Reflections ~
The Rest of The Story
When Weed Wasn’ t Enough— Detox
by Dolores Halbin, RN, BSN, contributing writer
Some of our older readers may remember Paul Harvey’ s renowned radio program,“ The Rest of the Story,” which aired from 1996 to 2009. My husband and I never missed an episode. Thanks to the internet, you too can enjoy these stories of our past.
I wrote an article in January about the universal physical aspects of detoxing from just about anything. Knowing what you’ re in for may have been helpful, but Paul Harvey would have asked me for the rest of the story.
Charlie Hammer, my Investigative Journalism teacher at UMKC, was the crime-beat investigative journalist at the KC Star for 40 years. Some of you older folks may remember him as well, from the days when the newspaper was tied with a string and thrown onto our driveways at dawn. Charlie would have given me back that essay with a big red“ I” for incomplete. I may have answered the five investigative questions, who, what, when, where, and why, but I left out a big one at the end.
How
What was missing from my January 2026 article was some pretty important information— the need for help, and how to get it.
First, I violated one of the detox rules I discussed in my January 2026 article, When Weed Wasn’ t Enough: The Path Out of Shadow: stay off social media. I’ m not sure, but I think I’ ve made my case for why staying quiet is a good idea.
For those who missed my January 2026 article, I decided I didn’ t want to be on a medication my physician prescribed. The appropriate action would have been to make an appointment, go in, discuss the situation, and develop a plan for a medically managed withdrawal and an alternative treatment plan.
I did make that appointment, but not until I had gone a month without sleeping. When I told my doctor of 10 years, who is also 70, what I’ d done, he simply shook his head.“ That could have killed you. I would have thought you, being a nurse, would have known better,” he admonished.
Well, that sent a bit of a chill down my spine. Yes, my article was a“ what to expect from detox for dummies.” I shared this experience with our readers without a plan and without the most critical piece of information.
Getting Help! Please, do as I say, not as I did!
April Hatch, RN, MSN and co-owner of Cannabis Care Team.
Detox
For the best advice on how to withdraw from addictive substances, I consulted one of the most qualified nurses I know, April Hatch, RN, MSN.
Hatch and her mother, Heidi Trout, are the owners / operators of The Cannabis Care Team. The Cannabis Care Team has been teaching cannabis medicine for many moons. Hatch is also a guest writer for The EVOLUTION Magazine. She has a Master’ s degree in Community Health and is about to enter her final clinical semester to complete her Psych Nurse Practitioner’ s degree and license. She is more than qualified to give us solid advice.
“ Oftentimes, people don’ t get to plan their detox. They run out of money, or their physician refuses to refill a prescription.” Hatch began.“ We can die from unsupported detox, with the sudden withdrawal of some substances like benzodiazepines, opioids, and alcohol, so it is important to be under a medically managed program.
“ Most people dealing with addiction have an underlying cause. They can be dealing with trauma, PTSD, chronic pain, depression, or underlying mental health issues. These are not going away without some work. We need to build a team of people who are dependable, know what we’ re going through, and what we will need from them. No matter how well we think we are doing once we have achieved
32 May 2026