jews d

in
the

He was sober, attended outpatient treatment meet-
ings and eventually got a job working as a law clerk.
“At work he was doing well, but, at home on his own,
he was depressed,” Daniels says.
Florida has become the nation’s recovery capital
with more than 400 sober living homes in Palm Beach
County alone. These homes are linked with outpa-
tient treatment programs, doctors and labs. Some
owners, realizing there is more money to
be made from a relapsed individual
with insurance, pay “body brokers”
to lure individuals in recovery into
specific sober homes with offers of
gifts, or in Jamie’s case, rent covered
completely by insurance. Jamie had
become the victim of “patient bro-
kering.”
Nine days after transferring to this new
sober home, Jamie died of a drug overdose.
The Daniels family tried to piece together the last
week of Jamie’s life. They learned the doctor this home
sent him to had prescribed a new medication for his
anxiety, the highly addictive Xanax. “They set him up
to fail,” Daniels says.
On. Dec. 7, 2016, just four days after he was pre-
scribed the Xanax, Jamie ingested heroin laced with
fentanyl (a synthetic opioid 50 times stronger than
heroin). It shocked his heart and killed him. “We don’t
know how or when he got the drugs,” Daniels says. “No
medications or drugs were found at the scene.”
The Daniels didn’t find out about the corrupt nature
of the home Jamie was in until months after his death.
However, after speaking with the insurance company
and the drug task force detectives, it was determined
that most of the charges from two of the three sober
homes Jamie lived in were fraudulent.
Daniels estimates that the fraudulent charges to the
insurance company were between $55,000 and $60,000.
Approximately two weeks after Jamie’s death, they
learned the owner of the last house Jamie lived in had
been under investigation. Eventually, he was convicted
and is now serving 27 years in prison.
Daniels wants others to be aware of this danger in
the billion-dollar industry of addiction and let them
know it’s not just happening in Florida. “Jamie’s ability
for successfully beating his addiction was taken away
from him because he was manipulated,” she says.
She adds that addiction did not define the life of her

son, however. “He was a beautiful soul: loving, caring
and compassionate. He loved and protected his sis-
ter, Arlyn. They were the best of friends. He called his
Bubbie just to chat and always ended each phone call
with ‘love you.’ He would have helped anyone at any
time.”

ADAM’S STORY

It is only random luck that Adam’s story doesn’t end

continued on page 16

14

March 1 • 2018

jn

When To Seek Help

Lisa Kaplan is program coordinator for commu-
nity education at Maplegrove Center, which pro-
vides inpatient and intensive outpatient addiction
treatment for adults and intensive outpatient
programs (IOP) for youth up to age 18 and their
parents.
Kaplan runs the parent program of the IOP,
and she says the first step for parents is “not to
be in denial. Addiction gets
worse over time. Early inter-
vention is the key.”
Parents need to be aware
of what their kids are doing,
she says. “In a lot of cases,
kids are using right under
their parents’ noses, and
parents write it off to normal
Lisa Kaplan
teenage behavior.
“Many parents say they
behaved the same way when
they were kids, but what they don’t know is that
it’s more dangerous for today’s kids. Marijuana
today is way more dangerous; the THC level is
much higher than ever before, causing addic-
tion and mental health problems that didn’t exist
when they were kids.”
If parents suspect their child is a chronic user,
the first step is to have the child evaluated by an
adolescent therapist who has experience with
substance abuse. That person will recommend
detox, if needed, and a treatment program.
Maplegrove’s intensive outpatient program
involves three hours per day, three days per
week for six weeks. Teens undergo group ther-
apy, educational lectures and workshops taught
by adolescent peer mentors to learn about the
12-step programs. Parent attendance is manda-
tory two days per week. Parents participate in
psychoeducational support groups, educational
lectures and also learn about 12-step programs
by adult peer mentors.
Therapy is not the cure-all, Kaplan says.
“Addiction is a chronic illness and people who
are not ready for recovery are going to continue
to use,” she says. “We have kids who come
in — because they’re required to — with no
intention of becoming clean or sober. Our goal
for these patients is to move them further down
the continuum to a higher stage of readiness
through education and therapy.”
A 12-step program is also an important part
of treatment, both for the addicts and their fam-
ily. “Kids have a higher chance of succeeding
in recovery if parents are also in a recovery
program like Al-Anon, Nar-Anon or Families
Anonymous. You can find meetings at
familiesanonymous.org, which attracts parents
of teens and young adults.”
Maplegrove also offers educational and sup-
port groups for family members of people who
have problems with alcohol or other drugs. They
are free and open to all, not just families being
treated in their programs. For more information
about Maplegrove’s community education pro-
grams, contact Lisa Kaplan or a member of the
community education staff at (248) 661-6170.