From Painkillers in Middle School to Heroin in High School… It Led Me to Crack & Prison | Ep 225
Oct 18, 2026 · 1h 17m
Summary
Alex Diener shares his journey from a stable upbringing in Mentor, Ohio, to early addiction involving pills and heroin. He recounts being expelled from school at 14 for possessing muscle relaxers, which led to years of probation and legal troubles. After transitioning to heroin, he was sentenced to prison, where a violent altercation at a halfway house resulted in a broken jaw and months of solitary confinement in Ohio State Penitentiary.
Topics discussed
Buying Opana pills in 2011
Sponsor reads: Rocket Mortgage and Shopify
Podcast support and social media links
Growing up in Mentor, Ohio
Feeling different and finding comedy
Junior high trouble and first suspension
Discovery of muscle relaxers and expulsion
Parents' divorce and family dynamics
Progression from pills to heroin
Daily heroin use and lack of withdrawal
Working at the bakery and buying Opana
Juvenile detention and theft charges
Arrival at OSP and reception center
Halfway house placement and neighborhood
Fight with bunkie and hospitalization
Solitary confinement in maximum security
Release, relapse, and crack addiction
Dual diagnosis treatment and Vivitrol
Relationship breakup and ADHD medication
Adderall addiction and selling pills
Path to recovery and last fentanyl use
12-step meetings and building a life
Staying sober and family support
New Day treatment and resilience
Therapy, exercise, and community
Nephews, sponsor reads, and outro
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