6/10/08 William Cope Moyers & Michael Schiks

Addiction: Costs, Causes and Cures

Understanding and dealing with our most costly health issue

Openly or secretly, addiction impacts every organization and touches the life of every citizen. Personally and professionally, it is vital for leaders to understand addiction, know how to deal with it, and consider the policy implications associated with it. Data tell only part of the story, but they are profound:

• Alcohol is linked to 47 percent of all industrial injuries, 50 percent of homicide cases, and up to 75 percent of date rapes among college students.



• 50 percent of domestic violence is traceable to alcohol or drugs.



• Drug abuse accounts for 7 out of 10 cases of child maltreatment.



• Two-thirds of sex offenders in prison were under the influence of alcohol and drugs at time of crime.



• 16.1 percent of 18-25-year-olds use illegal drugs.



• Over 40 percent of those who use alcohol by age 15 become dependent.



• Alcohol and drug abuse costs society $176 billion each year in lost productivity.



• The total economic cost of addiction is $246 billion per year.

Mike Schiks, executive director of Project Turnabout in Granite Falls, will moderate this special program, which will feature William Cope Moyers, author of Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption.

From this session, you will learn, among other things:

• The devastating costs of addiction for individuals, organizations, and society.



• Why "social users" do not understand addicts, and how that helps addiction to flourish.



• How thoroughly addicts can and will deceive even those closest to them.



• Prevention strategies and treatment alternatives.



• Public policy alternatives and their consequences.

William Cope Moyers is the son of nationally-known commentator Bill Moyers. Beginning with binge drinking and descending into full-blown crack addiction, the younger Moyers, now sober for more than twelve years, writes and speaks extensively about preventing, detecting, and treating addiction. Michael Schiks, executive director of Project Turnabout, was formerly the executive vice president of national recovery services at Hazelden. He heads Minnesota Model Consulting, which works with treatment providers to help them improve their treatment practices and their business operations.

William Cope Moyers' Hidden Truth

From an article by him, "The Addiction Affliction." You can read the entire article at www.beeville.net/CETArt/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.main&ArtID=48

"What is remarkable about my slow but steady spiral downward is that nobody saw it happening, not even when I was a reporter for the Dallas Times Herald in Texas, where I spent many good years - and some bad ones - in the 1980s.
"Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade and Dallas Police Chief Billy Prince didn't see it. As a newspaper reporter whose beat was their offices, I gained their respect and their trust, even as my substance abuse problem blossomed into full-blown addiction.
"My editors at the Dallas Times Herald were unaware of my private battle with alcohol and drugs. They saw in me an aggressive, accurate, and enthusiastic journalist who never missed a deadline.
"The pastor at Tyler Street Methodist Church in Oak Cliff didn't know I was an addict. I sang in the choir and helped teach Sunday School.
"My parents, the two people who knew me best, had no idea of what was happening to me. Why should they be concerned? They had raised me to be a healthy, loving, and caring person."

To learn more about Moyers and his book, go to www.williammoyers.com. Read more about Mike Schiks and Project Turnabout at www.projectturnabout.org

Click here to register now.