EPISODE · Sep 9, 2026 · 1H 57M
An Ounce of Fentanyl in Federal Prison, Cirrhosis Returns & 22 Years Off Heroin — Shane Enholm Returns!
from Dopey: On the Dark Comedy of Drug Addiction · host Dave & Chris
DopeyCon Tickets: https://buytickets.at/thedopeyfoundation/2345507PATREON: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast SAVE $15 per ticket on patreonSummaryThis week on the Wednesday Dose! Close Friend of the show, legendary tattoo artist, punk-rock outlaw, former bank robber and federal prisoner Shane Enholm returns to Dopey with a frightening update: after surviving hepatitis C and end-stage liver disease decades ago, he has been diagnosed with cirrhosis again.Shane retraces a life built around heroin, prison, tattooing and survival—from having an ounce of fentanyl inside federal prison in 1990 to being forced onto methadone after his release. He talks about becoming a prison pull-up champion, the FBI operation that ended his smuggling connection, the shame directed at people receiving medication-assisted treatment and why service—not recovery righteousness—ultimately helped him stay off heroin for 22 years.The conversation turns emotional as Shane remembers musician Bruce “Spider” Middleman, his close friend and former partner of Katey Sagal. Shane recalls reviving Spider after one overdose, watching him immediately ask to get high again and discovering his body after the fatal overdose that followed.Plus: getting kicked off Instagram over a message to a teenage tattoo apprentice, quitting unfiltered cigarettes after 46 years, the dangers of today’s fentanyl and tranquilizer supply, pain treatment, drug legalization, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor and whether Shane may eventually need a liver transplant.The episode opens with a wild collection of listener stories involving a stolen handgun used in a convenience-store robbery, smoking crack during an unexpected 69 and getting robbed at gunpoint by a dealer named Dead Man. PLUS A GIANT WEIRD LOOKING PENIS ON FIRE ISLAND! and more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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What this episode covers
Timestamps 00:18 Dave’s Wednesday introduction 00:56 Bad country music at Fire Island 02:43 An increasingly naked walk toward Cherry Grove 05:09 Marcus’s meth, sex and robo-tripping story 07:27 His hookup steals his safe and handgun 08:03 The stolen gun is used to rob a convenience store 09:18 James gets hooked on crack at 18 11:41 Trading sexual favors for more crack 12:40 Robbed at gunpoint by “Dead Man” 14:06 Arrested stealing cartons of Newports 15:08 Pawning his father’s jewelry for crack 16:30 Honey and Ford’s elaborate setup 18:42 Reactions to Stefanie Wittels Wachs 21:03 Spotify comments and making peace with Doug 23:24 Shane Enholm returns 25:45 Forced onto methadone after federal prison 28:12 An ounce of fentanyl inside prison in 1990 30:10 Fentanyl versus the heroin Shane remembers 31:19 Keith Richards, Mick Taylor and romanticizing heroin 34:56 Addiction, shame and feeling unworthy of God 37:07 Shane’s complicated history with 12-step recovery 39:18 Diagnosed with hepatitis C in prison 40:09 End-stage liver disease and the transplant clinic 42:29 Beating hepatitis C and cirrhosis 44:53 Shane learns that the cirrhosis has returned 47:18 Autoimmune hepatitis after earlier treatment 49:45 Quitting unfiltered cigarettes after 46 years 51:26 Recovery righteousness and accepting relapse 53:31 Facing death and waiting for answers 55:58 Giving up refined sugar 58:18 Could Shane eventually receive a liver transplant? 58:35 Banned from Instagram over a message to a minor 01:04:03 Breaking his social-media addiction 01:05:24 Google’s surprisingly flattering Shane biography 01:07:41 How Shane actually got clean 01:09:38 Bruce “Spider” Middleman and Katey Sagal 01:11:20 Shane and Spider live together 01:13:31 Relapse, shunning and sick people needing help 01:15:35 Shane revives Spider after an overdose 01:17:42 Spider immediately wants to get high again 01:19:44 Shane discovers Spider after his fatal overdose 01:21:15 Anger, grief and Spider’s famous friends 01:23:15 Holding onto recovery after Spider’s death 01:24:38 “Shooting dope in your sixties is not a good look” 01:26:44 Dave’s relapse after a year without heroin 01:28:19 Service and the principles of recovery 01:30:20 Gratitude in tattooing and sobriety 01:31:29 Buying heroin but never injecting it 01:32:51 Shane’s girlfriend smuggles drugs into prison 01:35:14 Fitness changes Shane’s life 01:35:41 The prison pull-up champion 01:37:49 The FBI destroys Shane’s prison connection 01:40:03 Released clean—then ordered onto methadone 01:42:23 Methadone myths and medication-assisted recovery 01:44:37 America’s completely reversed approach to pain 01:47:00 Methamphetamine psychosis and the modern drug supply 01:49:01 Fentanyl, xylazine and today’s visible suffering 01:50:08 Artie Lange calls Dave 01:51:05 Nika Ray, money and giving things away 01:53:29 SafeSpot and closing thoughts
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An Ounce of Fentanyl in Federal Prison, Cirrhosis Returns & 22 Years Off Heroin — Shane Enholm Returns!
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