Episode
Allman Brother's Tour Manager Flees Drug Charges With Meth, Heroin and Syringes—Then Became Dickey Betts’ Sponsor | Kirk West
- Published
- Jul 22, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 8228
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://www.dopeypodcast.com
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Summary
Timestamps Notes: 00:00 Cold open 01:11 Welcome back, summer hiatus and working at Katz’s 03:36 Remembering Chris eight years after his death 03:45 Dopey voicemail: Naked Hash 08:38 DopeyCon announcement 10:58 Spotify and Patreon listener comments 15:46 Introducing Kirk West 18:10 Growing up in Iowa and discovering the Paul Butterfield Blues Band 25:10 Chicago, psychedelics and photographing live music 27:34 Shooting crystal meth for the first time 32:17 Drug dealing, the “Speed Freak” hot rod and fleeing Chicago 37:00 Boulder, San Francisco and the psychedelic underground 39:21 Arrested while hitchhiking through Nevada 44:10 Entering Gateway House instead of cooperating with police 51:24 Therapeutic-community treatment and hearing about Duane Allman’s death 56:08 Leaving treatment, heroin addiction and a murdered drug-dealing partner 01:04:48 Arrests, stealing camera equipment and entering recovery in Florida 01:09:13 Early Narcotics Anonymous and becoming a music photographer 01:12:49 Five years sober—and the controlled-drinking experiment 01:23:40 John Lennon’s death and Kirk’s final return to alcohol 01:25:12 Admitting the relapse and establishing his lasting sobriety date 01:27:40 Photographing Bob Marley, Springsteen, the Stones, the Who and the Clash 01:30:03 Becoming the Allman Brothers Band’s historian and archivist 01:37:22 Becoming the band’s tour manager 01:41:52 Tape trading, the H.O.R.D.E. tour and the resurgence of jam-band culture 01:44:16 How sobriety influenced Kirk’s work with the band 01:48:23 Dickey Betts’ removal and Kirk’s painful arbitration testimony 01:52:28 Meeting and marrying Kirsten 02:00:50 Buying the Allman Brothers’ “Big House” in Macon 02:03:45 Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes and the band’s final era 02:08:15 Lowell George offers Kirk coca…