PART TWO: Methin' Around at It's Finest; Pockets Rifled during an OD, Homemade Rigs, the Most Helpful Cop on Earth, FINALLY Recovery with the Assistance of Suboxone and TherapyPART TWO: Methin' Around at It's Finest; Pockets Rifled during an OD, Homemade Rigs, the Most Helpful Cop on Earth, FINALLY Recovery with the Assistance of Suboxone and Therapy
Chasing Heroine: Addiction Recovery Podcast
Joey Rakasitz shares how years of heroin, meth, prison time and near-fatal overdoses eventually led him to Suboxone, therapy and a stable family life in Montana. The conversation focuses on what actually helped him stay clean and the practical changes he made to leave crime and addiction behind.
52:09•29 Mar 2026
From Motel 6 Overdose to Montana Sobriety: Joey’s Long Road Off Heroin
Episode Overview
- Near-fatal overdoses, being left for dead and multiple failed attempts to quit did not immediately lead Joey to stop using.
- A sheriff in Idaho chose to help rather than arrest Joey, taking him to hospital and paying for a hotel, which Joey describes as a pivotal chance.
- Suboxone treatment combined with ongoing therapy at Alpenglow Recovery helped him stabilise and stay clean from around late September 2021.
- Therapy with a non-using counsellor and attending meetings gave Joey tools to address trauma, prison mentality and long-standing self-hatred.
- Joey stresses the importance of cutting ties with prison contacts, building a sober support network, setting concrete goals and embracing a "normie" life of work, family and responsibility.
“"I remember telling myself, if I don't… like, this is a one in a million chance that this guy's letting me go. And not only letting me go, he's helping me."”
What drives someone to seek a life without heroin, meth and prison after decades of chaos? This conversation follows Joey Rakasitz as he moves from motel overdoses and homemade rigs to a steady life built on Suboxone, therapy and sheer persistence. Joey shares, in brutal detail, how he overdosed in a Motel 6 on a mix of heroin and meth, was left for dead while people "rifled my pockets" and stole his truck, and still "didn't get clean" afterwards.
He talks about using countertop repair syringes as makeshift rigs and even learning to inject fentanyl pills, painting a clear picture for anyone who thinks they’re “too far gone” to relate. The episode shifts when Joey describes a drive from Texas to Montana, high and sleep-deprived, throwing his stash out the window and then desperately doubling back to look for it.
After swerving across the highway and lightly wrecking his van, he meets what he calls probably "the most helpful cop on Earth"—a sheriff who searches his van, finds spoons and uncapped needles, and instead of arresting him, gets him to a hospital and pays for a hotel room. From there, Joey talks through how a Suboxone clinic and two therapists in Montana helped him finally stabilise.
He explains how therapy with a non-using counsellor, regular meetings, and a growing family life gave him enough structure to stay clean since late September 2021. He’s now working full-time in a granite shop, paying taxes, holding a driving licence and raising a baby—things he once thought were for “suckers.” This one’s aimed squarely at people deep in long-term use, prison culture or chronic relapse, and at loved ones who’ve written someone off as hopeless.
If you’ve ever wondered whether someone that entrenched can change, Joey’s story might make you rethink it.
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