Redefining Recovery: Carter Graves on Managed Meth Use and Harm Reduction

In this candid episode of the Recovery Matters Podcast, we sit down with Carter Graves, founder of KMFK Safety Services and Executive Director of Grassroots Harm Reduction. Carter shares their journey of growing up in a household shaped by meth use, navigating personal trauma, and redefining recovery through harm reduction and managed methamphetamine use. With courage, humor, and radical transparency, Carter challenges traditional recovery narratives and offers powerful insights into drug policy, peer-led safety, and what it truly means to heal.

Whether you're in recovery, support harm reduction, or are curious about alternatives to abstinence-based models—this conversation will challenge and inspire you.

00:00 - Carter introduces themselves and their definition of recovery
00:27 - Growing up with a single mother and generational meth use
01:48 - The trauma, poverty, and strength of Carter's family story
03:00 - Early substance use: Adderall, ecstasy, and meth
04:30 - Mother’s death and escalation of use
05:56 - The 2020 uprisings and how a street medic changed everything
06:58 - Quitting meth for three years and entering abstinence-based recovery
08:59 - The physical and emotional toll of abstinence
10:00 - Long COVID and reevaluating recovery
11:00 - Creative life, relapse language, and return to use
12:00 - What is reagent drug checking?
13:20 - Origin story: DanceSafe, MDMA testing, and community care
15:09 - Honoring people where they are on the spectrum of use
17:28 - “Brave space” over “safe space”
18:41 - TJ shares faith-based perspective on harm reduction
20:00 - The roots of KMFK and “Candy F***ing Carter”
21:45 - Expanding into condoms, Plan B, and other peer services
23:11 - From underground raves to national recognition
24:56 - Carter’s current roles at PA Groundhogs and more
25:10 - Learning harm reduction tools for meth use
26:50 - Proper dosing, sleep, and hydration strategies
28:20 - Setting personal boundaries and red flags
30:08 - Support system and what keeps Carter grounded
31:30 - Where to find Carter and KMFK online

🔗 Resources Mentioned:

• https://grassrootsharmreduction.org
• https://pagroundhogs.org
• https://dancesafe.org
• KMFK Safety Services on Instagram & Facebook
• 📧 Contact Carter: [e-mail]

📢 Don’t forget to subscribe, like, and share this episode to support honest conversations around addiction recovery, substance use, and harm reduction.

----Across the Web----

🌎 CCAR Website https://www.ccar.us

✉️ Donate: https://ccar.us/donate/

🎙Recovery Matters Podcast (Apple Music): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

🎙Recovery Matters Podcast (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/1wGUMMO...

🗣Recovery Matters Podcast TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@recoverymatterspodcast?

🗣Recovery Matters Podcast Instagram https://www.instagram.com/recoverymatterspodcast/

🗣CCAR Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CCAR4Recovery

📸CCAR Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ccar4recovery

🐦CCAR Twitter: https://twitter.com/ccar4recovery