Dopey 606 - Joe B 'The Trainer' $2,000-a-Day Pill Habit, Junky Love, Surviving Grief, a Double Overdose

Time What happens 00:28 Healing vibes, Manhattan meetings, and introducing Smiling Joe 02:50 Austin’s “Acid in the Butt” Rainbow Gathering voicemail 05:16 Retracing the blackout and finding his pants and hat 07:40 Dave’s reaction; requests for stories; John Joseph comments 10:02 More listener reactions to John Joseph 12:28 Studio changes, Joe’s recovery sayings, and replay introduction 14:54 Meeting Joe; how “Methadone Joe” became “Smiling Joe” 17:03 Childhood fear and his mother’s severe mental illness 19:25 Stealing young and refusing help 20:56 Childhood sexual abuse, truancy, and a promise to a judge 23:02 First drinking and identifying with The Panic in Needle Park 24:59 Beer, glue, friendship, and growing up in the sixties 27:16 Survival mode, stealing, and dark humor 29:06 Neighborhood gangsters and leaving school 31:22 Working in Manhattan; psychedelics and JFK’s roof 33:29 Airport acid trips and the progression toward heroin 35:54 The sixties drug scene and heroin arriving in his neighborhood 38:02 First injections; heroin feels like “kissing God” 39:41 “Eddie, I’m in trouble”—knowing he loved heroin 41:38 The early credit-card and gift-certificate scam 43:45 Getting stopped on the way to score 45:44 Police find the missing heroin; stealing enormous underwear 47:38 Selling stolen goods; diamond-ring theft story follows 52:05 Heroin quality, stamps, and dealers’ marketing 54:01 Early methadone; taking shoplifting orders 55:42 The stolen girdle and the car surrounded by police 57:49 A courtroom seizure and waking up handcuffed to a radiator 1:00:05 Transferred to Rikers Island 1:02:02 His friendship with Eddie and getting physically worn out 1:03:57 Methadone, a Manhattan apartment, and a new girlfriend 1:06:21 Her father pulls a gun and chases him 1:08:17 Becoming friends with her father; the fatal ride Joe didn’t take 1:10:28 Honesty, addiction, and becoming a “better junkie” 1:12:26 Getting his equivalency diploma and entering St. John’s 1:14:17 Four years as an A student while taking methadone 1:16:29 Coming off methadone and becoming Disco Joe 1:18:36 Heroin returns; working on Wall Street 1:20:25 The $30 million gold scheme—and why he backed out 1:22:51 Cocaine enters the picture; methadone and speedballs 1:24:49 Cocaine blackouts and psychiatric hospitalization 1:26:47 Disliking cocaine but continuing for fifteen years 1:28:40 The heroin-and-cocaine combination becomes inseparable 1:30:45 Construction money, a house, a car, and addiction 1:32:51 Detoxes, seizures, and keeping the cycle going 1:34:59 Family loyalty and the lawyer’s horrifying advice 1:37:12 His father’s example; early exposure to recovery 1:39:08 Hearing someone identify as an “alcoholic addict” 1:41:17 Finding a place in AA and following the first direction 1:43:11 Physical exhaustion, Marworth, and the move toward Mastic 1:45:23 Making a pact to attend meetings—even while still using 1:47:40 Showing up high and refusing to stop coming 1:49:39 Ninety days, a standing ovation, and using the next day 1:52:03 Powerlessness, surrender, and a daily recovery practice 1:54:34 Welcoming Dave and becoming comfortable in sobriety 1:56:29 Vulnerability, commitment, and “borrow my God” 1:58:25 Building a relationship with a loving higher power 2:00:30 Willingness and filling the void 2:02:34 Recovery effort, quality of life, and final reflections 2:04:30 Interview ends; present-day wrap-up and credits follow 2:13:09 Closing dedication and song

Time Topic 00:12 Opening song 01:13 Welcome, Narcan, October merch, and “Upon Awakening” 03:38 JD D. Hart finds a bag of drugs at work 08:14 JD’s conclusion; listener comments begin afterward 10:38 Gambling, process addictions, and chasing dopamine 13:01 Audio complaints, fixing the sound, and JD’s casino memories 15:26 Keith Fierman joins: crawfish, friendship, and Cirque Lodge 17:33 The intervention involving a naked woman on a horse 19:50 Birmingham childhood and the day JFK was shot 22:12 An abusive stepfather and childhood trauma 24:30 Recovery before trauma work; resentment and forgiveness 26:54 Experiential therapy and creating the protection he never had 29:13 Heroin makes the world feel safe; first drugs at eleven 31:33 The Allman Brothers and music as a lifeline 33:58 Seeing Bob Marley and growing up a stoner 36:19 Getting backstage with the Grateful Dead 38:35 Standing up to Steve Parish and being welcomed in 41:01 Working life before addiction took over 43:24 Employee of the year, opioids, and Owsley Stanley 45:49 Orange Sunshine and Phil Lesh’s LSD elevator analogy 48:08 Phil’s gift of weed; meeting Trey with his son 50:33 Owsley’s jewelry and the first heroin experience 52:57 Trauma, fear, and waking up craving 55:19 Lortab, withdrawal, and trying to quit alone 57:43 Secret heroin flights from Birmingham to New York 1:00:08 Doctor shopping, Dilaudid, and shooting up 1:02:37 Scoring near Katz’s and encounters with the Rolling Stones 1:05:00 Keith Richards; the treatment center admission disaster 1:07:25 Getting sober and opening a free program for women 1:09:46 Helping families and trying to break the cycle 1:12:10 Finding a calling in intervention work 1:14:25 His objections to televised interventions 1:16:49 Day 198: yelling at God and going bowling 1:19:12 Music, connection, and the family’s role in recovery 1:21:36 Studying addiction, enabling, and rejecting “hitting bottom” 1:23:45 Finding help without a supportive family 1:26:13 Onsite, deeper trauma work, and making recovery fun 1:28:32 Bob Dylan and the beginning of Dopey versus Phish 1:30:46 Trey’s promised interview and Divided Sky 1:33:10 Dave discusses being told Dopey is “dark” 1:35:29 Jerry Garcia, backstage life, and tripping with Bob Weir 1:37:50 Talking bluegrass with Jerry and revisiting Phil’s advice 1:40:12 Darkness, recovery, and another attempt to reach Trey 1:42:40 Recovery needs to be attractive—and fun 1:45:04 Looking back with gratitude; meeting Ringo in France 1:47:28 Ringo’s invitation and Keith’s brother at Studio 54 1:49:52 Celebrity meeting etiquette and wrapping up 1:52:19 Dave’s outro, DopeyCon update, and credits 1:54:42 Closing song continues

Time Topic 00:01 Theme song 00:53 Terrible headphones, microphone complaints, and Ray’s return 03:15 Patreon “cheapos,” Ray’s $2 membership, and the Snickers story 05:31 Dave and Ray try to understand genital piercings 06:44 More piercing questions; the DopeyCon regulars 09:04 Ray reviews DopeyCon: heartfelt praise or stagecraft? 11:21 Alan joins; the missing framed posters and Canadian tunnel photographs 13:46 Alan’s complaints: blocked cameras, the singalong, and intermission 16:00 Fantasy basketball: missed Knicks picks and injury gambles 18:14 Diabolical Seymour, draft grievances, and gambling apps 20:31 Dave’s detective-questioning cliffhanger and Patreon invitation 22:41 Closing music

Time Topic 00:25 Opening music 01:27 Welcome and remembering Bobby R. 03:48 Recovery saints, service, and doing good without taking credit 06:09 Worst Recovery Texts Contest; why Dave loves episode 49 08:36 Patreon comments, five days of Dopey, and Dopey tattoos 10:18 “Peter Piper,” Bob James, and getting Dopey music on Spotify 12:44 Remembering Chris, listener feedback, and introducing the replay 15:27 Original episode 49 begins: can Dave be nice to Chris? 17:39 Buying loose cigarettes and setting up the Ezra story 22:07 Ezra’s corner outside Katz’s 24:25 The cigarette request that starts the fight 26:52 Threats, guilt, and stomping out half a cigarette 29:13 Who would win the battle for the corner? 31:37 A new listener discovers Dopey 33:11 Introducing Tracy’s story; recovery versus debauchery 35:32 Distractions, drinking forties, and trying to read the email 36:24 ADHD and a detour into language 38:40 Tracy’s heroin run in a terrible black wig 41:02 Pulled over with heroin in the glove compartment 43:26 Flirting with the cop; Tracy’s life on methadone 45:39 Chris’s Boston neighborhood characters 47:49 The family dog steals a sandwich; discussing homelessness 50:13 Couch surfing, sleeping outside, and neighborhood regulars 52:36 Shelter stories and apartments for older artists 54:52 Chris recalls sleeping outside and stealing beef jerky and beer 57:15 Sully’s email and “synchronicity cubed” 59:39 The dope-man surveillance camera; meeting at Mountainside 1:01:52 Rehab friendships and being tired of treatment 1:04:08 Dave and Chris’s different personalities 1:05:03 Staying in touch after rehab and Chris’s relapse 1:07:07 Scoring in unfamiliar cities; friendship in recovery 1:09:23 Bob Marley and Dave’s “Natural Mystic” weed flashback 1:12:37 Euphoric recall, DXM, and eighteen hours of the same song 1:14:49 Confiscated weed brownies and the “I think we’re dead” 911 call 1:16:14 Reaction, closing requests, and sign-off 1:18:27 Closing song continues

Time Topic 00:08 Dopey theme 01:35 Oro Recovery 02:56 Welcome, Betty preview, merch, and community updates 05:21 Squirrel’s voicemail: GHB, ketamine, and the wrong “Paco” 10:08 Voicemail reaction, Mountainside, and listener mail 12:35 Sex addiction, recovery, and chasing dopamine 14:59 Dopey Feud ideas and a listener seeking help with 7-OH 17:22 Kratom support, Workit Health, and creative outlets 19:48 DopeyCon Patreon comments and the studio debate 22:13 More DopeyCon feedback and LICR 24:35 Spotify comments and a listener’s meth psychosis story 26:55 Staying awake 22 days; Recovery Unplugged 29:46 Betty Guadagno interview begins 32:05 Brooklyn childhood, addicted parents, and stolen Christmas presents 34:22 Fleeing to Vegas and burning the rental truck 36:39 Falling in love with meth at fifteen 38:55 Childhood violence, a stolen geode, and the discovered meth pipe 41:12 Vicodin, doctor shopping, and an abusive boyfriend 43:33 First rehab, being thirteenth-stepped, and celebrating with cocaine 45:59 Losing both parents to suicide 48:18 Finding her parents and processing what happened 50:45 Seeking help at a meeting after their deaths 52:56 Grief, drinking, and estrangement from her sister 55:23 Sharing secrets, shame, and becoming a perpetrator 57:37 Returning to New York to retrace her parents’ love story 59:57 Staten Island, bartending, and the beginning of sex work 1:02:13 Using OKCupid to make the rent 1:08:59 Selling club drugs and addiction taking over 1:11:15 Choosing drugs over a relationship; the $20,000 marriage 1:13:26 Sex work’s progression and a Hurricane Sandy drug arrest 1:15:52 A stolen $2,000, a crack-and-heroin binge, and hospital detox 1:18:16 A boyfriend’s death and the continuing impact of her parents’ loss 1:20:43 The final run and the overdose that led to her spiritual experience 1:22:53 Combining drugs, seeing her life, and confronting the harm she caused 1:25:14 Going to a boyfriend’s funeral with another date; first injecting heroin 1:27:37 A thirty-day key tag and returning to meth after fourteen years 1:30:00 Exploiting women, imagined bugs, and meth psychosis 1:32:25 Hearing her father’s voice and feeling worthy of love 1:34:43 Continuing to use, dealers finding Jesus, and a stranger on the train 1:37:11 June 1, 2019: finding recovery and making meetings 1:39:37 Tiny men with lawnmowers: Betty’s withdrawal experience 1:41:42 A transformative hug and long-term treatment 1:43:54 Serendipity, spirituality, and becoming a coach 1:46:07 Learning to tell her story and integrating recovery 1:48:21 Gabby Bernstein and A Course in Miracles 1:50:32 Coaching, UFOs, and Betty’s DopeyCon experience 1:52:50 Grief, spiritual connection, and asking for a sign 1:55:12 The fox story and a possible psychic return appearance 1:56:11 Dave’s wrap-up and credits 1:58:35 Jake’s banjo cover of “I Wanna Be Good”