Margaret Cho: Face-First into Boiling Cheese, Kratom Hell, Benzo Seizures & the “Fuck It” Guide to RecoveryMargaret Cho: Face-First into Boiling Cheese, Kratom Hell, Benzo Seizures & the “Fuck It” Guide to Recovery
Dopey: On the Dark Comedy of Drug Addiction
Time Topic 01:20 Welcome, autumn, post-DopeyCon malaise, and listener stories 03:47 Sneaking kratom in rehab—and getting caught by a new test 06:09 “Barry”: kratom dependence, law school, and trial practice 08:16 Eighteen capsules before class and landing a clerkship 10:30 Two years off kratom; Patreon reactions to Justin Crompier 15:02 Workit Health welcomes Dave and Margaret Cho 19:20 Margaret’s love for Dopey and her relationship with weed 21:46 Opiates, benzos, kratom, and why California sober wouldn’t work for her 24:05 The Third Step as “fuck it”—replacing addiction rituals with recovery 26:30 Building a higher power and a daily meditation practice 28:53 Finding quiet, VR meditation, and TRIPP 33:36 Kratom as harm reduction versus Margaret’s personal experience 36:04 Kratom dependence and feeling constantly dope sick 38:29 7-OH, Feel Free, and treatment discussions 40:53 Rehab, withdrawal, restless legs, and benzo seizures 43:17 Two seizures at Thanksgiving, boiling fondue, and Amsterdam 45:44 Ambulance bills and the doctor who told Margaret she was dying 48:09 Stimulant obsession and the conversation turns to kava 50:27 Recovery “loopholes,” sobriety, and losses around treatment 52:54 Old recovery friends, intervention, and wanting to live 55:18 Fentanyl, remembering Chris, and drifting from recovery routines 57:42 Disappointment, meditation, pets, food, and music 1:00:04 Writing “My Dick” with Jane Wiedlin 1:02:23 Audience questions: DopeyCon, “Grippy Sock Vacation,” and mental health 1:04:51 Public recovery: accountability or pressure? 1:06:56 Weed dreams and keeping your word in sobriety 1:08:24 When kratom starts getting in the way of life 1:10:42 Harm reduction, Narcan, clean needles, and resources 1:15:13 Closing the live event; returning to Spotify comments 1:17:32 Justin Crompier reactions and listener audio complaints 1:21:36 Margaret Cho’s “Grippy Sock Vacation” 1:24:46 Closing music
1:33:47•7 Oct 2026
Margaret Cho’s Wild Ride: Kratom Hell, Benzo Seizures and the “Fuck It” Path to Sobriety
Episode Overview
- Kratom may ease withdrawal for some, but Margaret describes it as leaving her constantly dope sick and deeply depressed.
- Benzo withdrawal can trigger serious seizures, highlighting the need for medical supervision and gradual detox.
- Recasting Step Three as a "fuck it" moment helps shift control to a higher power and away from obsessive self-management.
- Consistent daily meditation, even starting with 60 seconds, can recreate the calming blankness once sought in drugs.
- Harm reduction tools like naloxone, clean needles and testing kits can save lives while people are still using.
“To me, it's the same thing as saying, fuck it... I'm just going to say, fuck it and give it to a higher power.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This episode of *Dopey* throws you straight into the messy, funny, and brutally honest side of addiction and recovery, with comedian Margaret Cho sharing stories that are equal parts horrific and hilarious. You’ll hear Margaret talk about her long love affair with weed and why "California sober" just isn’t an option for her: she doesn’t use substances to enhance life, she uses them to escape it.
She lays out how alcohol, benzos, opiates and kratom twisted her world, describing kratom as leaving her "dope sick all the time" and calling its withdrawal "worse than an opiate withdrawal". The episode doesn’t shy away from the darker moments. Margaret recounts benzo-related seizures at dinner – including going "face first right into the boiling cheese" at a fondue restaurant – and the chilling experience of watching multiple people die around her in a luxury rehab.
It’s a stark reminder that addiction "does not discriminate" and that even the most privileged lives can end in tragedy. At the same time, there’s loads of humour and practical recovery chat. Margaret reframes Step Three as the "fuck it" step: "To me, it's the same thing as saying, fuck it...
I'm just going to say, fuck it and give it to a higher power." She talks about building a personal higher power, meditating for up to an hour a day, and finding that same blank, comforting feeling she once chased with opiates through breath and stillness instead. Host Dave Mannheim keeps things loose and funny, while Workit Health’s Max helps anchor the harm reduction angle, from naloxone and test strips to mood stabilisers and online care.
If you’re wondering whether kratom, kava, ‘non-alcoholic’ loopholes or meds fit into your recovery, you’ll hear frank perspectives without judgement. Margaret sums it up simply: sobriety is "really fun" and genuinely better than the chaos she left behind. Could a "fuck it" approach to recovery and a daily dose of humour be exactly what you need right now?
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