SPENCER’s INITIATIVES

Spencer’s Law: Patients Before Profit

The addiction treatment industry has long operated as a profit-driven system—one where patient safety is secondary, professional standards are weak, and the most vulnerable are left behind. Spencer’s Law seeks to change that by demanding safe, person-centered, evidentiary care to improve treatment outcomes.

Our Mission

We advocate for policies that protect patients from harmful, profit-driven addiction treatment models by demanding: 

✅ Fiduciary responsibility—holding treatment providers accountable for patient safety. 

✅ National standards in addiction care—ensuring ethical and evidence-based treatment. 

✅ Oversight for rehabs & sober homes—eliminating deceptive and unsafe practices.

A Movement Born from Loss

Spencer’s Law was created to honor my youngest son, Spencer—a loving soul who fell through the cracks of a broken system. Together with other experts, we stand ready to bring these reforms to policy leaders in Colorado and at the federal level, fueled by the contributions of: 

💡 Jose Esquibel – Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse 

💡 Dr. Jim Shuler – Board-Certified Addiction Psychiatrist 

💡 Trina Faatz – Community Activist Supporting Prevention Efforts 

💡 Ryan Hampton – National Recovery Advocate & Author of Fentanyl Nation

Their expertise helped shape A Call for Safety Along the Continuum of Care, a thought-piece shared with the White House.

The Industry Must Change

Today’s addiction treatment system is filled with profit-driven models that keep people sick instead of helping them heal. Many treatment centers: 

🚩 Ignore evidence-based treatment, keeping people stuck in cycles of relapse. 

🚩 Claim mental health services but lack qualified professionals. 

🚩 Discharge patients without safety plans, leaving them vulnerable to overdose. 

🚩 Hide behind HIPAA privacy laws to avoid accountability.

I fought for two sons through 16 rehabs over 10 years—and I lost them both. The system failed them, and it failed me. Spencer’s Law is the beginning of a new era—one that prioritizes people over profit and demands accountability in addiction treatment. We can’t afford to lose more lives. The time for reform is now.