Steppin' Out Radio

General Arthur Dean is the Chairman and CEO of Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA). Before joining CADCA, he spent 31 years in the U.S. Army, and retired as a Major General. During his time in the Army, General Dean served around the world. He saw combat in the Republic of Vietnam and Saudi Arabia. He was a U.S. Army and Republic of Vietnam Senior Parachutist and an Army Ranger. He possesses numerous awards with the highest being two awards of the U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal.

Christine grew up in an alcoholic household. The smell of beer reminds her of her father. And she swore never to become like him. She vowed never to be a drinker, so she turned to pills. On the outside, Christine appeared to have it all. She had the dream job, the dream house, the dream car and the dream fiance. She also had a habit of taking 20 to 30 pills a day.

Michael was a young successful lawyer and entrepreneur who lived under the mantra "Work hard. Play hard". He would get drunk, and cruise around town in his Cranberry Red BMW 5-series believing he had earned his right to party. Eventually Michael lost control of his addictions and he spiraled downward from the upper-class to the street, becoming a homeless crack addict along the way.

Alex might just have been the wealthiest drug addict you'd ever meet. His story is the classic example of "stumbling forward" for years; improving his life-standing while falling deeper and deeper into addictions, including to crack-cocaine. He grew up comfortable, but with addictive parents. But he spent much of his young life comparing his financial situation to others. Alex's first drink was in high school, but his drug use wasn't until college.

Spencer grew up in a nice neighborhood, but remembers his parents and other family members constantly in emotional turmoil. It often lead Spencer to escape to his grandparents home for quiet time but the troubles were too much; his first suicide attempt was at age six. Spencer's first drink came a year later, and he learned at that moment alcohol could numb him to his surroundings. In his teenage years, he found alcohol to be inadequate and tried using marijuana and eventually harder drugs.

Amanda first known addiction was with alcohol. She fell in love with booze the moment the first drop touched her lips. She became a blackout drinker; aiming to drink so much she could not remember what happened or what she might have done during her intoxicated periods. Drinking lead to legal issues, bouts with rehab and stints in jail. and an eventual addiction and life that revolved around crystal meth.

Richie's life spiraled out of control in years after he lost his father. He became a heroin addict, and it cost him everything he had. He lost his own family and was living on the streets while trying to spend $200 each day to get his heroin fix. One day he decided to end it all and purposefully overdosed. It worked. He died. But the EMTs were able to resuscitate him. He took that as proof he needed to live and live cleanly.

Gina never tried alcohol or drugs until she was 16 years old. Her first drug was crystal meth. From that very moment, Gina was an addict. She spent the next ten years chasing the highs but winding up in the lows; in and out of jail for theft and prostitution. She also learned to drink and compulsively gamble. Gina's family felt they could do nothing but watch her lose her humanity. But help came when her family got her selected to be the subject of a documentary, which to Gina's surprise, was for an episode of the acclaimed television program Intervention. Gina decided now was her chance to turn her life around and she vowed she "wasn't going to waste this chance."

Even with 28 years of sobriety under his belt, Bob still can't find anything that remotely compares to the rush of gambling. It began as a child in New York City, pitching pennies with friends at age 7. He also flipped baseball cards. But the rush of the win was prevalent even at that young age. He would collect pennies and cards from friends, and nothing tasted as sweet. By age 14 he was betting with bookies who would take his five-dollar sports bets. As an older teen he made his way to racetracks. His early wining streaks made him feel invincible. Upon seeing Las Vegas for the fist time, he felt "this town was put on earth" just for him.

Remember that short-lived poker craze that mesmerized the nation a few years back? Denise remembers it all too well. She was raised by a gambling family. Her father took her on her first trip to Las Vegas. Her mother held weekly mahjong games. In adulthood, she would find where the gambling action was via her computer. She played online poker, which lead to Texas Hold'em tournaments at illegal poker clubs. One night after losing her money again, she opted to find help.