EPISODE · Aug 19, 2026 · 1H 34M
Brad Pitt(is not on this episode)! Kratom Addiction! Why Rehab Is Broken & Remembering Chris on The Wednesday Dose with Joe Schrank
from Dopey: On the Dark Comedy of Drug Addiction · host Dave & Chris
DopeyCon Tickets: https://buytickets.at/thedopeyfoundation/2216905 Get Discounts and Good Stuff on PAtreon: www.patreon.com/dopeypodcast Summary Interventionist, social worker, author and longtime Dopey favorite Joe Schrank returns to record with Dave in person for the first time since the early days with Chris. Joe explains why he believes the traditional rehab industry often confuses compliance with actual healing—and why recovery should be measured by improvement, reduced harm and staying alive, not only perfect abstinence. Dave and Joe dig into Brad Pitt’s decision to drink moderately after years of sobriety, whether alcoholics can ever successfully return to controlled drinking, and why celebrities speaking publicly about recovery matters. They also discuss kratom and 7-OH addiction, medication-assisted treatment, cannabis in recovery, mental health care and the danger of treating relapse as a moral failure. Joe shares memories of employing Chris, how he responded to Chris’s relapses and the shame Chris carried afterward. Plus: a drug-addled FedEx driver steals a customer’s mailbox, Dave’s painfully awkward encounter with Seth Rogen, Joe’s upcoming book and screenplay, DopeyCon, Andy Cohen, baseball and the possible return of Rehab Confidential. ALL THAT 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 00:00:00 – Dopey songs and opening 00:02:06 – Dopey Day, Chris’s birthday and today’s episode 00:03:20 – DopeyCon lineup and game-show theme 00:04:49 – Kevin’s Xanax-and-kratom mail-carrier story 00:06:18 – Driving a FedEx truck completely blacked out 00:08:42 – Running over—and stealing—a customer’s mailbox 00:11:02 – Fired from FedEx and taking Xanax at the hospital 00:12:22 – Comments from the Jed episode 00:15:44 – Counselors in recovery, boofing and listener reactions 00:20:13 – Ketamine, psychedelics and Dave’s alleged dementia 00:22:34 – Joe Schrank returns to Dopey 00:24:15 – Recording together for the first time since Chris 00:27:14 – Joe’s relationship with Chris and his family 00:29:14 – Why Joe became a social worker 00:31:39 – The problems with for-profit addiction treatment 00:33:58 – Could The Fix return? 00:36:20 – Why Rehab Confidential ended 00:38:27 – Rehab sponsors and the recovery economy 00:40:53 – Addiction stigma and dishonest obituaries 00:43:15 – Brad Pitt’s return to drinking 00:45:30 – Has lived experience become overvalued? 00:47:47 – Twenty-four million different versions of recovery 00:50:11 – Compliance versus genuine healing 00:52:28 – Did Joe’s comments drive people away from AA? 00:54:40 – Can Brad Pitt drink successfully? 00:57:06 – Research, AA and self-defined recovery 00:59:28 – Can alcoholics become moderate drinkers? 01:01:50 – Dave, Chris, marijuana and the danger of relapse 01:04:07 – Everyone needs mental-health support 01:06:22 – Joe predicts what will happen with Brad Pitt 01:08:40 – Harm reduction, personal choice and “Pray for Pitt” 01:11:28 – Kratom, 7-OH and medication-assisted treatment 01:13:14 – Is kratom addiction the newest moral panic? 01:15:31 – Joe remembers employing Chris 01:17:55 – Relapse, shame and “addicts acting like addicts” 01:19:57 – Joe’s screenplay, The Weight of Grace 01:22:14 – Joe’s upcoming book and DopeyCon 01:24:32 – Amy Dresner and a possible Rehab Confidential reunion 01:26:51 – Dave’s awkward Seth Rogen encounter 01:29:19 – Celebrities, recovery and finding Brad Pitt 01:31:29 – Toodles for Chris 01:32:03 – “Good So Bad” performed by Michael from Good Kid
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Brad Pitt(is not on this episode)! Kratom Addiction! Why Rehab Is Broken & Remembering Chris on The Wednesday Dose with Joe Schrank
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