15. Federal Prison for Synthetic Drugs and FDA Violations
Roger Galvin shares his story of how he prepared before going to federal prison.
On today’s Prison Professors podcast, we learn from Roger Galvin. He struggled with substance abuse and made some bad decisions. Roger learned of the synthetic drug market. Despite packaging labels that marked the products as being “Not fit for human consumption,” Roger said that he knew people purchased the products to get high.
The mislabeling resulted in Roger becoming a target of the Food and Drug Administration. Then the DEA got involved. He pleaded guilty to crimes that would result in his imprisonment.
A grand jury indicted Roger back in 2014. Longer than three years passed before a federal judge sentenced Roger to serve a 14 month sentence. During an episode that we recorded on Christmas Eve, 2017, Roger described the steps he took to prepare. He found hope in the work that our team at Prison Professors offers.
Roger created his own compass to guide him through his term in federal prison. His compass includes goals that he will work to achieve, and it includes a “Do-not” list as well. Below we copy the guidelines that Roger created in anticipation of his surrender to a federal prison camp.
If you’d like to learn how our team can help you, please text PrisonPro to 44222.
Goal list
1-) Continue to improve my connection with Laura.
A- Write her a letter every day I am away.
B- Talk on the phone daily or as often as she is available. 270 minutes p/month
C- Email her everyday
2-) Stay connected with all of my family and other contacts on my list.
A- Write my family members and everyone else on my contact list one time per week this will be 3 to 4 letters per day
B- Call my family members using the other 30 minutes I have left. 5 people=6 minutes p/month each family member.
C- Email everyone on my contact list with group newsletter 2 times p/week
3-) Lose weight.
A- Goal weight is 178 lbs. Current weight is 227 lbs total 49 lbs
B- Diet will be the main path to my objective here. Avoiding sugar and processed snacks and supplementing meals with protein from the commissary whenever possible.
4-) Exercise daily for 90 minutes p/day
A- 1 hour walking/ running
B- 30 min of interval/plyometrics training. Lunges/Sit Ups/Squats/Push Ups/Bird dog/Dead bug/Planks
5-) Reading
A- 1 Book per week. 2 hours p/day Taking notes while I read. Prepare a report stating the lessons and value I find in each one and how it can be applied to my life. 90 min p/week. Share the report with my contact list.
6-) Writing
A- Journal every day- stream of consciousness style 20 min p/day
B- Write 4 letters p/day. 1 to Laura. 3 to other family and people on my contact list on a rotating schedule. Approx. 1.5 hours p/day
C- Write - 1 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm p/ month 8-10 hours p/episode 30 min p/day
D- Write 1 Column/Blog p/week on prison life/politics/accountability/Inspiration/meditation This is where I will explore my ideas on consulting and my viewpoints on life and growth. 30-60 min p/day with revisions.
E- mail or email these columns to be posted
7-) Prayer and Meditation
A-) Pray every morning before getting out of bed and at night before I go to sleep and pretty much as needed all day long. Serenity prayer and Loving Kindness prayer (As I do now)
B-) Explore freedom through mindfulness and meditation while being confined. Quiet places, loud places, eating, sitting standing,walking,showering,etc. Recording my experience in my blogs. This is ongoing and can be done along with prayer throughout the day as I live my life of confinement.
8-) AA Meeting
Find a meeting at my facility or start one or have my own meeting out of the grapevine newsletter. Daily if possible. 45-60 min.
Do not list
- I will not expect my wife, family and friends in the outside world to stop their lives and cater to my needs.
- I will not expect them to send me letters and books but always be grateful if they do.
- I will not let my fear of offending people get me sucked into conversations and activities that waste my time and do not serve me.
- I will not let my instinct to please others let me get sucked into conversations and activities which waste my time and do not serve me.
- I will not interact with prison staff unless required to do so.
- I will not interact with other prisoners that interact with staff unnecessarily.
- I will not play group or team sports.
- I will not spend time in the TV areas.
- I will not sleep in past 5 am.
- I will not spend time in my bunk during the day.
- I will not complain to other inmates about the living conditions or the life we live while confined.
- I will not complain to my family and friends about my life in prison.
- I will not give unsolicited advice to other inmates ot staff.
- I will not question the behaviour of other inmates or staff.
- I will not question the adopted culture and processes of the inmate population and staff.
- I will not have a negative and defeatist attitude towards family, friends, other inmates or staff.