Sensationalizing Recovery

Ok all, this will be my last posting until after Labor Day. I am going to Hawaii for some R&R and to finish my novel. A little hiatus from the world of addiction and recovery may do me some good. But can you ever get away from the wonderful, wacky road of recovery? I wonder.

I was on the plane to paradise at LAX when I got a call from The Joy Behar show asking me to appear and discuss Lindsay Lohan’s imminent release from wherever she’s been biding time since her last flame out. No, it wasn’t a joke —they were serious.

How is it possible we are still talking about this poor, unfortunate drug addicted girl? What drives our popular preoccupation with this boring and repetitive soap opera? Why do we care? Maybe we don’t, and are being force-fed this salacious redo because the media can’t help itself. It’s as if those who are covering the story are as unable to put the drug down, as Lindsay seems to be. If this is what we are talking about in our culture, I fear we may be doomed. I told The Joy Behar Show that when they are ready to get serious and do a show that examines the more substantive aspects of this disease, I would be delighted to be involved. They didn’t give up easily, promising me that if I agreed to participate they would talk about "the bigger picture." I didn’t believe them. It’s not their fault; these television talk shows are at the mercy of the ratings game.

Despite their good intentions, they will never talk about Addiction and Recovery without sensationalizing it. Their last pitch was to tell me that Dr. Drew would be on the show. This was their credibility play, after all — he is a Doctor! Drew Pinsky works hard to promote understanding and to diminish stigma, but sometimes his methods have a different effect—see Celebrity Rehab.

I’d prefer to watch Nora Volkow from NIDA on these shows talking about the brain science of addiction. That’s the kind of medicine and conversation that could be a game changer. The sad truth is nothing will change until addiction ceases being a circus act, and when those of us who are asked to be ringmasters, consider our motives, and say NO!

We live in a culture where it is easy to justify short cuts and compromise in the pursuit of what we believe to be the greater good. My experience in the movie business, politics, and now healthcare, has demonstrated to me that those who compromise principle are doomed to be compromised. If we want to be taken seriously, if we want real action, real policy change and results, we must be serious and there is no way to be serious while discussing Lindsay Lohan for the 3,000th time.