How Former Addicts Are Helping Turn Lives Around, Rethinking Weeds

How Former Addicts Are Helping Turn Lives Around  Guests: Dave Durocher, Managing Director, The Other Side Academy; George De Leon, PhD, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, New York University; Christine Scott, Prosecutor, Utah County Attorney’s Office There’s a program in Salt Lake City that is juggling nearly 100 convicted criminals, mostly repeat offenders, who would otherwise end up with long prison sentences. The building has no bars, and the doors are left unlocked. It has no professional staff, and it costs the state nothing. The therapy comes from other residents, also convicted offenders, who use tough methods to each other accountability and integrity. Does this sound like a fantasy, a “hug a thug” program bound to go wrong? Rethinking Weeds  Guests: Michael Caron, Extension Horticulturist, Utah State University; Taun Beddes, Extension Horticulturist, Utah State University; Val Anderson, PhD, Professor of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University; Phil Allen, PhD, Professor of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University During the hot, dry months, it’s painfully clear just how much of an advantage weeds have over carefully cultivated plants in our yards and gardens. The tougher the conditions, the more weeds seem to thrive. But Ralph Waldo Emerson once said a weed, “is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” Could we better understand or acccommodate weeds?