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Clean and Sober Radio
Clean and Sober Radio features veteran law enforcer and university director Steve Forzato discussing addiction, treatment, overprescribing doctors, and the link between substance use and human trafficking. The conversation mixes real-life stories with practical ideas for families, professionals and anyone affected by addiction.
55:21•26 Sept 2026
From Drug Busts to Human Trafficking: Steve Forzato on Addiction, Law, and Real Help
Episode Overview
- Addiction affects people across wealth, fame, race and background; there are no boundaries.
- Motivational interviewing can help families draw out a loved one’s own desire to seek treatment during brief moments of clarity.
- Relying only on incarceration can deepen trauma and drive people back to substances; linking them to treatment offers a different path.
- Some doctors have fuelled the opioid crisis through careless or greedy prescribing practices and face serious legal consequences.
- Human trafficking often intersects with addiction, and law enforcement is increasingly treating those selling sex as victims who need housing, medical care and recovery support.
“Addiction doesn't discriminate. Everybody could be a target, no matter how famous, how rich, what colour you are, what your religion is, where you come from.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This episode of Clean and Sober Radio brings that question right into the spotlight through a mix of hard truth, lived experience, and practical guidance. Host Gary Hendler and co-host Mark Sigmund sit down with Steve Forzato, Director of the Center for Addiction and Recovery Services at Saint Joseph’s University and a veteran of four decades in law enforcement.
The conversation moves from headline news – a tragic overdose death in a luxury rehab and a major cocaine cartel bust – into the deeper patterns behind it all. As Gary puts it plainly, "Addiction doesn't discriminate.
Everybody could be a target, no matter how famous, how rich, what colour you are, what your religion is, where you come from." Steve shares striking undercover stories, including being shot at during a massive crystal meth deal, and how those experiences pushed him toward supporting treatment rather than relying on prison.
He talks about motivational interviewing in everyday language, explaining how families can "evoke" a loved one’s own desire to change, even when that person seems lost in their using. You’ll also hear about his work with the Law Enforcement Treatment Initiative, cracking down on overprescribing doctors, and his current focus on the link between addiction and human and sex trafficking in places like Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
Steve breaks down how hotel staff and police are trained to spot trafficking and why the people selling sex are treated as victims needing housing, medical care, and addiction support. Between law-enforcement war stories, campus teaching, and heartfelt reflections on trauma and recovery, this conversation aims straight at anyone affected by addiction – whether you’re using, worried about someone, or working on the front line. It might leave you asking: whose "moment of clarity" could you help spark today?
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