This post was originally published on May 15, 2014.
Every noble (or less than noble!) cause needs a good advocate. Advocates help advance the movement, spread the word and raise awareness about issues that otherwise might not draw much ink. Sober folks need advocates too. Here are a few of our best and brightest.
1) Kristen Johnston
Russell Brand’s Advocacy for Addiction Treatment
“It’s more important that we regard those suffering from addiction with compassion and that there’s a pragmatic, rather than symbolic, approach to treating addiction.”
Russell Brand, Hollywood’s daft, tall, dark, flamboyant prankster made a an honest appeal to a British parliamentary committee examining UK drug policy, advocating for a more compassionate and rehabilitative approach to treating addiction as opposed to a penal or criminal punishment. Brand who has been very open about his past as a heroin addict and constant sufferer of the judicial consequences of his actions, is an interesting voice in the addiction treatment world. As a film star, he is most commonly seen as an off-beat, often oblivious British rocker, and his roles have sometimes involved copious amounts of drinking and drug use. But now, 8 years sober, Brand has been working hard at getting the word out on how to revamp the way society views addiction. He was also a good friend of the late Amy Winehouse, whose death prompted a lengthy blog post from Brand talking about addiction and how it affects the ones you love. You can read it here
– See more at: https://www.hickorywindranch.com/blog/#sthash.dBNzlDxH.dpuf
Russell Brand’s Advocacy for Addiction Treatment
“It’s more important that we regard those suffering from addiction with compassion and that there’s a pragmatic, rather than symbolic, approach to treating addiction.”
Russell Brand, Hollywood’s daft, tall, dark, flamboyant prankster made a an honest appeal to a British parliamentary committee examining UK drug policy, advocating for a more compassionate and rehabilitative approach to treating addiction as opposed to a penal or criminal punishment. Brand who has been very open about his past as a heroin addict and constant sufferer of the judicial consequences of his actions, is an interesting voice in the addiction treatment world. As a film star, he is most commonly seen as an off-beat, often oblivious British rocker, and his roles have sometimes involved copious amounts of drinking and drug use. But now, 8 years sober, Brand has been working hard at getting the word out on how to revamp the way society views addiction. He was also a good friend of the late Amy Winehouse, whose death prompted a lengthy blog post from Brand talking about addiction and how it affects the ones you love. You can read it here
– See more at: https://www.hickorywindranch.com/blog/#sthash.dBNzlDxH.dpufKristen Johnson
Actress Kristen Johnson is famous for many things: her role in Third Rock From the Sun and her acclaimed memoir, Guts, which outlines her path through addiction and out again. Actually, since getting sober in 2012, Johnson has become one of recovery’s biggest crusaders. She’s the founder and executive director of SLAM (Sobriety, Learning and Motivation), an organization working to create New York’s first addiction-and-recovery high school, has written for many publications including The New York Times about addiction and keeps a blog and very active Facebook page where she continues to bring sobriety out of the closet. (She went into all this and more when she was a guest on AfterPartyPod.) Also of note: Johnson doesn’t believe in enforcing anonymity in recovery because she feels it helps promote shame and secrecy.
2) Marc Maron
Marc Maron is a comedy king who has been off the sauce for 13+ years. He’s an outspoken sobriety advocate, though he might not always advertise his own sobriety as being anything someone else might want. He is all about making his recovery his own; taking tools of the program and tweaking them as needed to help him heal. He says, “The biggest challenge for me in talking about my own drug addiction and recovery is in making sure that I keep it to my own experience and do not pass judgment on others.” When asked whether he’s into AA or not so much, he explains that he’s “a meeting guy and a sort of ‘talking to other addicts’ guy over being a program guy. I’m not that hung up on the God thing.” Which is refreshing, because so many other sober folks are hung up on the God thing. (Also a previous AfterPartyPod guest, he gets into all of that here.)
3) Russell Brand
“It’s more important that we regard those suffering from addiction with compassion and that there’s a pragmatic, rather than symbolic, approach to treating addiction.” So said none other than Russell Brand, Hollywood’s ridiculously tall British actor/funnyman (and Katy Perry’s ex) during an impassioned appeal to a British parliamentary committee. Brand has made a name for himself as one of the recovery world’s most dedicated advocates, partly because he has been sober himself for 10-plus years. He regularly speaks out about reforming UK drug policy and advocating for new, more compassionate ways to treat addiction instead of simply tossing addicts in jail. He’s also been up front about what he has personally lost to his own addictions. After the death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, Brand mentioned countries such as Portugal and Switzerland—both of which “have introduced progressive and tolerant drug laws,” and have subsequently “seen crime plummet and drug-related deaths significantly reduced.”
4) Craig Ferguson
Good old Craig Ferguson, late-night host extraordinaire, has an impressive 20+ years of sobriety, and he isn’t afraid to talk about it. When he hit that crucial and elusive milestone in 2012, the first people he told were his fans, via Twitter. Ferguson’s willingness to be out and proud when discussing his recovery is admirable and rare. He’s also talked about being close to suicide before finally getting sober, helping to shed light and ease the stigma of mental illness. Watch his stunning sobriety speech here.
5) Edwin (“Buzz”) Aldrin
This famous older astronaut has had quite the sober ride. Aldrin, more commonly known as “Buzz Aldrin,” was the second man to ever see the moon. He was also a man with a major problem with alcohol. In 1976 he announced that he’d been an alcoholic for many years before his Apollo 11 mission in ’69. Just a couple of days before that famed shuttle launch, Aldrin gave up the booze, successfully pulling off his historical venture to the moon. He has since remained a sober advocate and outspoken voice for recovery.
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