What to do, should we do it, we are not stopping, we are doing things all the time but at the start of a new administration there is a bit of a cycle based on change of administration, it is really great to take a fresh look at the crisis, the drug problem and what other major things we can do to address the problem so looking forward to the final report of the commission coming out in late october november, flowing the best ideas into the National Drug control strategy and try the most effective drug policies we can to help citizens across the country. [applause] let me say a word about interdiction and supply side. There is no Silver Bullet to this drug problem in this country, not one thing you can do and the problems go away, we need to do everything we can and do it better. On the supply side we need to restrict the ability of these dangerous drugs coming into the country. I have been to the southwest border. I got a chance when i saw the largest thing you put in the country, i was able to see border extensions and go and fly over the border as it is a daunting challenge to control what is coming into the country but a lot of people are working hard and i can tell you something this administration is doing is refocusing the energy and enthusiasm. Since 9 11 understandably there has been focused on counterterrorism, weapons of mass destruction and that is important, we want to protect our families from those threats but maybe we dropped the focus on the drug supply and i can tell you security customs and border protection, ice, epa, they are energized and enthused to support this administration for strong drug enforcement. Theres a lot of energy doing better, not a cure all but a way to do a better job restricting supply. We are also working to control the import of fentanyl into the country which comes across the border but unfortunately comes into the mail as well. I went to the largest male facility in the country, jfk airport and that is a huge challenge. A giant cavernous facility and boxes of stuff everywhere. There is a canine, drug dog that works there and that drug dog is the happiest drug dog in the country because they are making seizures all day long at jfk. There is a lot happening. Also i folks know that people are ordering fentanyl from china on the dark web and just recently one of the largest platforms was shutdown by us Law Enforcement and we are sending a message that even on the dark web there is no longer impunity for drug traffickers to sell these drugs to people in our country and it is amazing how rapidly the drug picture has changed, it has only been two years that the fentanyl problem has become so prominent and begun to kill americans at such a high rate so we have been beginning to turn the focus of Law Enforcement on understanding where substances are coming from, how to block them, track them, sort the mail and it is a big challenge but theres a lot of effort going on. We are working with the chinese to stop the export of fentanyl and its analogues and using the tools we can to work with the chinese and International Community to control the exports. At the urging of the United States they should band, a growing number of fentanyls, also working dropped this thing again, sorry about that. Working in the United Nations internationally schedule in march, a strong push of the United States, United Nations on narcotic drugs, voted to schedule two critical precursors, the fact they are internationally scheduled would reduce flow of illicit fentanyl into the country so we are talking with the chinese, working at the un, National Control board, partner countries to restrict the supply and put pressure on it and the rest the people selling these things and it is a big challenge but supply and demand at home and abroad have to use every tool in the toolbox to address this problem. You know the data, 2000 americans died in 2015, the last full year of data we have, new numbers come in december of this year. In a couple months we think the numbers will be 60,000. We already know in 2017, the following year it could be 70,000 so we are experiencing in terms of fatalities the worst drug epidemic in American History and a lot of work to do to turn around, turn this around, we didnt get into this overnight, 15, 20 years as far as the opioid problem of overprescribing these medications, a lot of american struggling with addiction to Prescription Drugs, many of them migrating to use apps and fentanyl and it is an enormous problem so i want to be straightforward that it is not something we think we can solve overnight but it is something we are working on really hard. The Top Trump Administration priority. The theme of the conference this year is unique, timetested and evidencebased. Pretty good theme, you come up with that yourself, paul . So oxford house meets those criteria and it is inspiring and innovative and the crucial partner in addressing Substance Abuse and addiction and one of the benefits of this terrible epidemic in all the news and attention create a better environment for establishing oxford houses, we need more. [applause] through your commitments, oxford house because of your presence and needed more than ever, eight states have them. [applause] i tell you what you already know, no state in the country doesnt have people addicted to drugs and silver housing. And put a lot of stress on states and communities if they dont know where to turn, they turn to oxford house, in the National Registry of evidencebased and practicing procedures since 2011. The Gold Standard evaluated programs and it took work for oxford house to oxford house talking to state officials, you can mention it is evidencebased practice, they could look it up if they dont believe you. We have a role to play from the federal government, all over the country so thank you for the honor of letting me address you and thanks for everything you do to help people sustain the recovery and flourish and get their lives back. Look forward to hearing more about oxford house and i can tell you you have a friend in the white house when you need us. Thank you. [applause] those remarks taking place this morning, this conference on opioid abuse and drug addiction, nearing the end of the lunch break and continuing, life coverage, two keynotes about acute care and longterm recovery and also Training Programs for medical students working with drug abuse patients. You can watch this afternoons session in the morning session including a speech by acting director of the White House Office on National Drug control policy later today available on our website at cspan. Org. A programming note coming at 3 00 eastern time on our companion network cspan, todays White House Briefing with Sarah Huckabee sanders. The president will visit texas for the second time tomorrow to receive updates in the aftermath of hurricane harvey. The White House Briefing 3 00 eastern time on cspan. Life coverage of the opioid abuse and drug addiction conference continuing on cspan2. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] okay, everyone. In one minute we are going to begin. We have a busy afternoon. Again, my name is paul malloy and i am an alcoholic. One of the things that was done this morning, we did a lot of things, god a lot of work done this morning and heard the drugs are and head of the dc Government Program for alcoholism and drug addiction, doctor clark, stu and others talked about the Opioid Crisis and added to that and curtis led a program to talked about reentry from prison because we know that 60 to 70 of folks incarcerated have a booze or drug problem and likely to be right back in prison if they go back where they came from because that is where the booze and drugs were. If they get into oxford house it increases their chances they will never go to prison again. While those were the main subjects discussed this morning, there were lots of other activities all around the convention hotel. If you will recall, each breakout session has five different panels. Some of those panels like having fun in an oxford house were loud, boisterous and full of people outside of this world, living there. But randy and others who taught us the ideas are getting clean and sober means you go back to drinking and using booze again. The nuts and bolts of oxford house, the basics, that session was fully attended and people learned about and were reminded about here is the basic way oxford house works. Another Breakout Panel dealt with oxford houses and state agencies. We listened to folks who headed state agencies or worked in state agencies talk about the ways the relationship between state agencies and oxford houses could be improved. Another Panel Including others talked about drug courts in oxford house. Drug court is part of the business of intervention. When somebody needs to be stopped and intervened with in order to move into detoxification and treatment, the likelihood of getting in treatment and staying in treatment is very low unless that individual can get into an oxford house. Drug courts encourage folks to get into an oxford house. For oxford house, that opens up a lot of other questions such as how do we deal with a very young population . Most of us when we are 22 or 23 believe we are super men and somehow the next drug, the next drink will work okay and it often doesnt, until you land at oxford house, requires a lot of education about the fact the whole way you beat this game is to have behavior change. Another one of the Breakout Panels talk about educating the public. There was a time when anonymity was the rule of the road and nobody who was an alcoholic or drug addict told anybody about that. Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case may be, many of us in the mid70s told everybody. My theory was everybody knew me as a drunk on the senate side, when i started working on the house side i should spread the word that i am no longer a drunk. I am an exdrunk. Extra, okay, although i heard curtis mention x offender was not the kind of language it was politically correct to enter. One panel i did not get to hear was the role of oxford house in reducing Healthcare Costs but you will recall this morning when i mentioned the status that 15 of folks in treatment have been in treatment 5 times before. You dont have to be a great math professor to realize if you can cut that down so they only go through once or twice you increase capacity, no increase costs and we know and have already seen Behavioral Health companies around the country are beginning to reach out to oxford house to say maybe we are on the same team and maybe you can help us get a better job for our clients. Working with treatment providers was a panel where we learned the most important thing for the oxford house folks is to keep coming back, going back, even if the treatment provider is mad at you because some counselors and favored client to an oxford house and favored client, thrown out, go back. Be honest. Keep going back to the treatment place because every Treatment Facility has turnover. The most is 30 days and you move on. When you come back, you have a new group of folks to persuade, the best thing is sliced bread, you get out of your come to oxford. I wanted to highlight a few of those things so that you know other things are going on and you can understand this whole business of alcoholism, drug addiction, treatment and recovery is a complicated thing. We are complicated people because we are human beings and we dont move in a straight line, literally staggering and even if we stop staggering it is over, we seldom go in a straight line. Together, in each of these 2214 oxford houses around the country, there are family units that are different from other family units, are functional and programs that we got, insisted on being jacksons blueprint. On page 50, see that beautiful blueprint was the theme of last years convention. On that blueprint for success all these values like honesty, trust, structure, doctor clark looked at that, that is the normal way people should live, he is a psychiatrist, he knows that. We need that blueprint. I keep asking jackson did you steal it from somebody or are we going to get sued for some Copyright Infringement . He assures me know, he drew it himself somewhere in texas. [crowd noises] one of the things i should mention is we have 25 houses in corpus christi, 29 houses in houston. I am happy to report only one of the houses is in louisville because of water and only two of the houses in houston. [cheers and applause] as i mentioned this morning, because oxford house is so interconnected and such a big family spread all over the country, you can be sure other houses will reach out to help those folks get back in as soon as the water goes down and the mud is shoveled out. [applause] we have two important presentations this afternoon. One of them is from our friend doctor clark, that is going to talk about the attorney generals report. The Surgeon Generals report last november was a big deal because the Surgeon General never got out a report before about addiction, about alcoholism. Back in 1967 the Surgeon General did a report about smoking. I never followed the rules and regulations that he mentioned about smoking, but a lot of the country has because 41 of the country used to smoke cigarettes. Great picture of jane after our first child was born in 1960 in the hospital smoking a cigarette. That changed the culture, the culture about alcoholism and drug addiction, more difficult to change but certainly the Surgeon Generals report may be a step in the right direction. As jane and i watch 60 minutes these days everything glad is for for a pill. Something to make us feel better. We get excited and then listen to the end of the commercial, this may cause suicide, sudden stoppage of the heart and your hair will fall out. In a country where most of the ads that go into television now are pushing drugs, drugs from your doctor or drugs from the drugstore without a prescription you got to wonder why it is that this whole drug crisis is part of our culture. As we reach out and tell people about oxford house and how you can improve the culture that is going to be a plus. As the Surgeon General report set a landmark for for changing this culture we are very fortunate today to have doctor clark with us to talk about what this change means and how we can respond to it. Doctor clark. [applause]. As i talk to many of you in the past, we will continue to discuss the issues associated with facing addictions. As was pointed out, im gonna talk about the third report. The third general report came out in november of last year and it was pointed out that it is the first time the high offices of Surgeon General has addressed the issue of addiction. And it was not that addiction for the first time but as many in our society have pleaded the issue of substance disorders, addiction of people with orders as paul says dealing with drug addicts even though thats not the appropriate language but the key issues we struggle with. Id like you to understand that i will appreciate your feedback on this presentation to the support but would like to evaluate this report because what we want to do is help everyone in the community. It wasnt written for scientists and it wasnt written for clinicians but written for everyone and onc we want this rt to be used by anyone interested in communicating aspects and issues associated with addiction with Substance Abuse disorders. Its important that you have a tool at your disposal to be able to do that. There are five messages working with this report. The report was put together with the Senior Editor and other editors involved some names you heard this morning and people from prevention. [inaudible] we want these overarching messages so that public understands both Substance Abuse disorders harms the health and wellbeing of individuals in the community. We need to address those issues and that we can address those issues with effective strategy, oxford house be one of those effective strategies. Prevention programs and policies do exist and it should be widely implemented. We want that message to get across. We want full integration to Continuous Services so the rest of healthcares we can improve the quality, effectiveness and the safety of all healthcare. We heard from North Carolina last year that the housing and recovery reduced Healthcare Co cost. Oxford house has played a Critical Role in helping to reduce Healthcare Costs. Its not just some abstraction but about the wealth and health of the larger community. We need to have a coordination and implementation associated with parity laws and youre entitled to get appropriate care depending upon your jurisdiction and there are laws that say that assures companies cant discriminate in terms of providing services. This can at least increase access. Some people do need treatment and a professional environment. Hopefully the jurisdiction you find yourself in will allow that to happen. We know theres a large body of research that talks about the biological social underpinning of Substance Abuse issues and related disorders and they describe effective prevention treatment and Recovery Support and we also need future research. We researched all sorts of things but one of the things we havent done is adequately address the Research Associated with Substance Abuse disorders. The first Surgeon General report came out in 2016 and it was not the first year that we had an addiction problem. The report is constructive and had seven basic chapters in those chapters i will go over quickly and marched through them. I dont want to take up all of your time. Chapter one was an overview in chapter two deals with biology, the science of addiction. I will show you a couple of slides about that. Chapter three on prevention programs because as you work with communities in which you live oxford house is a part of the community. When you work with the committees you live it is important to have messaging at your disposal. The support is available and you can downloaded off the internet and each chapter has a separate pdf so you can share this information with the communities in which you live, as well as with yourself. I hear a young child in the audience and we need to keep in mind that this is, indeed, not just about you but about the children. [applause] there is a chapter on early interventional treatment and management. Chapter five is on recovery the many pathways to wellness in chapter six Healthcare Systems and Substance Abuse disorder and Chapter Seven a vision of the future. We start off saying there is reason for hope and optimism. The fact that you are here is reasons for hope and optimism and i appreciate oxford house. [cheering] as was pointed out earlier, we started out with a small group of people, we continue to grow every year and i see more and more people demonstrating that not only is recovery possible but the kind of enthusiasm that you bring, the type of questions you ask that demonstrates hope and optimism. Prevention and Substance Abuse and related harm and not incarceration. Incarceration does not solve the problem of Substance Abuse disorder. We need a society to recognize the Public Health implications of Substance Abuse. We need research providing understanding and evidence of the effectiveness of prevention policies, new medications, behavioral therapies and the chronic care model where it is applicable and policies that offer new opportunity, standard access to prevention treatment and recovery and integration in the mainstream hell. When you show up at the clinic you show up at the position of the Nurse Practitioner or physician assistant and you show up and you get quality care that is respectful of your autonomy and your personhood and not someone who is discriminated against. Chapter two deals with neurobiology and i only have a few slides. You should keep in mind that the Research Come to grips with the fact that there are these basic models, biological issues associated with the use of drugs to expand by some people transition from using or misusing to Substance Abuse disorders because we know not everybody who experiments with or uses alcohol or drugs dissolves into Substance Abuse disorder. Some people say im envious and how do i become like those people but those people who devolve Substance Abuse disorder need to understand that. It explains how Substance Abuse changes in the brain and it is a brain disorder. You go from the model that the nih is promoting, recognizes that certain parts of the brain are affected like the midbrain and what they called the frontal cortex for the front part of your brain and the part that makes decisions and the part that teaches you from doing impulsive things or not and you go from binge intoxication to withdrawal and preoccupation and anticipation. These are the three stages that are involved that the nih recognizes that the most important thing is the brain disease. The next slide is a bunch of spellcells. The important part of the slide is that it talks about the relationship between the various substances in the neurotransmitter particularly dopamine and those various cells. Some people say, well, if i have an opiate problem i can drink or if i have an alcohol problem, i can smoke. [laughter] the person who says but thats right, so i wont die of an alcoholrelated Liver Disease but ill die of lung cancer. Thats right. [laughter] youre the problem when you develop a problem. The key issue is to understand that these things are interrelated and that theres a sign there and that people quickly realize oh, i need to be careful if im looking for something that will alter my mind in mood and ive already developed a problem with one of substance i may have another problem with another substance. They are using science, mris, Magnetic Resonance imaging, positron technology does show that these changes can be identified and that they can be sustained and they interfere with your potential for recovery. What we learn in chapter two which again you can download that addiction becomes more severe with continued Substance Abuse. As i say, can i just do a little bit . One lay potato chip for those who can remember and you just eat one. There are dramatic and persistent changes that consult feelings of pleasure, stress and feelings of unease and anxiety and irritability and is often a accompanied with withdrawals and how you function. Substance abuse does hijack these important areas of the brain and it does not mean that you cannot address these issues but it does mean that you have these overwhelming urges and overwhelming desires. The conclusion is addiction is a chronic brain disease any of dramatic changes in brain functions, the brain changes after the Substance Abuse stops and we try to figure out how long and it depends on the individual and the substance but the key issue is that with programs like oxford house you buy time. Twelvestep programs, among ago when i was dealing with twelvestep programs, they recognize dont do anything for the first 90 days. Why . Your brain is still affected. Hello. You have a hard time making decisions. As this paradox the thing that you will use to make a decision is adversely affected by the things you used. [laughter] the substance. The alcohol. The cocaine. The heroine. The marijuana and marijuana. You have to use your brain to make the decision. Im not going to spend my last time on booze or drugs but i will pay my rent. Somehow the rent will get paid but i got a by this. In any event, the other issues that adolescence is a critical period. We have children in the audience and the important thing we want to do is that addictive substances have a specially harmful effect on the adolescent brain. The adolescent brain is undergoing change. Its undergoing maturity and development. We know that misuse of alcohol and Drugs Associated with health and social problems and we know that prevention tops the progression from the Substance Abuse, the problematic use to Substance Abuse disorder. We know that prevention makes economic sense. Research shows that prevention programs can say between a dollar 61 and 64 and societal cost for every dollar invested depending on the product. We know that prevention works. We are not willing to invest in prevention. It is an odd thing. Oxford house point of view is that as you recover it offers you an opportunity particularly when youre interacting with your community to point out that theres a swathe of information about prevention. Who is in the best position to talk about this question those who have experienced the effects of Substance Abuse. There are risk and protective factors that the problems in their targets that we want to address. This protective factors consistent across diverse populations. Thats what i love about oxford house. I have seen you have the most diverse population in an audience in a long time. [cheering] you cover the spectrum and im no longer with the federal government but with secretary price was here. They need to see that we talk about programs like oxford house you reach the community. Here the bulwark of our community and you represent the full spectrum of our community. Different communities and neighbors should have Different Levels of risk and for protection but the key issue is you come from all of those communities. Those people who run around and say not my community should come to an oxford house will not leave. And they dont get to say oops, my bad. Over 60 prevention programs and policies have been shown to prevent problems. Communities are an effective organizing force for bringing evidencebased policies and programs to scale. Those communities i love what paul was saying. This is a community and a family. You bring things to scale. You influence each other. I was in North Carolina but the most important thing was what is the community doing and what is the house doing what is the network doing. People said my house isnt having a party and my people dont associate with the other houses. The response was why not . Good question. We need to make sure the communities are organizing and one of the things we know is that if we dont have the committee, we cant rely on what our call influential Solutions Like big policies for reducing inappropriate prescribing. They make these laws and they assume the problem will go away. And they dont. Chapter four. Early intervention treatment and management of Substance Abuse disorder. I want to spend the time on this before i get to what is the most germane chapter. This chapter looks at the Scientific Evidence supporting the effectiveness of treatment and intervention, therapy, services, medications, available to treat Substance Abuse disorder. You can download this in plain english and we didnt use a lot of dialogue but we know there are destructive strategies ranging from self change to special treatments and we want to promote screening in the Healthcare System or your nurse or your Nurse Practitioner or your physician assistant and you should be able to discuss your substances without the fear of termination. Early intervention, treatment and the management of treatment for the cover he support services. Substance abuse discorder like a treatment for other services hypertension, diabetes, asthma, it is designed to reduce the major symptoms and its designed to improve with social function and designed to help you recognize the relapse. Not everyone is ready for prime time. We know that a number of people who start oxford houses relapse. They need to be able to engage the system of care and they need to understand that that system has their health and interest. You also need to know that youre not banishing people. Youre having them reengaged with the Healthcare Delivery system. So hopefully that they can reap presents. Everyone in the Healthcare System, primary care, urgent care, saturated care, health clinic, should be asking about alcohol use and should be asking about cocaine use and how Prescription Drug use is used et cetera. There should be brief interventions for the practitioner talks about this issue and it should be provided to adolescence and adults who are at risk and theres the ongoing monitoring to build the trust and relationship. We need to promote a reduction. [inaudible] you want to be in a system that has individualized treatment plan. We recognize the importance of and devise treatment plan and without an individualized treatment plan you are just another cookie. Goals should be person centered and strength based. Oxford house nudges you toward strength based, what is good for you and what you recognized as good in you. We should target our efforts to keep you engaged in either in oxford house specifically or care. Care should consider mental and Health Issues and should be culturally competent. As i mentioned, you are diverse. We should consider age, gender, identity, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and current conditions. We know that there are some medications that preapproved medications to treat alcohol and opioid but there are no medications for marijuana, cocaine, meth phentermine or other Substance Abuse. No one. [inaudible] they are promoting them. There are no approved medications for marijuana and cocaine, methamphetamine so cant rely on them magic pill. We need to recognize the importance of behavioral therapies that to deal with some of the issues associated with Substance Abuse disorder. Group therapy, family sessions, these things have been known to work. Structured therapy helps people recognize the impact of their behavior in dealing with stress, interacting with interpersonal relationships on their Substance Abuse and ability to function. Life can be stressful and relationships can be stressful. Supervisors on the job can be stressful. You need to be able to articulate that because once you divulge a Substance Abuse disorder or problem you cant say that i can do a little one to get through a little bit. It doesnt work that way. That is not how it is done. These therapies teach and motivate people how to change the behaviors in order to control their Substance Abuse. The treatment strategy is lengthy than that but the key issue is that substance and misuse can be reliably and easily identified for screening, Substance Abuse disorders can be officially treated and a medication can be effective but theyre not medication for everything and treatment is costeffective. Chapter five deals with recovery. There many pathways to wellness. The different organizations have different views of what recovery is an abstinence often necessary, is not always sufficient to define recovery and we need to represent remission from Substance Abuse disorder which is a reduction in key symptoms is more common than people realize. Scientific evidence, 50 of adults once met diagnostic criteria for Substance Abuse disorder and thats about 25 Million People are currently in a state of permission one year or longer. It can take five years. [cheering] some people have to have sever several. [inaudible] it takes some people multiple episodes of treatment, republic create an mutual aid. People who suffer from Substance Abuse disorder these are the values and beliefs and have a sense of worth and dignity whether they are recovering or not. The respect for the dignity of the people is important. Shaman dissemination prevent many individuals seeking health and help and has to be combated. Recovery can be achieved to diverse pathways and should be celebrated. Access to highquality treatment is a human right, although recovery is more than treatment. People in recovery and their families have valuable experiences for encouragement for others people can learn from them. You are our messengers, whether you realize it or not, whether you want to be or not, there is someone waiting to hear your message, a message of hope. The Surgeon General report notes that 86 of people sought abstinence as an important part of their discovery. Two oxford houses principles theme of abstinence is supported by the research. [applause] another principle is personal growth. Being honest with yourself. Handling negative feelings about alcohol and drugs and been able to enjoy life without alcohol and drugs. [applause] since we were in the district next to the finals it was clear that somebody was enjoying themselves. [cheering] the other theme is service to others. These are important issues. In service to others. The Surgeon General report recognizes that there are a number of Recovery Support systems. Mutual aid groups like twelvestep program, recovery coaching, Recovery Housing, recovery management, recovering Community Centers and education. We talk in the report the mutual aid groups like twelvestep program and these are the bestknown district these are basically peers helping peers. These are members sharing their problems of the status they value and the experiential knowledge. People want to know if it can be done and youre in the position to tell them it can be done. You can learn from each others experiences. That is what the house does. Groups are voluntary association in the twelvestep group they charge no fees in his self lead. The report goes on to talk about Recovery Housing. It notes that Substance Free environment and mutual support and benefit individuals during and or after outpatient recovery. Recovery Housing Residents share resources with each other, give advice about how to find employment, manage legal problems, interactive social services, Access Healthcare and have fun. [cheering] the blueprint is not in the report but oxford houses in the report. Oxford house is in the report. Clearly, you have over 2000 houses and over 43 states and the district of columbia, canada and australia. The report points out that you are the leading example of Recovery Supported houses. [cheering] there are a bunch of Recovery Housing in the environment oxford house is the leading example. It is in the Surgeon Generals report. It notes that oxford house is pure run, something, Substance Free residents of helps recovering individuals and requires all members to maintain abstinence and encourage but do not require participation in twelvestep mutual groups. All of this is in the report. You already know this. But here in the Surgeon Generals report. [cheering] you have external validation, not that you needed it but it is always nice. Everyone likes a little props. Everyone likes to be acknowledged from time to time. You know you are good but its right on track nice to hear that you are good. At least, i think so. The Surgeon General report noticed that a randomized controlled bonnet people with Substance Abuse disorders who lived in oxford house after treatment or two times more likely to be abstinence and higher incomes and lower incarceration rates in a followup two years later than similar individuals received standard continuing care. [cheering] like i said, you are in the report. You have evidence. What you are doing is supported by the Surgeon General; what you are doing this for by the research. That should be nice to hear. For me, since ive been coming to these meetings for many years, it means i am not wasting my time. [laughter] that we leave this conference out for a