What do you think of Kennedy's idea for "healing farms"?
“Here” The following is direct quotes paraphrased. (I copied a few of the paragraphs)
:https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/01/30/nx-s1–5281164/antidepressants-ssris-rfk-jr-heroin “I’m going to bring a new industry to [rural] America, where addicts can help each other recover from their addictions,” Kennedy promised, during a film on addiction released by his presidential campaign. “We’re going to build hundreds of healing farms where American kids can reconnect with America’s soil.”
Some addiction activists — especially those loyal to the 12-step faith- and values-based recovery model — have praised Kennedy’s approach and are actively campaigning for his confirmation.
But Kennedy’s approach to addiction care is controversial, described by many drug policy experts as risky, in part because it focuses on the moral dimension of recovery rather than modern, science-based medication and health care.
According to Humphreys, Kennedy’s plan to build a network of farms or camps doesn’t appear to include facilities that offer proper medical treatments for seriously ill people facing severe addiction.
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This makes me wonder what treatment he underwent to get over his 14 year addiction to heroin. It seems to have taken him quite a while.
I haven’t heard about this healing farm.
You can’t divorce the mind from the body. The best scenario would be a combination of medical care and a “healing farm”, which would involve physical activity, being involved in producing something useful such as a crop, and relating to other people in society, etc.
@MakeItSo1701
A program by the Nazis to murder physically and mentally disabled people or anyone with psychological or intellectual issues.
We have one of the former facilities in the town next over, which was a hospital before being “repurposed” for the mass murder. And yes, it had gas chambers.
Good Lord. Just burn it down?
It’s a museum now, dedicated to that history.
He has a worm in his brain.
He has some crazy ideas. It will be interesting to see what happens in a year or two or three, if he’s still working in our government, and if his ideas come to fruition and how well they work (or don’t). I am betting that most won’t work, but it will be intersting to see.
Surely it should be tried out small scale first to see if it works. I dont think it will.
I think it could be a good idea. Given the current views on rehabilitation of drug users, there aren’t many options and they are fraught with lots of relapses. But looking at some of the methods that are currently used and found to have some success (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Group Therapy, Individual Therapy, Dialectal Behavioral Therapy, Experiential Therapy, Family Treatment Approach), working on a farm would help with a lot of these. That doesn’t mean that you scrap all the current approaches, but you can incorporate them into the treatment.
Breaking an addiction requires addressing the physical and mental addiction. It requires the person to want to kick the habit. It requires the person to change their life style entirely. A healing farm might help with some of that. And really, is it any worse than the current in-patient treatment centers? It’s just a different setting.
The parts about the healing centers that will need to be addressed are similar to those of in-patient treatment centers. How do you ensure the patients don’t bring drugs in or have someone smuggle them in for them? How do you get someone to stay there long enough to help?
Another one that I think could end up being a problem is who you are in there with. My step-daughter wanted to go to treatment with her boyfriend. They LOVED each other and could kick the drugs together! Wrong. They have a life together where the drugs are an integral part. They will always be a trigger for each other. Evidence shows a significantly lower than normal recovery rate for people that try this.
And the last part of trying the healing farms is the political aspect. Look at what has happened so far in just the discussion about them. People are comparing them to concentration camps, giving warnings that gas chambers are next. They are claiming RFK Jr wants to round up the addicts and ship them off to these against their will. None of that is even close to being true. These same people have no problems supporting current rehab centers even though the concept is identical to the healing farm. So given that political attitude, these folks are going to politicize anyone that relapses after going to a healing farm.
It won’t matter because we will never know if it is helpful. He doesn’t believe in science, so there will be no scientific studies on efficacy.
Sounds like slave labor to me.
^^^ My thoughts, too. Round up the “defectives” and put them to work in the fields.
Right out of the Nazi playbook.
I think it’s kind of a batty idea. Something like that may help in conjunction with regular medical help and counseling but probably not widely effective on its own.
That said, the tone here… Talk about full circle. What will y’all talk about next, chemtrails?
^^ We have so many bats and batty ideas flying around currently.
“Healing Farms” is a euphemism for “concentration camp”
I asked a friend who understands the nature of this concept. Seems like the Cons would bump up against the current political climate and climate:
I wonder if “Worm Brain” thought this through or if it is just part of his “out there” way of thinking.
1. High Operational Costs
Running a healing farm requires land, equipment, animal care, staff, and maintenance, which can be expensive.
Insurance and liability costs can be high, especially when working with animals and people with special needs.
2. Funding & Financial Sustainability
Many healing farms rely on grants, donations, or government support, which may not always be stable.
If the farm is a nonprofit, it may struggle with consistent funding to cover operations.
3. Accessibility & Location Issues
Many healing farms are in rural areas, making transportation difficult for participants who live in cities.
Accessibility for people with disabilities can be a challenge, requiring costly modifications.
4. Staffing & Training Challenges
Requires skilled professionals such as therapists, social workers, and agricultural experts.
Finding staff trained in both therapy and farming can be difficult.
5. Unpredictable Nature & Climate Dependency
Farming is affected by weather, droughts, pests, and natural disasters, which can impact productivity.
Seasonal limitations may affect programs, especially in colder climates.
6. Emotional & Physical Demands
Farming work can be physically intense, which might not be suitable for everyone.
Caring for people with serious emotional or physical challenges can be emotionally draining for staff.
7. Zoning & Legal Hurdles
Local zoning laws and regulations may restrict farm operations or limit animal therapy programs.
Liability risks require careful planning, waivers, and proper safety measures.
I’d like to see evidence that this model of rehabilitation is effective and also how it compares on a cost basis to other proven rehabilitation strategies. This smells like one of those unproven “common sense” hypothetical solutions without evidence to support them. Maybe his brain worm helped him dream it up?
If it helps and doesnt harm, I’m all for it. And voluntary and affordable.
Voluntary? How long do you think that will last?
It’s sad because we have a local urban farm trying to make a difference with classes and various community programs and they could be hurt by this concept.
@KNOWITALL While the court-ordered therapy CAN be as effective, I think it depends on the type. The article lumped anger management, parenting classes, and rehab all into the term “therapy”. One of the news agencies in WIlmington NC did an investigative series on the drug problems in the area and look at court ordered rehab as a part of it. A couple of the counties in the area had started the policy that drug users would get rehab ordered instead of jail time and the series was looking at how effective it was. What they found was that many users would get arrested, go to rehab, complete the rehab as required, and then go back to using drugs as soon as it was done. They interviewed one guy that had been through this merry-go-round 7 times at the time of the interview. They reported he didn’t make it to time number 8 since he ODed shortly after the interview. The results of treatment for anger management and parenting classes might have better results which would drag the average up. Every user we talked to when my daughter was going through her stuff all looked at the mandatory rehab as an annoyance. They didn’t want to be there, but they all knew how to play the game to get released. My daughter had gone through it and had no luck getting clean until she finally decided she wanted to get clean and live a real life. At that point the decision was hers, she got what was effectively the same treatment, but it worked.
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