Dopey 595: Dopey Day 2026! Stealing Copper for Meth! Coke! Heroin! Oxys! Weed Farms! Chris Miss!

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Summary:

It’s Dopey Day—the annual celebration of Chris O’Connor’s birthday, his spirit and the strange, loving community that grew around Dopey. Dave explains the meaning of putting the Dopey logo over your eyes: addiction doesn’t have one face, nobody truly knows what another person is going through, and recovery happens through connection.

After DopeyCon updates, Scott remembers his weed-loving boxer Bailey, and Morgan tells a frightening story about a friend accidentally snorting an enormous line of 2C-B instead of cocaine and spending four hours reliving combat trauma.

Then three longtime dopes return to reflect on how their lives—and their ideas about recovery—have changed.

OG Dopey Nation legend Matthew Wiedermeier Carroll explains how he found Dopey while strung out on meth, wrote to Chris from prison, and eventually created the beloved “Waiting for Tonight” posts. He recounts stealing beer kegs and copper for drug money, drinking throughout his early involvement with Dopey, returning to cocaine and meth after his son was born, getting thrown out of his house and finally working the Twelve Steps for the first time. Matt also talks about prayer, fatherhood, DJing and the connection that helped him build a real recovery.

Next, B. Getz of The Upful Life looks back at discovering Dopey while isolated on Northern California cannabis farms and trying to quit opioids with kratom. He remembers getting expelled from his first weed farm after having pills mailed to him, returning for another chance, and finding community among the international “trimigrants” of the pre-legalization cannabis world. Now married, off opioids and kratom, and raising a new baby, B. explains how Dopey helped broaden his understanding of recovery beyond rigid labels and taught him the value of service.

Finally, Colin—who lived with Chris after Mountainside and now co-runs Berkshire Transition Network—joins Dave for a deeper conversation about grief, overdose and the limits of one-size-fits-all recovery. They question the tendency to explain every death by saying the person “didn’t want it enough,” discuss whether addiction is a fixed identity or a culturally constructed label, and explore why listening, patience, trust and individualized support may matter more than forcing everyone down the same path.

All that plus extra Chris! and More on an all new dopey day episode of that good old dopey show!

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