first the stroke, now this. so we asked my doctor. he told us about pseudobulbar affect, or pba. it s frequent, uncontrollable crying or laughing that doesn t match how you feel. it can happen with certain neurologic conditions like stroke, dementia, or ms. he prescribed nuedexta, the only fda-approved treatment for pba. tell your doctor about medicines you take. some can t be taken with nuedexta. nuedexta is not for people with certain heart conditions. serious side effects may occur. life-threatening allergic reactions to quinidine can happen. tell your doctor right away if you have bleeding or bruising. stop nuedexta if muscle twitching, confusion, fever, or shivering occurs with antidepressants. side effects may include diarrhea, dizziness, cough, vomiting, weakness, or ankle swelling. nuedexta made a difference by reducing my pba episodes. ask about nuedexta and go to nuedexta.com
i walked away from possibilities of greatness. my love for heroin has made this become my home. i live in jail and periodically visit the streets. i just about sold my soul to the devil when i started using heroin. in chicago, state-funded treatment on the outside has been slashed by more than 50%, cuts that disproportionately affect black users. for many of these men, this may be the only treatment they ll ever get. the rumors is true, that miracles happen here. it ain t where i want to be, but i damn sure ain t where i used to be. and that s something to be grateful for right there. in the early years when you first started to get arrested, were you offered any kind of treatment? when i first came through the county jail, it was in 1983. they pretty much didn t do anything for you at that time. when i got to that police station, it wasn t no treatment.
it was you got a background and that s just the bottom line. right now in the chicago suburbs but also in this country, if you go to a police department, in some cases the police may approach you and say if you give up your heroin, instead of arresting you, they ll give you an opportunity to get treatment. when you hear that, how does it make you feel? i don t think that s ever going to happen, not in our community. if i take any drugs, i m going to jail. in our neighborhoods, we don t have those programs. we don t have the officers that are going to be the good samaritans that say, let me save you, let me help you. it s not happening that way. i wasn t offered the same. i wasn t born on the right side of the tracks, so i wasn t offered the same. it s like a total betrayal. what about me? i feel like it s some bullshit, that s how i feel. do you think that if that opportunity were offered to you, years and years ago, to go into treatment right away your lives would be different
i live in jail and periodically visit the streets. i just about sold my soul to the devil when i started using heroin. in chicago, state-funded treatment on the outside has been slashed by more than 50%, cuts that disproportionately affect black users. for many of these men, this may be the only treatment they ll ever get. pfr the rumors is true, that miracles happen here. it ain t where i want to be, but i damn sure ain t where i used to be. and that s something to be grateful for right there. in the early years when you first started to get arrested, were you offered any kind of treatment? when i first came through the county jail, it was in 1983. they pretty much didn t do anything for you at that time. when i got to that police station, it wasn t no treatment. it was you got a background and that s just the bottom line. right now in the chicago
it was you got a background and that s just the bottom line. reporter: right now in the chicago suburbs and also in this country, if you go to a police department, in some cases the police may approach you and say if you give up your heroin, instead of arresting you they will give you an opportunity to get treatment. when you hear that, how does it make you feel? i don t think that s ever going to happen. not in our community. if i take them any drugs, i m going to jail. in our neighborhoods we don t have those programs. we don t have the officers that say come on, let me save you, let me rescue you. i wasn t born on the right side of the tracks. i wasn t offered the same it is a total betrayal. what about me? i feel like it is bull [ bleep ]. that s how i feel. [ applause ] do you think that if that opportunity were offered to you, years and years ago to go in to treatment right away your lives would be different and you would not have repeatedly gotten