RFK Jr. says it's the model for addiction treatment. Experts disagree
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 30 April 2026
⏱️ 10 minutes
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Summary
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. thinks he’s cracked the code for addiction treatment.
Kennedy, who used heroin for more than a decade, believes wellness, work and abstinence like the methods practiced in a rural Italian facility are the keys to sobriety.
But Kennedy is facing new criticism over his proposal to open government-run farm and work camps. NPR addiction correspondent Brian Mann traveled to Italy to see things up close.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's considered this where every day we go deep on one big news story. |
| 0:05.0 | Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his plan to revolutionize addiction treatment in the United States. |
| 0:12.5 | I've seen this beautiful model that they have in Italy called San Patrick Gano, where there are 2,000 kids who work on a large farm. |
| 0:22.6 | That's Kennedy speaking to News Nation in 2024. |
| 0:26.0 | He's talking about a drug treatment community in rural Italy. |
| 0:29.2 | The facility focuses on hard work, a regimented schedule, and community. |
| 0:33.3 | They don't offer therapy or medical care. |
| 0:36.4 | When he was campaigning for president in 2024, Kennedy used the Italian facility as an inspiration for his proposal to open government-run farms and work camps, adding they would be places where American children could be reparented. |
| 0:50.4 | Many critics have a lot of questions about that approach. |
| 0:53.5 | We know that abstinence-based programs fail over and over again, often very quickly. |
| 1:00.3 | Your likelihood of dying was 70% higher than if you weren't in treatment at all. |
| 1:09.2 | Consider this. |
| 1:10.4 | HHS Secretary RFK Jr. |
| 1:12.1 | thinks he has the answer to addiction treatment. |
| 1:14.8 | The experts say otherwise. |
| 1:17.4 | From NPR. |
| 1:31.9 | Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. thinks he has cracked the code for addiction treatment. |
| 1:38.2 | Kennedy used heroin for more than a decade, believing wellness, work-focused treatment, and abstinence, |
| 1:43.6 | like the methods practiced in a rural Italian facility are the keys to sobriety. |
| 1:48.5 | But Kennedy is facing new criticism over his proposal to open government-run farm and work camps. |
| 1:54.7 | And PR addiction correspondent Brian Mann has the story. |
| 1:57.4 | When Kennedy campaigned for president in 2024, one of his signature policy ideas |
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