going the wrong way with how we sentence, maybe softer with more follow up & support to keep those caught on track would work much better? Obviously his lack of ability to get a job after it just pushes him back into a life of crime too, that's such a common story! Clearly there's a need to give people genuine options so as to break the cycle if we want them to succeed in breaking it. This guy did & that's fantastic, but I very much doubt many do! I'm guessing the vast majority would just give up when society treats them consistently as criminals, even when they try to do what's right & therefore just push them back into the life they see as expected of them. I'm not convinced that legalising everything is the answer, but I think there's a lot of very clear info in this story as to how we can fix the problems, where the intervention is needed to turn people's lives around & help them out of the hole they've got themselves into - just takes a willingness to treat "criminals" as HUMANS & to see them worthy of life & worthy of having some money spent on them - which in reality saves society a LOT of money in the long term, doesn't cost us anything to save these people's lives & turn society around! Well nothing other than a little compassion for other humans anyway
It's super basic chemistry, a lot of it was even done in Gatorade bottles. Today it's almost all made in Mexican superlabs with the equipment and precursors coming from China.
What an amazing guy. Thank you for sharing your story. Anyone can become addicted to a vast number of things, drugs, porn, people pleasing. No one is immune, so to target those who suffer from addiction problems and label them as “bad” is not only wrong but it doesn’t help a person who is going through addiction, mental health state or help the persons chances of speaking up about their problem and seeking help, because they are scared of how others will view them, how the law will respond to them reaching out to access help etc. the war on drugs is such an outdated and unsuccessful project which is destroying more lives than it is helping.people are going to take drugs, so by making safer options to obtain them, it will reduce the abuse of drugs, the health risks and crime. It’s a no brainer. Sure I’m not suggesting it’s wise to take drugs but so long as a human is walking this earth their will be people who will seek pleasure and escapism from substances. We are a pleasure seeking species and we like to avoid pain. It’s time we start coming up with better solutions and start supporting those who fall victim to drug abuse. Remember not all people that take drugs abuse them, are addicted to them or are bad people. The way we view this has. To change.
I used to work at a refrigerated warehouse that used anhydrous ammonia as it's refrigerant and it was apparently quite dangerous cause we had safety meeting all the time and if we ever had a leak which we did 3 times , we had to all meet outside at a point up wind from the building, there was a large wind sock outside to help us all know wind direction. The 3rd leak we had was due to an attempted theft of the ammonia, they didn't succeed, if my memory is accurate I believe there were three thief's, only 2 went to prison cause one of the guys died due to inhaling some of the ammonia cause they tried carrying it in a container that wasn't a proper container.
