Drugs Did This
a podcast by Chip Womick
Retired journalist Chip Womick talks with individuals who have a connection to substance use disorder in Randolph County, North Carolina. Guests will include people in recovery, people who have lost loved ones to drugs, people who help individuals trying to beat the demon of addiction -- anyone who has something to say that will push back against the stigma associated with addiction and help raise awareness about what's going on in the community.
Episode One: Susan E. Hunt
Susan E. Hunt is a co-founder of Keaton's Place, a recovery resource center in Asheboro, N.C., which was established to make a difference for individuals and families living with addiction and to honor the memory of her son, Keaton Scott Hunt. She shares Keaton's story and journey with drugs before he died after a fentanyl overdose in the summer of 2019 at the age of 20.
Episode Two: Amber Mabe (Recovery Story)
Amber Mabe was almost 29 years old and operating a thriving graphic design company when addiction took hold. She lost her business. She lost her children. She lost herself. This is her story of reclaiming her life.
Episode Three: David Mabe (Recovery Story)
David Mabe stopped using drugs while working to get himself in shape to go to bootcamp. After he entered military service though, addiction reclaimed its grip on the young man. Struggles with substance use followed him back into civilian life. Eventually, drugs robbed him of everything but his life. Today he is a peer support specialist who uses his life experience to help others.
Episode Four: James Michael Martin (Recovery Story)
James Michael Martin drank his first beer at the age of 15. Twenty-three years -- and the ongoing use of alcohol and a laundry list of other drugs -- later, he had lost virtually everything save his life. And he did not care whether he lived or died. This is his story of addiction and recovery.
Episode Five: Scott Smith (Recovery Story)
By the time he was in the fifth grade, Scott Smith was drinking most weekends with his buddies. Several of them were years older. But his future addiction did not involve alcohol. It was opioids that ensnared the Asheboro native and eventually led to a period of IV drug use, even though he never learned how to give himself an injection.
Episode Six: Bob Shackleford (Family)
Dr. Bob Shackleford says he did not understand anything about the disease of addiction when his son went to treatment for the first time. He still did not understand much when his son left that 28-day program. Years later, he is still learning. In this conversation, he talks about some of the myths about addiction and how a loved one's substance use affects the family.
Episode Six: Capt. Bradley Cooper and Sgt. Jason Burgess (Randolph County EMS)
Capt. Bradley Cooper and Sgt. Jason Burgess know one aspect of how drugs impact Randolph County: They are employed with Randolph County Emergency Medical Services, and county EMS personnel responded to 784 overdose calls across the county in 2022. Cooper and Burgess talk about how dramatically overdose calls have increased since 2008 and what happens after someone calls 911 to report an overdose.