Why are there so many impediments in the way of people who want to kick their habits.

A very close friend of ours is incommunicado in a detox this morning, trying to kick methadone. Because methadone maintenance programs, at least in New York, are geared more toward control more than in reaching the addicts where they're at, our friend has been buying his doses on the street. This is not only expensive, it's risky. He was already busted once by overzealous undercover cops who must have fantasized that they were breaking up a massive drug cartel. He was lucky enough to get off with a fine and a day in a (pathetic) drug-education program, but he's tired of looking over his shoulder. I only hope that he's able to able to stay clean; it will be the fourth methadone detox he's gone through over 15 years.

Deirdre and Carrick take a train to Washington D.C. this evening to appear tomorrow at a press conference where the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration will release the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health survey. The annual survey tracks the number of persons who are abusing illegal drugs, pharmaceuticals, alcohol and tobacco in the U.S.

"The release of the 2004 survey is the highlight of the annual National Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery Month press conference that ushers in a month long observance lauding the gains made by those in recovery from alcohol and drug abuse, as well as treatment providers," the SAMSHA press release says.

Carrick is one of those success stories. But she and Deirdre are not travelling to D.C. to crow about her. They intend to make the point that there would be many more success stories if we had a coherent and compassionate drug policy. As it stands, it seems we'd rather spend money on locking people up in jails than treating their disease.

Phase I of our campaign was filming "Saving Carrick." It reached millions on July 29, and we hope that it will encourage other people to speak out publically about addiction and recovery .

Phase II of our campaign was The Elephant on Main Street website, which we launched to flesh out the story that Dateline told and to provide a platform for everyone to talk about the issues "Saving Carrick" raises. We have been deeply touched by the stories of others on this site, and believe that the quality of the posts bodes well for building it into a dynamic force for both support and advocacy. I've not been able to develop narrative section of Elephant as well or as quickly as I'd intended, but hope to start spending an hour or two on it daily as soon as I catch up with work.

Phase III is getting out and spreading the word, meeting by meeting, press conference by press conference. Last week we were invited to deliver the keynote address at the Carolinas Conference on Addiction and Recovery in Chapel Hill, NC, on October 5. The theme of this year is "Addiction: A Family Disease," and we're trying our best to get as many of the family there as we can, work and school schedules permitting.

We've got huge shoes to fill. The original keynote speaker, the Rev. Cecil Williams of Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco, had to bow out for personal reasons. He's a man after our own hearts.

"The mid-1980s saw the emergence of "Crack" - cheap cocaine sold at $1-$2 a hit. Rev. Williams' son and daughter were claimed for a time by the drug," according to a profile on the PBS website. "But instead of calling for more police or street vigilantism, Williams led marches. He set up a microphone for drug dealers and drug users to tell their stories. He invited those affected to join with his congregation.

"All of those gathered stood up together," he said. "The Glide staff, black community leaders, addicts, prostitutes, and grandmothers - poor, wealthy, illiterate and educated - we told our stories of recovery. We told our stories of faith and our stories of resistance."

The only way to blast through the impediment, we believe, is by telling our stories. If enough of us do so, all of our individual tales will meld into a defeaning roar.