Posts under ‘Social Entrepreneur News’

As the Democrats and Republicans convene their national conventions, the nonpartisan issue of the rising cost of and the extensive damage caused by alcoholism and addiction is being ignored. Major issues have risen since the last election, but have yet to be addressed by either party.

First, the hidden addiction to prescription medication is rising across the country. In term of the deadliness of prescription drugs, over five times as many people overdose from prescription drugs as do from the illegal drugs of cocaine and heroin. According to the DEA, the abuse of prescription drugs represents close to 30% of the overall drug problem in America.

Second, production of and addiction to Crystal Methamphetamine is spiraling out of control in the rural parts of the Midwest and the West. Small towns and communities are plagued by meth labs where the production of the drug results in toxic waste. In order to clean up a lab, these towns are forced to purchase Hazmat suits and expensive equipment beyond their budgets. Moreover, family courts are overflowing with the abandoned children from Meth addicted families.

The third problem of how to respond is the key issue that needs to be addressed in this election. Social conservatives on both sides of the aisle simply call for more prisons and harsher legal penalties. But our prisons are overflowing with alcoholics and addicts, and the cost of their imprisonment is enormous. Moreover, prison today is like criminal college for the non-violent alcoholic and addict. They enter with a substance abuse problem, and they leave with criminal expertise. Both the Republican and the Democratic parties need to realize that the future of our country will be affected by this issue.

Unless we make the shift from imprisonment to education and treatment, this open wound will never heal. What remains so mind boggling is that in the long run, it has been shown that the alternatives of treatment and education are much cheaper and more effective than imprisonment. Education of the dire consequences and wide range of prescription drug addiction would help to address the first problem. The second problem of crystal meth addiction and production could be helped by a combination of education and federal support of small towns under siege.

But the ugly stigma placed on the diseases of alcoholism and addiction remains a powerful force in American society. Rather than treat the disease of alcoholism and addiction and stem the rising tide of damage and cost, both parties would rather brandish the whip against an easy and politically insignificant scapegoat.

Barack Obama and John McCain both claim to be mavericks. We are now calling on them to openly address this issue and embrace the cost-saving remedies of treatment and education. America has enough prisons but needs more recovery.

Since I was first introduced to the 12 Steps in 1988 I have been fascinated by the application of the Steps to many areas of my life. Going from being a heroin addict living outside society selling drugs and committing petty crimes to being the CEO of 4 multi-million dollar businesses speaks to the transformative power of recovery.

Is it enough to be abstinent? My experience is abstinence alone is not enough. In high school before I started drinking or doing drugs I was struggling. I was a great starter but most of the time quit projects before the finish line. I cheated and took short cuts. I would describe myself as really smart, charismatic, impulsive, narcissistic, poor boundaries, emotionally immature and compulsive. In College, I started drinking and taking drugs starting a four year journey from the UCLA campus in Westwood to the shooting galleries of South Central Los Angeles.

My personal path to recovery meant not using any drugs or alcohol. Abstinence! Over the last 20 years I’ve expanded my recovery to cigarettes, personal health, family and work. Working the 12 Steps supports my personal transformation into a reliable, responsible, spiritual, productive and honest human being. What about work and entrepreneurship.

In the 12 Steps people speak about a “Higher Power” and the Steps reference a “God of Your Own Understanding”. Many people, like me, struggle with finding a “Higher Power” or a “God of My Own Understanding”. I’m a good entrepreneur who found a way to make the 12 Steps work. I changed Higher Power into Higher Purpose and set out to use Entrepreneurship to Prevent or Treat Addictive Disorders.

I’m 46 and clean a little over 4 years. Do the math. Let’s just say my recovery is progress not perfection. In the last 4 years, my higher purpose has consumed me. My wife and I started Wonderland Center a very well known treatment center in Los Angeles and I founded the 12 Angels an organization whose purpose is to give the gift of entrepreneurship to the recovery community.

Many entrepreneurs like a challenge, I do. Addiction is largest cost to productivity on this planet. In the United States we lose about $500 Billion per year from cigarettes, alcohol and drugs. How about if we throw in gambling, food, sex, love and other addictions, what kind of numbers are we talking about? I love the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) website where I get most of my stats from but they haven’t given me any estimates on the impact of all these other addictive disorders on our society.

Come on – Warren Buffet and Bill Gates take on the biggest challenge of your career. We need a vaccine against addiction!

The Philanthropy Roundtable sponsored a panel on innovative programs using entrepreneurship to help recovering addicts, current and former prisoners and the disabled.

The conference is titled: Building a Nation of Entrepreneurs on Wednesday, May 21, 2008, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m, at One-Ninety-One Club, Atlanta, GA. http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/content.asp?contentid=590

The panel moderator will be 12 Angels founder Alex Shohet and two amazing panelists: Catherine Rohr, from the Prison Entrepreneurship Program, and Patti Lind, from the Abilities Fund. Learn how entrepreneurship extracts latent or misguided potential. Many prisoners have great entrepreneurial drive and experience waiting to be re-channeled, and research shows that people with certain disabilities have a greater propensity to become entrepreneurs. Veterans, people with substance addictions and other disadvantaged people who have overcome significant trials have demonstrated the willpower necessary to start and run successful enterprises.

The Philanthropy Roundtable is a national association of individual donors, foundation trustees and staff, and corporate giving officers. The Roundtable attracts independent donors who benefit from being part of an organization dedicated to helping them achieve their charitable objectives. In addition to offering expert advice and counsel, the Roundtable puts donors in touch with peers who share similar concerns and interests. Members of the Roundtable gain access to the full range of ideas and information on what does and does not work well in philanthropy.