<p>This Week on Dopey! We are joined by Oro Recovery Medical Director - Dr. Jason Giles! We also read old comments and hear from a few dopes in the dopey nation. Then Dave interviews <strong>Dr.  Giles</strong>—twice board-certified in addiction medicine (via ABAM then ABPM), previously board-certified in anesthesiology and pain medicine, and a recovering opioid addict. He grew up in Santa Monica with a severely alcoholic father, fell into the <strong>second-wave ska/mod</strong> scene (Vespa, sharkskin suits, amphetamines), dropped out of high school, then clawed his way through community college to <strong>Berkeley</strong>, volunteering at the <strong>Berkeley Free Clinic</strong> and falling in love with medicine.</p><p>He explains anesthesia’s demands (no pain, no memory; muscle relaxants; airway control), the human connection of <strong>pediatric anesthesia</strong>, and the hope-work of <strong>pain management</strong>. In 1999, curiosity and stress led him to <strong>divert fentanyl</strong>: he edited paper records, carried a 2 mL syringe for a month, then IV-used with sterile technique. After a six-week gap he used again, convincing himself he could “handle it.” Use escalated to daily “after work,” leaving him in daytime withdrawal. The <strong>department chair paged him</strong> about missing fentanyl; instead of punishment, he offered help and a path into California’s <strong>5-year diversion program</strong> (treatment, meetings, testing). Giles detoxed <strong>cold turkey</strong>, went to AA (first meeting mostly doctors), found he wasn’t unique, and built long-term sobriety (nearly 26 years by his telling), learning service and vulnerability through treatment <strong>feedback groups</strong>.</p><p>With sobriety he finished residency, married, had a son, worked in cardiac anesthesia and pain, and then moved into <strong>addiction treatment</strong> (Malibu), where his science and lived experience met the work. He and Dave range widely: <strong>purpose/mission</strong> as a recovery engine; Bill W., boomerangs and ants; truth-serum myths; <strong>Halsted</strong> (cocaine→heroin), <strong>Freud letters</strong>, <strong>Hitler’s amphetamines/opioids</strong> (book <i>Blitzed</i>), <strong>kratom</strong> (mixed withdrawal profiles), <strong>benzos vs. opiates</strong> (benzo withdrawal = fear), <strong>intraoperative awareness & memory</strong>, <strong>Suboxone vs. abstinence</strong> (cast/training-wheels framing), fentanyl’s dominance (counterfeit pills; heroin now rare), and whether fentanyl appears in non-opioid street drugs (he says he’s seen it). ALL THAT AND MUCH MORE ON A BRAND NEW EPISODE OF THAT GOD OLD DOPEY SHOW!</p><br> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com/">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>