Dr. Nora D. Volkow, M.D., is the longest residing Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health since 2003.

She is the world's go to person when it comes to the issue of drugs, and commonly known as the mother to the science demonstrating that drug addiction is a brain disorder. 

Dr. Volkow continues her tradition of starting the High Truths podcast season with reflections and hopes in the issue of drugs.

Hello and Welcome to Season 5 of  High Truths on Drugs and Addiction. What an honor and joy I have from hosting High Truths.  Each episode I have great discussions with fascinating and knowledge people who get me thinking and teach me something new. It is like the Talmudic saying in Ethics of our Fathers, Who is Wise, One who learns from every person. And you and I learn so much from our High Truths guest. Talmudically speaking - I guess that means we are all wise.

Can you believe that we already had 210 conversations with fascinating people? I love it. But more importantly, the conversations we have - lead to action, drug policies and solutions. 

Talk is great, but as the saying goes, Action speaks louder than words. Keeping with our High Truths tradition, this first episode of Season 5 will be just me sharing with you my monologue for the year.This is the one and only time of year where you hear just from me, and the rest of the season is dialogue with my guests. Here is what I want to cover with you today.

• First Reflections about this High Truths Podcast
• Then a state of the union on the drug data.
• And ending with hopes for our future with solutions and action.

So here I go...

56% of drivers involved in serious injury and fatal crashes tested positive for a least one drug.  I talked to Ari Briskman to get boots on the ground law enforcement perspective of drugged driving.

Sergeant Ari Briskman has served as a law enforcement officer since 2007. Ari is presently assigned full-time as the Commander of the Marine Unit for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Ari also serves the Sheriff’s Office as the Technical Crash Investigation Team Commander, the Auxiliary Deputy Unit Commander, and as a Public Information Officer.

Ari has dedicated much of his career to impaired driving enforcement and traffic safety. He is a certified Drug Recognition Expert, certified Drug Recognition Expert – Instructor, Standardized Field Sobriety Test Instructor, Seated Standardized Field Sobriety Test Instructor, and certified Crash Reconstruction Specialist. Ari has been recognized by courts in several counties in northern Illinois as an expert in the fields of alcohol and drug impairment. 

Ari has personally apprehended over 600 impaired vehicle and boat operators throughout his career, for which he has been recognized several times by Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. He has consulted with and assisted in the prosecution of hundreds of additional impaired driving cases throughout Illinois.

Ari has been contracted with various Illinois training units as an instructor to teach all the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration impaired driving enforcement courses, the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators boating under the influence courses, and his own original material. Ari serves as an adjunct instructor for the Homeland Security Training Institute at the College of DuPage teaching course material on drug impairment in the workplace. Ari is also a senior consultant for Dynamic Impairment, LLC, for whom he provides consultancy services to private businesses and court litigants on drug policies and impairment recognition. 

In addition to his law enforcement duties, Ari advocates for stronger impaired driving laws and protections for crash victims as a member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists. Ari also serves as a board member for the State of Illinois Impaired Driving Task Force and on the speaker’s bureau for the National Marijuana Initiative.

Ari holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Law Enforcement and Justice Administration and a Master of Arts degree in Public Safety Administration, both from Western Illinois University.

Death Diaries is what I call the  research I did with Dr. Jason Doctor. We reviewed data on every single person who died of an unintentional medical overdose and compared the drugs on autopsy to what was prescribed to the person. This list of medications were diaries that lead to death.  The research changed my life as a doctor and how I prescribe medications. Dr. Jason Doctor is an Associate Professor in the School of Pharmacy and Faculty at the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at the University of Southern California. His research program centers on decision-making in healthcare. Dr. Doctor specializes in applying behavioral economic methods within health and medicine and current leads a multi-site federally-funded multi-site cluster randomized clinical trial that evaluates behavioral economic approaches to improve physician adherence to comparatively effective treatments.  In other federally-funded research, Dr. Doctor has developed Bayesian decision algorithms to identify errors in blood panels to improve patient diagnosis. He also maintains a research program in understanding preferences for health from a behavioral economic perspective. He has extended the quality-adjusted life year (QALY) preference model to accommodate preference for helping others in medical need (social preferences) and has developed mathematical representations in QALY calculations that accommodate cognitive limitations people have in abiding by rational principles in decision making. JAMA Letter: Effect of Prescriber Notification of Patient's Fatal Overdose on Opioid Prescribing

Is it time to talk about Pre-Addiction? We have pre-diabetes and pre-glaucoma, diagnosis intended to prompt early treatment in order to prevent worse disease.  Should we be diagnosing and treating Pre-Addiction? Thomas McLellan, Ph.D. has been a career researcher in addiction treatment and policy for 40 years, working primarily at the University of Pennsylvania and at the Treatment Research Institute (TRI) which founded and served as CEO for 25 years.

From 2000-2009 he was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment.  From 2009 to 2011, he was Deputy Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) where he formulated President Obama’s National Drug Control Strategy and helped include addiction treatment into the Affordable Care Act.  In 2015-2016 he served as Senior Editor on the US Surgeon General’s Report, Facing Addiction.

In his career he has published over 550 articles and chapters on addiction research and was awarded over 150 NIH research grants.  He has been among the top ten most cited researchers in the addiction field for 15 years.

Dr. McLellan is the recipient of several distinguished awards including the Lifetime Achievement Awards of the American, Italian, Australian, Egyptian and British Societies of Addiction Medicine; the Robert Wood Johnson Innovator Award; Distinguished Contribution to Addiction Medicine from the American Public Health Association, the American Medical Association; and jointly from the National Institutes of Drug Abuse and Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse.

He currently serves on the boards of Indivior LLC (makers of Suboxone) and Recover Together; and lives with his wife Kerry in Sarasota Florida.

Pre-Addiction - A Missing Concept for Treating Substance Use Disorder, Aug 2022

This is a reverse podcast. Typically I am interviewing my guests. In this special episode, I am  interviewed by Dr John Bibb on my path to the White House and addiction medicine. I talked about my young years as an emergency physician, having a family, along with failed and successful projects from opioid prescription epidemic to our national drug crisis.

What is the best approach for preventing youth with substance use disorder? Learn from Dr. Sid Puri who reaches kids with SUD in LA County. "Prevention begins at birth or before." "It's the end of casual drug use" - because of fentanyl

Dr. Siddarth Puri

Dr. Puri is the Associate Medical Director of Prevention at the division of Substance Abuse Prevention and Control (SAPC) at the Los Angeles Department of Public Health and an attending on the addiction consult service at Los Angeles County-USC Hospital. He completed his medical education at UC Davis and his adult psychiatric residency and both his child and adolescent, and addiction psychiatry fellowships at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.

How does a retired bald DEA agent reach children about making the right choices when it comes to drugs?

Rockwell Herron

Developed “I Choose My Future” a drug prevention presentation for kids.  Since 2007 he delivered over 820 presentations in 15 countries to 165,000 kids ages 12 to 22.

Rocky know about drugs from his service as a DEA Special Agent from 1990 to 202. He is the Alcohol and Other Drug Ambassador for San Diego County Office of Education from 2021.

https://www.rockyherron.com

Dr. Lynn Silver talks to High Truths about the history of marijuana legalization and best practices for policies that protect public health. Lynn Silver, MD, MPH, FAAP

Pediatrician, public health researcher and advocate, Silver is Senior Advisor at the Public Health Institute (PHI) and Clinical Professor at University of California San Francisco. She directs PHI’s Prevention Policy Group, including Getting it Right from the Start, a project of PHI founded in 2017 to support adoption of cannabis policies to better protect youth, public health and equity. Silver is an expert on the use of policy and law to prevent chronic disease, its risk factors and inequitable impact, including unhealthy diet, tobacco, and physical inactivity.  She is an NIH supported researcher evaluating chronic disease prevention policy and cannabis regulatory policy. Silver was Assistant Health Commissioner of New York City under Mayor Bloomberg, where she led groundbreaking policy initiatives including the nation’s first trans-fat ban, calorie labeling law, and the National Salt Reduction Initiative. In California, she served as county health officer in Sonoma County, and has contributed to the passage of the first successful U.S. soda taxes in the Bay Area and many local cannabis laws. She serves on the CA Advisory Group for the Proposition 64 cannabis tax revenue, the Board of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and chairs the CA Alliance for Prevention Funding which fights for health equity investments. Silver was previously Visiting Scholar of International Health at the Karolinska Institute, Dean and Associate Professor at University of Brasilia’s School of Health Sciences,  and taught at Brazil’s National School of Public Health. She has worked widely on health policy as a researcher, educator, government official, consultant and advocate. She has served as consultant to the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the World Bank, the Low Income Investment Fund, hospitals and foundations. She received her MD and MPH degrees and pediatric training from the Johns Hopkins University. Silver has published widely and was honored to be the recipient of the 2011 Wavemaker Award of the Campaign for Public Health.

  SB1097, Cannabis Right to Know Act - Torpedoed by Cannabis Industry Power  

A recent publication in JAMA Pediatrics shows that mental health burdens are associated with prenatal cannabis exposure that persists from childhood to early adolescence. These are results from the Longitudinal ABCD (Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development) study.

David Baranger, PhD

I am a Neuroscientist and Postdoc at Washington University in St. Louis. My primary interest is in understanding how neurodevelopment mediates the effects of genetics and stress on the emergence of psychopathology, particularly substance use and depressive disorders. My research also includes work identifying replicable and reliable neural correlates of psychopathology, as well as work studying factors that influence the measurement of common neuroimaging metrics.

As a postdoc I have worked with Dr. Arpana Agrawal, Dr. Anna Manelis, and Dr. Erika Forbes. This work has focused on studying the reliability of neuroimaging measures of reward, identifying novel structural (cortical myelin) correlates of depression, and studying the association of depression with the neurodevelopment of reward function. My current work seeks to understand how genomic risk for substance use and depression influences neurodevelopment and the emergence of psychopathology in developing samples. 

I completed my PhD in Neuroscience at Washington University in St Louis, where I worked with Dr. Ryan Bogdan and Dr. Deanna Barch. My dissertation was on the use of neural biomarkers to disentangle the causes and downstream consequences of alcohol use.

Outside of work you can find me playing with my cats, rock climbing, backpacking, and at indie/electronic shows.

Will NIDA get rid of the word "Abuse" and go from National Institute on Drug Abuse to National Institute on Drugs and Addiction? Should people get a prescription to buy a vape pen? What is the science on label for marijuana products? Dr. Nora Volkow, director of NIDA shares her hopes for 2023 and discusses the science behind drug addiction.

Nora D. Volkow, M.D., is Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health. NIDA is the world’s largest funder of research on the health aspects of drug use and addiction.

Dr. Volkow's work has been instrumental in demonstrating that drug addiction is a brain disorder. As a research psychiatrist, Dr. Volkow pioneered the use of brain imaging to investigate how substance use affects brain functions. In particular, her studies have documented that changes in the dopamine system affect the functions of frontal brain regions involved with reward and self-control in addiction. She has also made important contributions to the neurobiology of obesity, ADHD, and aging.

Dr. Volkow was born in Mexico and earned her medical degree from the National University of Mexico in Mexico City, where she received the Robins Award for best medical student of her generation. Her psychiatric residency was at New York University, where she earned a Laughlin Fellowship from The American College of Psychiatrists as one of 10 outstanding psychiatric residents in the United States.

Much of her professional career was spent at the Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, where she held several leadership positions including Director of Nuclear Medicine, Chairman of the Medical Department, and Associate Director for Life Sciences. Dr. Volkow was also a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Associate Dean of the Medical School at The State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Dr. Volkow has published more than 800 peer-reviewed articles, written more than 100 book chapters, manuscripts and articles, co-edited "Neuroscience in the 21st Century" and edited four books on brain imaging for mental and addictive disorders.

She received a Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service, was a Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal (Sammies) finalist and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Association of American Physicians. Dr. Volkow received the International Prize from the French Institute of Health and Medical Research for her pioneering work in brain imaging and addiction science; was awarded the Carnegie Prize in Mind and Brain Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University; and was inducted into the Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) Hall of Fame. She was named one of Time magazine's "Top 100 People Who Shape Our World"; one of "20 People to Watch" by Newsweek magazine; Washingtonian magazine’s "100 Most Powerful Women"; "Innovator of the Year" by U.S. News & World Report; and one of "34 Leaders Who Are Changing Health Care" by Fortune magazine.

 

This High Truths podcast is a 2023 monologue as I review accomplishments of 2022 and present hopes for 2023. I welcome in the New Year with blessing of health, happiness and meaning to all. After two full seasons with over 100 guests there is still so much to discuss about drugs and addiction. We have a strong season ahead with High Truths, interesting guests and conversations. Who is wise? One who learns from all people. - Pirke Avot, Ethics of the Fathers We will all get wiser this season learning from various people.

High Truths on Drugs and Addiction presents SEASON FINALE Live Stream of December 9, 2022.  Featured experts reflex on 2022 and share High Truths hopes for 2023. Dr. Roneet Lev, podcast host, Emergency and Addiction Physician Dr. Bertha Madras, Drug Policy Expert, Harvard Medical School Dr. Libby Stuyt, Psychiatrist Colorado Dr. Jessica Ristau, Internal Medicine and Addiction Physician, National Clinical Consultation Center, NCCC IASIC 22 HT Finale Flyer

Drug and Alcohol Policy dates to Talmudic times. Ancient Rabbis established rules, or policy for their village. They told their people to avoid crossing to the neighboring village on the Sabbath because those neighbors had a reputation for excessing drinking.

Today drug policy can be extremely liberal - allowing free drug trade with no consequences, or very harsh - the death penalty for drug dealing. Smart drug policy strikes the right balance.

Paul J. Larkin is the John, Barbara, and Victoria Rumpel Senior Legal Research Fellow in the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. Larkin works on criminal justice policy, drug policy, and regulatory policy. Before joining Heritage in September 2011, Larkin held various positions with the federal government in Washington, D.C. At the U.S. Department of Justice from 1984 to 1993, Paul served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General and argued 27 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He also was an attorney in the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section. In 1996-1997, Larkin served as Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee and head of the Crime Unit for Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), then the panel’s chairman. He worked in the Environmental Protection Agency from 1998 to 2004 as a special agent for criminal enforcement, eventually becoming Special Agent-in-Charge and serving as Acting Director of the EPA Criminal Investigation Division in 2004. His honors include the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service, which he received in 1994 for representing the military before the Supreme Court. In the private sector, he worked at two top law firms in Washington, D.C., and as Assistant General Counsel for Verizon Communications from 2004 to 2009. Larkin received his law degree in 1980 from Stanford Law School, where he was a published member of the Stanford Law Review. He clerked for Judge Robert H. Bork of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In 2010, he received a master’s degree in Public Policy from George Washington University. He also holds a bachelor of arts degree in Philosophy from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, where he graduated summa cum laude with honors in Philosophy. Born and raised in New York, New York, Larkin is a life-long New York Yankees and New York Giants fan.

Can you use less opioids and still have less pain? Orthopedic surgeons use to be #1 in total number of opioid pills prescribed, now there are innovative solutions in decreasing surgical pain.

Dr. Scott Sigman is a national and internationally recognized leader in Opioid Sparing Surgery.  He is an Orthopedic Surgeon that specializes in the knee and shoulder.  He has been in clinical practice for over 25 years and is a leader in professional education, medical device development, and has numerous peer reviewed publications. He is the team physician at UMASS Lowell. He is a member of Governor Bakers Commission to establish a pain management access program in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

He did his sports medicine fellowship at the prestigious Kerlan Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles. His Opioid Sparing leadership propelled him to become a Fellow of the Worlds Society on Sports and Exercise Medicine, and most recently has had the honor of becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

In addition, to his clinical responsibilities Dr. Sigman is the Chief Medical Officer for OrthoLazer Orthopedic Laser Centers. The OrthoLazer franchise was developed to provide an alternative treatment option for acute and chronic pain to help combat the Opioid crisis.  Dr. Sigman is also the host of the popular The Ortho Show podcast.

CReDO, Community Response to Drug Overdose, brings together public health, public safety and prevention in order to prevent overdoses.

Eva Lee, PhD is Professor and Director of the Center for Operations Research in Medicine and HealthCare at Georgia Institute of Technology, a center established through funds from the National Science Foundation and the Whitaker Foundation. The center focuses on biomedicine, public health, and defense, advancing domains from basic science to translational medical research; intelligent, personalized, quality, and cost-effective delivery; and medical preparedness and protection of critical infrastructures. She is a Distinguished Scholar in Health Systems, Health System Institute at Georgia Tech and Emory University School of Medicine. She previously served as the Senior Health Systems Engineer and Professor for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She has also served as Co-Director for ten years for the Center for Health Organization Transformation, an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center.

Lee's work has included collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on defenses against pandemic and biological weapons, travel to Japan to develop rapid responses to radiation exposure from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the optimization of vaccines and design based on data to how people respond to the vaccines, the early detection of chronic diseases, health disparity, and personalized treatment design for cancer, diabetes and other diseases. Dr. Lee serves as the principal investigator of an online interoperable information exchange and decision support system for mass dispensing, emergency response, and casualty mitigation. The system incorporates disease spread modeling with human behavior and response processes; and offers efficiency and quality assurance in operations and logistics performance. It currently has over 14,000+ public health site users.

Lee partners with business leaders to develop novel transformational strategies in delivery, quality, safety, operations efficiency, information management, change management and organizational learning.  Lee’s research focuses on mathematical programming, information technology, game theory, networks, machine learning and computational algorithms for risk assessment, decision making, predictive analytics and knowledge discovery, and systems and performance optimization.  She has made major contributions in advances to business operations transformation, biomedicine and clinical research, emergency response and disaster preparedness, and healthcare operations and safety.  Her homeland security work has focused on risk assessment and protection of critical infrastructures, including healthcare, supply-chain and logistics, power plants, communication, and finance.

Lee has published over 220 research articles, and 50 government and state reports, and has received patents on innovative medical systems and devices. She is frequently tapped by a variety of health and security policymakers in Washington for her expertise in personalized medicine, chronic diseases, healthcare quality, modeling and decision support, vaccine research and national security/preparedness. She has served on NAE/NAS/IOM, NRC, NBSB, DTRA panel committees related to biological, radiological and chemical incidents, public health and medical preparedness, and healthcare systems innovation.  Lee served on the National Preparedness & Response Science Board from 2015 - 2018, a 13-member federal committee that provides advice and guidance to the President of the United States, and the Secretary of U.S. Department...

Drug Consumption Rooms, Injection Facilities, Overdose Prevention Centers, Supervised Injection Facilities, Safe Consumption Facilities, and Harm Reduction Center - these are the various terms used for a medically supervised place to use drugs. What is the science behind these sites?

John S. Searles, Ph.D. was the Substance Abuse Research and Policy Analyst and Chair of the State Epidemiological Workgroup for the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs in the Vermont Department of Health.   He retired in 2019.  He is currently an appointed member of the legislatively mandated Substance Misuse Prevention Advisory Council and serves on the council’s Equity, Prevention, and Policy subcommittees.  He has been on the faculty at University of California, Berkeley, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Vermont.  He was the Principal or Co-Principal Investigator on several large research grants from the National Institutes of Health.  He has co-edited two books (“Children of Alcoholics” and “Alcohol and the Family”) and published over 50 scientific articles in the substance use/abuse field.  John earned his doctorate in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Daniel Puerta is one of the way too many daily victims of illicit drugs, V.O.I.D. Did Daniel overdose, poisoned, or murdered? Listen to his father Jaime, president of V.O.I.D. who is turning Daniel's memory into action in saving other children.

Jaime Puerta is a United States Marine Corps Veteran, and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Puerta & Associates, Inc.; a small Interpreting business which specializes in furnishing Certified Interpreters to Attorney’s, Doctors and Courts working in the Workman’s Compensation field in the State of California. He resides in Santa Clarita, California, with his wife Claudia. Jaime is also the President of V.O.I.D., "Victims Of Illicit Drugs", a California 501C non-profit dedicated to educating parents and children of the dangers of illicit drug use, and also about the dangers that abound on social media platform. Jaime became involved in the fight against Fentanyl when his only son Daniel passed away due to Fentanyl Poisoning on April 6, 2020.

Once he became involved, he immediately came to the conclusion that it was imperative to bring as many Fentanyl Advocacy and Awareness groups under one umbrella, noting that there is power in numbers; hence, the idea for a coalition came to light.

Jaime is an avid Harley Davidson enthusiast, and rides his motorcycles whenever time permits him to do so.

Jaime is featured in the documentary Dead on Arrival  

Sara Whaley worked on a model to make sure opioid settlement dollars are distributed fairly and effectively. The  historic pattern with tobacco has been: Health Claims - Normalize Use - Health Harms - Lawsuits. Then again with Opioids: Health Claims - Normalize High Dose Use - Health Harms Lawsuits. Big Pharma will be paying $32 Billion for lying about the harms of chronic and high dose prescription opioids that killed people. Are lawsuit a deterrent for future public health lies or is lying about public health a good business model? What have we learned from tobacco settlement dollars that can be applied to opioid settlement dollars? Is Big Marijuana next to follow the pattern of Health Claims - Normalize Use - Health Harms and Lawsuits

Sara Whaley, MSW, MPH, MA

Sara Whaley is research faculty at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and is the Program Manager of the Bloomberg Overdose Prevention Initiative. Sara is a member of the team at JHSPH that coordinated the creation of the Principles for The Use of Funds From The Opioid Litigation and is a member of the Working Group that coordinates efforts to support state and local governments in the effective use of litigation dollars. She began her career providing direct service to individuals with behavioral health needs and those who use drugs. She brings this experience to her research and to projects providing technical assistance to state governments and local service providers. Her goal is to use data to inform effective policy that improves the health and well-being of individuals who use drugs and their families

Resources:

www.opioidprinciples.jhsph.edu

https://www.opioidsettlementtracker.com/settlementspending

https://www.nashp.org/how-states-administering-opioid-settlement-funds/

 

Drug Trends are important for public health and public safety.  As a physician if there is a new disease such as COVID or Monkeypox, I need to knew the signs, symptoms and treatment. Similarly if there are new drugs and poisoning I need to be able to make the diagnosis and apply appropriate treatment. That is why find it important to work with law enforcement and our medical examiner who are the first to identify drug trends. Dr. Eric wish tracks drug trends nationally.

Dr. Eric Wish received his Ph.D. in psychology from Washington University in St. Louis. He subsequently completed a NIDA post-doctoral fellowship in psychiatric epidemiology in the Department of Psychiatry at the Washington University School of Medicine. Between 1986 and 1990, Dr. Wish served as a Visiting Fellow at the National Institute of Justice in the Department of Justice, where he supervised the development and launching of the Drug Use Forecasting (DUF, later ADAM) program. In 2013, Dr. Wish developed the Community Drug Early Warning System (CDEWS), a new system for detecting emerging drugs by expanded testing of urine specimens obtained from criminal justice drug testing programs. In 2014, Dr. Wish received a 5 year award from NIH/NIDA to establish the Coordinating Center for the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS). As part of NDEWS, he oversaw the Drug Outbreak Testing Service (DOTS) pilot study, which collected and analyzed urine specimens from hospitals and treatment facilities. Also, from 2017-2020, he served as Co-PI of the MPowering the State Initiative’s Opioid Use Disorders Project. As part of the MPower project, Dr. Wish led development of the Emergency Department Drug Surveillance (EDDS) system to track drug toxicology trends using de-identified electronic health records (EHR) from 7 hospitals in Maryland. In 2021 he received funding from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to expand the EDDS system to collect EHRs and urine specimens from five hospitals nationally to monitor urine drug trends and identify emerging drugs being used by drug overdose patients. EDDS is now being further expanded to include 20 additional hospitals across the United States. Dr. Wish has published numerous articles and spoken widely about such issues as synthetic cannabinoids and other new psychoactive substances, recent increases in heroin and fentanyl use, the identification of drug use in offenders, relapse to heroin use by Vietnam veterans, and the validity of self-reports of drug use. Since 1990, Dr. Wish has been Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR) at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Tyler's Law, SB 864 is a California Law signed by Governor Newson in September 2022 that would require all hospitals to include fentanyl whenever a urine drug screen is ordered in a hospital setting. Most people who learn about the bill ask, "isn't that already happening?" Surprisingly, no. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that does not show up on routine hospital opiate screens. To detect fentanyl hospitals, need to purchase a specific fentanyl reagent that averages 75 cents a test.

Watch Fox News Story on SB 864 Melissa Melendez was elected to represent California’s 28th Senate District in May 2020 Melissa Melendez represented California’s 67th Assembly District from 2012 to May 2020. She is a veteran of the United States Navy where she became fluent in Russian and one of the first women approved to fly aboard an EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft overseas. She served her country for ten years in the Navy, during the Cold War, Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. After leaving the Navy, Melissa started her own small business providing transcription services to high-level Pentagon officials. She was elected to serve on the Lake Elsinore City Council in 2008 where she also served as Mayor.  Melissa has her Bachelor’s degree in History and Political Studies and a Master’s degree in Business Administration. She lives in Lake Elsinore with her husband Nico, also a Navy veteran, and their five children. Juli Shamash is mother of Tyler who died of fentanyl after a negative drug screen at an emergency department. After Tyler's death Juli established the Drug Awareness Foundation to provide education and advocacy on drug deaths.  

Is vaping helping people quit smoking or creating new smokers? In a simulation model, scientists calculated 3000 years of life gained in smokers who quit through vaping. They also calculated 1,500,000 years of life lost in teens and young adults who started vaping who otherwise would have never smoked. 3000 years gained verses 1.5 million year lost.  What a terrible public health choice. Dr. William Lynch discusses vaping.

William J. Lynch Jr. received his pharmacy degree from Rutgers University and is a practicing clinical pharmacist with Jefferson Health System where he is a member of the Pain Management & Addiction Committee. He serves as Adjunct Faculty at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine. His pharmacy background includes over 35 years of clinical practice at Jefferson and Rowan and also as Adjunct Faculty Clinical Preceptor for Rutgers University, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy and Thomas Jefferson University College of Pharmacy. He is a clinical scientific expert member of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, National Marijuana Initiative Speakers Bureau (ONDCP HIDTA NMI) and the International Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis (IASIC). He is also a health care professional partner of the Keep Delaware Safe & Healthy Coalition, the State of Delaware Substance Abuse Epidemiological Outcomes Working Group and the Central Virginia Overdose Working Group. Bill serves as an Advisory Board Member with atTAcK addiction and is also a member of the Camden County New Jersey Addiction Awareness Task Force where he serves as the Education and Prevention Committee Co-Chair. He is a certified State of New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety Division of Criminal Justice Police Training Commission Instructor. He also serves as the Gloucester Township Police Department SAVE Program Adviser and as a New Jersey State Police Regional Operations Intelligence Center Drug Monitoring Initiative Fusion Center partner and Health and Prevention Sharing Network partner.

Chris lost everything and ended up in jail. There he discovered his love for cooking. He now feeds the "homeless", or who he calls the outside community. Chris's cooking is given for free and with love, with a taste that will challenge Phil's Bar-B-Q. Should you give the outside community money? How should you treat people who live outside?  Chris shares his opinion. https://hightruths.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/IMG_4190.heic https://hightruths.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/IMG_4190.heic

Christopher Ibanez is the senior servant and administrator of God’s Kitchen, a mobile van that provides 200 home cooked meals for the outside community that challenges the taste of Phil’s BBQ. Chris refers to what some call the homeless, as his brothers and sisters. Chris has a BS in business management and organizational leadership. He is a recovered addict and author of the book 9:11: The House of Steel,  available on Amazon.

Methadone Clinic give methadone, but can they use other medications to treat addiction or assist with other drugs such as methamphetamine? Listen to the conversation with our nation's leader of opioid treatment programs, Mark Parrino. Mark W. Parrino, MPA President, American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, AATOD Mr. Parrino has been involved in the delivery of health care and substance abuse treatment since 1974. He received both a Baccalaureate in Psychology (1974) and a Masters in Health Policy, Planning and Administration (1982) from New York University. Mr. Parrino served as the Director of the Gramercy Park Medical Group, an outpatient methadone treatment program, from 1980 to 1994. He also served as President of the National Development and Research Institutes, Inc. (NDRI). Mr. Parrino served as the Chair of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) Consensus Panel for State Methadone Treatment Guidelines, the first Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) published for national distribution. Currently, Mr. Parrino is the President of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) and continues to be responsible for the development and implementation of the Association's organizing initiatives. He also serves as the Vice President of the World Federation for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (WFTOD).

Fentanyl is the public health crisis of our times with 300 deaths a day from drugs, 60% driven by fentanyl. It is a humanitarian crisis. Fentanyl is a weapon of mass destruction. Quick fentanyl detection is important, and nanotechnology is playing a big role.

Dr. Shalini Prasad’s research focuses on designing miniature cellular and molecular platforms, with the goal of creating faster and more affordable clinical diagnostics.

She is currently a Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor in Systems Biology and a professor in the Department of Bioengineering. She also holds an adjunct appointment as professor in the Department of Physics at Portland State University.

Prasad is the director of the Biomedical Microdevices and Nanotechnology Lab, which has supported 22 graduate researchers and 30 undergraduate researchers over the last eight years. Her multi-disciplinary work includes the engineering of multi-functional nanomaterials for designing portable devices and platforms for cellular and molecular diagnostics. Her research improves devices for faster, more affordable and accurate diagnosis of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and cardiovascular diseases.

Prasad earned her doctoral degree in electrical engineering in 2004 from the University of California, Riverside. Her multidisciplinary research work won her the graduate student research award in 2004. From 2005 to 2008, she worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Portland State University and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Oregon Health Sciences University.

From 2008 to 2010, she worked as a research assistant professor and a content expert in the area of organic/inorganic interfaces for the Arizona State University node of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network and ASU’s Center for Solid State Electronics Research. From 2010 to 2011, she was an associate professor at Wichita State University in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Bomhoff Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering.

Prasad’s research work has been supported by a number of federal and state agencies as well as corporate entities. She has more than 30 peer-reviewed journal publications and is the recipient of a number of awards in the area of nano-biotechnology.

Is drug testing important? Does it make a clinical difference? I discuss this question with Drs. Dawson and Passik from Millennium Health. Millennium Health Millennium Health is an accredited specialty laboratory with over a decade of experience in medication monitoring and drug testing services, helping clinicians monitor use of prescription medications and illicit drugs and analyzing specimens to find nationwide drug use trends. Eric Dawson, PharmD

Eric Dawson, PharmD brings a diverse background of over 20 years of clinical experience, research, and education. He has a particular interest in the issues surrounding appropriate opioid prescribing as well the consequences of drug abuse, misuse, and diversion.  He is passionate about educating clinicians on the topic and has given many lectures to pharmacists, nurses, and physicians. Dr. Dawson has also authored or coauthored several publications in JAMA, JAMA Network Open, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, etc. on drug use. He earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Auburn University graduating with highest honors. He is also a licensed pharmacist in the state of Alabama.

Steven Passik, PhD

After a 25-year career as an academic clinical psychologist working with cancer and non-cancer pain patients and their families, Dr. Steve Passik has now been in industry for nearly 10 years. Having worked at the interface of pain and addiction both clinically and conducting research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, University of Kentucky and Vanderbilt University, Dr. Passik came to industry to contribute to safer pain management and improved addiction recognition and treatment.

He initially began working at Millennium Health with an eye toward strengthening the evidence base underpinning urine drug testing in pain and addiction management. He then spent several years in pharma working to help in the development of safer opioid formulations.

He returns now to Millennium Health as VP, Scientific Affairs and Head of Clinical Data Programs, working primarily on expanding work begun at MH using aggregated urine drug testing results from around the country to inform clinicians, policy makers and public health officials on the changing landscape of substance use to help facilitate a data driven approach to this enormous public health problem.

 

Pamela McColl met the Pied Pipers of Pot and watched them lead Canada, American and a global following of marijuana. Where there warning signs of the medical and societal harms before legalization?

Pamela McColl

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_McColl

Principal and Publisher, Grafton and Scratch 

Pamela's Book

The Pied Pipers of Pot: Protecting Youth from the Marijuana Industry

When the product should not be used according to Pamela's Research

Cannabis should not be used if you:

• are under the age of 25
• are allergic to any cannabinoid or to smoke
• have serious liver, kidney, heart or lung disease
• have a personal or family history of serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia, psychosis, depression, or bipolar disorder
• are pregnant, are planning to get pregnant, or are breast-feeding
• are a man who wishes to start a family
• have a history of alcohol or drug abuse or substance dependence

Talk to your health care practitioner if you have any of these conditions. There may be other conditions where this product should not be used, but which are unknown due to limited scientific information.

Paramedics are doing more than naloxone for drugs overdoses. They are starting addiction treatment and Suboxone right on the streets.  Listen to Martha Waller and Tara Tucker talk about their prehospital Suboxone project. This is a pilot project and there are still kinks to work out before this can be implemented on a wide scale. But Martha and Tara are innovators, think outside the box, and bring hope and solutions to the issue of addiction.

Martha Waller, Ph.D.

Dr. Martha Waller is a Senior Program Evaluator I and has been with PIRE since 2003. She received her Ph.D. in Maternal and Child Health with a minor in Epidemiology from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005 and her M.A. in Social and Experimental Psychology from New Mexico State University in 1999. Dr. Waller was a Fellow in the Maternal and Child Health-Public Health Leadership Institute (MCH-PHLI). This prestigious Fellowship is a year-long leadership development program targeted to upper-level leaders in State Title V programs, family advocacy, and other organizations that work on behalf of and promote healthy families, particularly the maternal and child health populations in the US and its territories.

Dr. Waller has served as lead evaluator for the New Mexico Office of Substance Abuse Prevention since 2007, evaluating the SAMHSA funded NM SPF SIG, SPE, PFS II, PFS 2015, SPF Rx, and PDO grants and all SAPT Block grant substance abuse prevention programming. She has extensive experience working with communities and state agencies to build capacity around each step of the SPF model including needs assessment, building community readiness and coalition capacity, strategic planning, program implementation, evaluation, cultural competency, and sustainability.

She also leads a grant from the National Center for Responsible Gaming to assess problem gambling among at-risk youth and adults in NM. Most recently, she received a NIDA R21 to evaluate an innovative approach to opioid overdose prevention in Forsyth County, NC where community paramedics create a bridge to MAT immediately following reversal by offering up to seven days of buprenorphine while collaborating with peer navigators to provide motivational interviewing and support until the person is enrolled in MAT. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina also funded Dr. Waller to conduct a similar study in Stanly County, NC.

Dr. Waller has worked on several NIH longitudinal studies using Add Health data examining health behaviors and outcomes among adolescents and young adults, with a particular focus on mental health, substance use, sexual risk taking, and sexual orientation. She led an NIAAA R03 that examined the role of alcohol outlet density on drinking behaviors and intimate partner violence using Add Health.

Finally, Martha led an Indian Health Services grant to provide evaluation training and TA to eleven Tribal HPDP grantees across the county. Her research interests include exploring the effect of environmental characteristics associated with risk behavior and health disparities and environmental-level prevention strategies particularly among adolescent and young adult populations. She enjoys being involved in both research and evaluation opportunities.

Tara Tucker, Paramedic

Tara is a Paramedic and Mental Health Professional, leads Forsyth County’s Opioid Task Force. She has been instrumental in pulling together community partners to work on fighting the opioid epidemic from a variety of angles. Currently, she serves as a Captain with Forsyth County Emergency Services and developed the foundation for their Mobile Integrated Heal...

Rarely is there a new medication that is really new and innovative. Imagine a drug that deactivate methamphetamine within 2 minutes and excretes it from the body within 2 hours. CS1103 is that drug. Listen to this episode from the drug developers at Clear Scientific and learn about this magically innovation.

Clear Scientific

Clear Scientific was founded in Cambridge, MA, in 2019. The heart of our mission is saving lives. We are a biopharmaceutical company pioneering novel therapies for life-threatening and debilitating conditions caused by an excess of harmful substances in the body.www.clearsci.com

We are advancing a pipeline of innovative medicines in four therapeutic areas: Overdose caused by methamphetamine, fentanyl and their co-use; Accidental ADHD medication poisoning in children (Adderall and Ritalin); Reversal of neuromuscular blocking agents in anesthesia; Metabolic and neurodegenerative condition-induced CNS dysfunction.

Our pioneering work has produced a first-in-class treatment, CS-1103, for methamphetamine overdose, a critical public health crisis.

Mitch Zakin, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer

• 35+ years experience developing technologies for life sciences and chemical/biological defense
• Former DARPA Program Manager, Visiting Scholar Wyss Institute for Bio-Inspired Engineering at Harvard Med School; Co-Founder Soft Robotics Inc.
• , Physical Chemistry, Harvard University; BS, Chemistry CCNY

Winston Henderson, JD, General Counsel

• 25+ years experience in intellectual property/corporate law and working in technology startups from founding to exit
• Work experience Kenyon & Kenyon, Anderson Consulting, Surface Logix, Active member Board of Trustees at Boston Children’s Hospital
• JD, Duke University School of Law; BSE, Biomedical Eng & Electrical Engg.

How do you talk to your children about drugs? There is increase normalization and commercialization of drugs, especially marijuana, preying on kids. If parents don't talk to kids about drugs, they will learn about it from Snap Chat or Drug Dealers. Addiction is a disease on the young brain with serious health harms.  Dr. Shannon Murphy is a pediatrician and expert in messaging to children and young adults. Dr. Shannon Murphy is a pediatrician who currently volunteers her time in drug education. Dr. Murphy received her undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt University and her M.D. from Emory School of Medicine. She completed her pediatric training at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and subsequently worked as a primary care pediatrician in a community group practice in Alabama. She has served on a Practice Advisory Committee on Adolescent Substance Use for the American Academy of Pediatrics and currently sits on the Board of Directors for National Families in Action (NFIA), a national non-profit substance use prevention organization. Additionally, Dr. Murphy serves on the Expert Physician Council for the International Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis (IASIC), an international non-profit organization of doctors educating on marijuana. Dr. Murphy’s primary focus is on adolescent health and well-being. She is actively involved in developing education-based community outreach programs throughout the state with a concentration on marijuana education for teens, parents, and community organizations. NIDA - is a resource Dr. Murphy referred to.

Where do doctors go for advice if they need help treating patients with addiction? NCCC is like the National Poison Center but with a focus on drug addiction. NCCC provides free advice from national experts to doctors and clinicians treating patients with addiction. On this podcast hear from the NCCC experts on how doctors give advice to other doctors.

NCCC - National Clinician Consultation Center

For 30 years, the National Clinician Consultation Center (NCCC) has offered free, on-demand tele-consultation on HIV and viral hepatitis to health care providers across the U.S.  In 2015, with support from the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the NCCC launched a new National Substance Use Warmline (855.300.3595) to address providers’ clinical questions regarding substance use disorder prevention, evaluation, and medical management.  The Warmline’s multi-disciplinary team of experienced addiction medicine professionals has provided over 3,000 individually tailored consultations across a broad range of topics, such as novel buprenorphine initiation strategies; alcohol withdrawal management for older adults with complex comorbidities; and pharmacotherapy considerations for pregnant and parenting individuals.  The Warmline welcomes calls from any U.S.-affiliated clinician, especially providers working in safety net healthcare systems and rural communities.  More information is available at: nccc.ucsf.edu.

Brenda Goldhammer, MPH  - NCCC Program Director

Brenda Goldhammer has been working in the HIV/AIDS field for nearly 30 years.  She received her Master’s in Public Health from the University of California at Los Angeles where she was awarded the Improving Public Health in Southern California Fellowship for her work with social service providers serving people who are unhoused and the University Fellowship for academic excellence.  Before joining the National Clinician Consultation Center, Ms. Goldhammer launched her career with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies as an HIV/AIDS Intervention Specialist.  As Program Director for the National Clinician Consultation Center based out of UCSF, she provides operational and strategic leadership including overseeing the program’s technological and infrastructure improvements.  She also manages the projects collaborative partnerships and public relations.

  Jesse Ristau, MD - NCCC Physician Consultant

Dr. Jesse Ristau completed her M.D. at Boston University Medical Center, Primary Care Internal Medicine residency at UCSF and Primary Care and Addiction Medicine Fellowship at UCSF. Dr. Ristau is now an Assistant Professor on faculty at UCSF Health Division of General Internal Medicine and practices primary care and addiction medicine. She also provides addiction consultation with the UCSF NCCC Substance Use Warmline and clinical care for inpatient and outpatient addiction specialty clinics in San Francisco.

 

Mishka Terplan, MD MPH FACOG DFASAM - NCCC Physician Consultant

Dr. Mishka Terplan is board certified in both obstetrics and gynecology and in addiction medicine. His primary clinical, research, public health, and advocacy interests lie along the intersections of reproductive and behavioral health. He is Medical Director at Friends Research Institute and adjunct faculty at the University of California, San Francisco where he is a Substance Use Warmline clinician for the National Clinician Consultation Center. Dr. Terplan has active grant funding and has published over 140 peer-reviewed articles with emphasis on health inequities, discrimination, and access to treatment. He has spoken a...

How many second chances should people get on drug addiction and treatment? Listen to Danny Darko Marciano as he drives to the Grammy's in Las Vegas and judge for yourself and Danny shares his dramatic life journey. Danny Darko Marciano is a recovered heroin addict and ex-convict turned Children's book author and entertainer. He has been nominated for best new rapper by the San Diego Music Awards in 2019 and now is a member of the Grammys, Los Angeles Recording Academy. Most recently he can be seen on season 3 of Mayans M.C. The Microphone Doctors Pandora Links to Danny's Music  

Does marijuana cause mental illness and violence? Alex Berenson published a doctorate type research in his book - Tell Your Children. Alex is also known for being cancelled by Twitter for his views on the COVID vaccine.

Alex Berenson was born in New York in 1973 and grew up in Englewood, N.J.  After graduating from Yale University in 1994 with degrees in history and economics, he joined the Denver Post as a reporter. In 1996, he became one of the first employees at TheStreet.com, the groundbreaking financial news Website.

In 1999, he joined The New York Times. At the Times, he covered everything from the drug industry to Hurricane Katrina; in 2003 and 2004, he served two stints as a correspondent in Iraq, an experience that led him to write The Faithful Spy, his debut novel, which won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best First Novel. He left the Times in 2010 to devote himself to writing fiction. But conversations with his wife led him to begin researching the science around cannabis and mental illness, a project that became the book Tell Your Children, published in January 2019.

He has now written twelve John Wells novels and two non-fiction books, The Number and Tell Your Children. Alex lives in the Hudson Valley with his wife, Dr. Jacqueline Berenson, a forensic psychiatrist, and their children.

FDA Label for Marinol, THC

FDA Label for Epidiolex, CBD

 

Candy (Candace) Lightner, founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and We Save Lives is recognized nationally and internationally as the moving force behind reshaping the nation's attitude toward drunk driving (as well as drugged and distracted driving).

Recognizing her years of dynamic leadership, the media voted Ms. Lightner as “one of the most influential American citizens of the twentieth century.” People Magazine called her “the Conscience of a Nation” and books have referred to her as the “Mother of Movements.”

She founded MADD after her 13-year-old daughter, Cari, was killed by a multiple repeat offending drunk driver. Lightner has been credited with saving more than 400,000 lives. Armed with her anger and passion, she set out to change the system and the prevailing attitude of societal acceptance about the most often committed crime in the country.

The mother turned activist not only led the movement that made drunk driving socially unacceptable, she became a leading victim’s advocate, teaching victims and survivors how to fight for justice in the courtroom.

As MADD's Founding Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of the Board, Lightner masterminded MADD from a small California grass roots organization into an international corporation with 400+ chapters worldwide and an annual budget of more than 12 million dollars. Under her leadership, MADD’s membership base grew to more than two million

What are the environment impacts of cannabis grows? The carbon foot print for tomato grows is 2 kilograms, much different than for cannabis grows is 3600 kilograms. Cleaning up illegal cannabis grows cost more money than cleaning up an oil spill. Hear from Dr. Greta Wengert, and ecologist working in California public lands and witnesses the effects of illegal marijuana grows on water theft, damage to wild life, and effects of pesticides.

Dr. Greta Wengert is the Executive Director of Integral Ecology Research Center, a non-profit research organization. Greta earned her B.S. in Natural Resources at Cornell University, her M.S. in Wildlife Ecology at Humboldt State University, and her Ph.D. in Ecology at the University of California Davis, and has over 20 years of ecological research experience throughout California and Oregon. Her research focuses on the relationships among forest vertebrates and how these relationships are impacted by natural and human influences. Since 2012, her research has focused on the environmental impacts from trespass marijuana cultivation centering mainly on direct effects on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems from the pesticide use and habitat manipulation associated with cultivation. She speaks regularly on this topic to local and nationwide audiences to spread awareness on this growing environmental issue, and to encourage the development and funding sources for solutions to this problem.

College is a special time in a young person's life. It is a time of personal growth and learning. It is often the first time to live alone away from home. Freedom. Yet colleges pride themselves as being a top party school, like a badge of honor. Responsibility. While on spring break, 22 year old Riley Strain died because of such partying. His alcohol level was 0.228% and his THC level was over 50mg/ml, higher than the machines even test for. May his memory be a blessing for his family. May no other college students have such party experiences.

Rich Lucey has more than three decades of experience at the state and federal government levels working to prevent alcohol and drug use and misuse among youth and young adults, especially college students. He currently serves as a senior prevention program manager in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Community Outreach and Prevention Support Section. Rich plans and executes educational and public information programs, evaluates program goals and outcomes, and serves as an advisor to the Section Chief and other DEA officials on drug misuse prevention and education programs. Rich formerly served as special assistant to the director for the federal Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, and worked as an education program specialist in the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools.

Erin Ficker is an expert in substance misuse prevention, an accomplished training and technical assistance (T/TA) provider and a certified senior prevention specialist. She brings extensive expertise in supporting, designing, and delivering engaging professional learning, and providing comprehensive T/TA for states and community level prevention professionals. For over 18 years, she has built the capacity of clients to perform prevention work effectively using the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF). She has in-depth knowledge and training experience in the SPF process, including specific work in evaluation, sustainability, assessment, and working with diverse populations.

Erin currently serves as a regional director in SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Technical Assistance Center (SPTAC) working to provide training and technical assistance to SAMHSA state and community grantees across HHS Regions 5 and 8. She also serves as a prevention manager for the Great Lakes Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) providing services to a wide range of prevention and behavioral health specialists.  Erin holds an MPA in Domestic and Social Policy from the University of Texas-Austin and a BA in Sociology from The Evergreen State College. She also holds a certification as a Senior Prevention Specialist through the Illinois Certification Board.

www.DEA.GOV/onepill

CampusDrugPrevention.gov

https://www.campusdrugprevention.gov

What are the leading issues for Hospitals and Heathcare? Is it COVID, medial education, universal healthcare? And what about the over 100,000 people a year who die from drugs? Scott Becker shares his perspective as a national expert in hospital and healthcare affairs.

Scott Becker is a partner in the healthcare department at McGuireWoods. He previously served on the Board of Partners of the firm and chaired the healthcare department for nearly 13 years. Scott is the founder and publisher of Becker’s Hospital Review and Becker’s Healthcare. He represents hospitals and health systems, healthcare companies, surgery center chains, large practices, and private equity funds. Scott is a Harvard law graduate and certified public accountant.

This is a special episode of High Truths featuring the voices of California Cannabis Victims. These are parents who's children died because of cannabis addiction. They brave the cruelty of people who bully them, judge them, and hit them when they are down. They risk attacks in order to spare other parents from similar tragedy. May the memory of these children be a blessing and may other children live from their sacrifice. Learn more at

• IASIC
• Mom Strong
• Every Brain Matters

  Daniel Reader, 1995 - 2020 Shane Robinson, 1996 - 2012 Jolo Talay, 1996 - 2018 Trevor Leopold, 2001- 2019 Kevin Bright, 1989 - 2018        

Dr. Josh Bloom is an organic chemist who debunks Junk Science in his work with the American Council on Science. Hear what he has to say about opioids and pain, fentanyl, methamphetamine, benzodiazepines, and cannabis. Do Dr. Lev and Dr. Bloom agree or disagree on issues of addiction? You judge.

Dr. Josh Bloom, ACSH's Director of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science, earned his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of Virginia, followed by postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania. His career 20+ year first career was drug discovery research at Wyeth. During this time he participated in research in a number of therapeutic areas, including diabetes and obesity, new antibiotics, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis C. His group discovered the novel antibiotic Tygacil®, which was approved by the FDA for use against resistant bacterial infections in 2005. He is the author of 25 patents, and 35 academic papers, including a chapter on new therapies for hepatitis C in Burger’s Medicinal Chemistry, Drug Discovery, and Development, 7th Edition (Wiley, 2010).

Dr. Bloom, who joined the American Council on Science and Health in 2010 as Director of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, has published more than 75 op-eds in numerous periodicals, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, New Scientist, The New York Post, National Review Online, The Boston Herald, The Baltimore Sun, The Chicago Tribune, and The New York Daily News. He has also done numerous radio and television shows and podcasts on topics related to drugs, chemicals, and most importantly, the plight of pain patients – the innocent victims of the misguided war on opioid drugs.

He is now recognized as an expert in government opioid policy and was the first journalist to write a nationally published opinion piece about the unintended consequences of a governmental crackdown on prescription pain medications (New York Post, 2013). Since that time he has published more than 20 op-eds in regional and national newspapers on different aspects of the crisis.

He was also the first writer (2016) to study, dissect and ultimately debunk the manipulated statistics used by the CDC to justify its recommendations for opioid prescribing, which have resulted in Draconian requirements for prescribing pain medications as well as government-mandated, involuntary tapering of patients receiving opioid treatment, both of which have caused great harm and needless suffering to chronic pain patients. His 2016 article, "Six Charts Designed to Confuse You," is considered to be the seminal work on CDC deception and has been adopted by patient advocacy groups. It has been sent to governors, senators, and state legislatures.

What does Dr. Profeta tell college kids about drugs? He shows them what it's like for him, as an emergency physician, to tell their parents they died of an overdose. That's the worse horror for a doctor.

Dr. Louis M. Profeta is a nationally recognized, award-winning writer and Emergency Physician at St. Vincent Hospital of Indianapolis. He is clinical instructor of Emergency Medicine at Indiana University and Marian University Schools of Medicine. A graduate of Indiana University and its School of Medicine, Dr. Profeta completed his post-graduate training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.  He is a dynamic and sought-after public speaker and writer as well as a frequent guest on TV and radio who has gained critical acclaim for his essays on topics such as his eye-opening look at our national preparedness for influenza pandemics in What Scares Me More than Ebola. 

In 2015, 2016 and again in 2017 he was named LinkedIn Top Voice for readership in health care. In 2020 he was recognized by LinkedIn as one of the Top Voices In Health Care related to Covid-19. The Society of Professional Journalism honored his scathingly sarcastic but passionate essay, Your Kid and My Kid Aren’t Playing in the Pros, as one of the best articles on sports in 2014. In 2018 he was honored by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists for his contributions to online media.

Dr. Profeta's best-selling book, The Patient in Room Nine Says He’s God, continues to earn critical acclaim as a poignant and passionate look at society, God and life through the eyes of an ER doctor. His essay  I Know You Love Me--Now Let Me Die has been read more than five million times on LinkedIn, the Huffington Post and NPR and has sparked a whole new debate on end-of-life care. His 2017 essays, When the Lion Kills Your Child ,  A Sunday Talk on Sex, Drugs, Drinking and Dying with the Frat Boys and I'll Look at Your Facebook Profile Before I tell Your Mother You're Dead, are three of the most read and shared articles ever on LinkedIn, exposing the disastrous consequences of the opiate epidemic, drug and alcohol abuse, and sexual assaults on college campuses.  He is quickly becoming one of the most widely read opinion essayists in America.

Dr. Profeta and his wife Sheryl are p...

Ben Cort Ben’s passion for recovery, prevention and harm reduction comes from his own struggle with substance abuse. Sober since 6/15/96, Ben has been a part of the recovery movement in almost every way imaginable; from a recipient to a provider to a spokesperson. Cort has a deep understanding of the issues and a personal motivation to see the harmful effects of drug and alcohol abuse minimized. From non-profits to hospitals to private programs Ben has been a leader inside of many forms of addiction treatment and prevention. From 2017-2020 Ben was a consultant to various treatment programs, state governments, professional and collegiate athletics and labor. He is now CEO of the Foundry Steamboat Springs, an inpatient treatment program for men in the mountains of Colorado. Ben is a Jr Fellow at the University of Florida inside of their drug policy institute, a board member for NALGAP (National Association of Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, Transgender treatment providers and their allies), a Board member at SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) and faculty at numerous institutes. He is a published author (Weed Inc, Simon and Shuster 2017) and his TED talk “Surprising Truths about Legalizing Cannabis” has been viewed over 4 million times.

Dr. Lewis Nelson myth busts alleged fentanyl overdose cases in passive handlers. He explains the nocebo effect, opposite the placebo effect. It is true that 2 grains of fentanyl can kill, but it have to be 2 grain of pure fentanyl and it has to be consumed. Touching fentanyl does not kill - people who deal drugs as well as healthcare workers touch fentanyl regularly and do not overdose. "Dose makes the Poison" is the hallmark of medical toxicology.

Lewis S. Nelson, MD is Professor and Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, Chief of Service of the University Hospital Emergency Department, and Chief of the Division of Medical Toxicology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, all in Newark, NJ. He is also a Senior Consultant to the New Jersey Poison Information & Education System. He is board certified in emergency medicine, medical toxicology, and addiction medicine. Dr. Nelson is an editor of the medical toxicology textbook Goldfrank’s Toxicologic Emergencies and on the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals. He is a member of the board of the American Board of Emergency Medicine and several other academic organizations and is Past President of American College of Medical Toxicology. Dr. Nelson serves as a long-standing consultant to CDC, DHS, and FDA. Some of his areas of interest include non-opioid pain relief strategies, opioid overdose and management, addiction and withdrawal management, and health policy focused on issues related to medication safety and substance use.

 

Can the public health solution to drug overdoses follow the public health model for COVID?Can we do contact tracing for overdoses like we do for infectious diseases? Dr. Tom Frieden, former CDC director say yes.

Dr. Tom Frieden is a physician trained in internal medicine, infectious diseases, public health, and epidemiology. He is former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and former commissioner of the New York City Health Department. Dr. Frieden is currently President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives.

Dr. Frieden began his public health career in New York City confronting the largest outbreak of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis to occur in the US. He was then assigned to India, on loan from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he helped scale up a program for effective tuberculosis diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring.  Asked to return to New York City to become Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s Health Commissioner, he directed efforts to reduce smoking and other leading causes of death that increased life expectancy by 3 years. As Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Frieden oversaw the work that helped end the 2014 West Africa Ebola epidemic. He now leads Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of the global health organization Vital Strategies, that works with countries to prevent 100 million deaths and to make the world safer from epidemics. During the Covid pandemic, Dr. Frieden has overseen an expansion of Resolve to Save Lives activities including policy and program innovations in the United States, counsel to multilateral institutions, and support for rapid response, health care worker safety, and data-driven decision-making in more than 20 countries.

Dr. Frieden is also Senior Fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Asleep at the Switch - Dr. Frieden publication on applying public health strategies to non communicable diseases The Health Impact Pyramid - Dr. Frieden publication

Dr. Di Forte is world renowned expert in cannabis induced psychosis research and risk factors for schizophrenia.

Dr Marta Di Forti is a Clinical Reader in Psychosis Research at the Dept of Social, Developmental and Genetic Research, Institute of Psychiatry, and Honorary Consultant Adult Psychiatrist, Lambeth EI Community team, South London and Maudsley NHS foundation Trust. She leads the first Cannabis Clinic for patients with Psychotic disorders in UK. She was recently awarded the Royal College of Psychiatrist Researcher of the year prize.  In 2020 she was granted a MRC Senior Research Fellowship to expand her research in the role of cannabis use in psychosis and its underlying biology. With her team she showed for the first time that use of high potency types of cannabis e.g. "skunk" carries a higher risk of psychosis than use of traditional types and that it affects rates of Psychotic disorders across Europe. Though it still remains unclear who are those cannabis use most at risk. Her future work aims to investigate the interaction between cannabis use and genes predisposing to schizophrenia, and how cannabis changes the epigenome.

Lancet Article: Daily High Potency (10%) Cannabis Use is associated with nearly 5 fold increased odds of Psychotic Disorder

What's the overlap in mental health and marijuana? Congressman Patrick Kennedy notes that Addiction for Profit Industry in Preying on Vulnerable populations including children.

Former U.S. Representative Patrick J. Kennedy

During his time in Congress, Patrick J. Kennedy was the lead author of the landmark Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (Federal Parity Law), which requires insurers to cover treatment for mental health and substance use disorders no more restrictively than treatment for illnesses of the body, such as diabetes and cancer. In 2013, he founded The Kennedy Forum, a nonprofit that unites advocates, business leaders, and government agencies to advance evidence-based practices, policies, and programming in mental health and addiction. In 2015, Kennedy co-authored the New York Times Bestseller, “A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction,” which details a bold plan for the future of mental health care in America. In 2017, he was appointed to the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis.

Kennedy is also the founder of DontDenyMe.org, an educational campaign that empowers consumers and providers to understand parity rights and connects them to essential appeals guidance and resources; co-founder of One Mind, an organization that pushes for greater global investment in brain research; co-chair of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s Mental Health & Suicide Prevention National Response to COVID-19 (National Response); and co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Behavioral Health Integration Task Force.

Preventing youth from using marijuana is key in preventing drug addiction and psychosis. Laura Stack has practical and life saving advice for parents and those interested in drug prevention. Do you have a code word with your kids? The code means come get me wherever I am, no questions asked. Laura Stack is Johnny Stack’s mom and the Founder & CEO of Johnny’s Ambassadors. In the business world, Laura was better known by her professional moniker, The Productivity Pro®. She is a Hall-of-Fame Speaker and corporate spokesperson for many major brands. Laura is a bestselling author of eight books on productivity and performance topics with a large social media following, and she has given keynote speeches and training seminars to major corporate, association, and government audiences for over 30 years. On November 20, 2019, Laura suddenly acquired the undesired wisdom of knowing what it’s like to lose one’s child, when her 19-year-old son, Johnny, died by suicide. He became psychotic after dabbing high- potency marijuana concentrates and thought the mob was after him. Laura’s world took a 180. She filed for and received 501c3 nonprofit status for Johnny’s Ambassadors, Inc., with the mission to educate parents and teens about the dangers of today’s high-THC marijuana on adolescent brain development, mental illness, and suicide. She wrote the blockbuster book, The Dangerous Truth About Today’s Marijuana: Johnny Stack’s Life and Death Story, with 300 pages about what happened. Described as a woman with unstoppable drive and unwavering purpose, Laura hopes to help other parents, grandparents, teachers (and frankly all adults with teens in their lives) by honestly and boldly sharing Johnny’s story of his high-potency marijuana use, psychosis, and suicide. The devastating loss of her child gives Laura a powerful voice and a platform for change. Laura sees it as her responsibility to share Johnny's warning to prevent other families from having to go through what she did and save other young lives. Laura’s platform now brings marijuana education, awareness, and prevention curriculum around the U.S. to raise awareness of THC use, mental illness, and suicide. She presents live and virtual keynotes, breakout sessions, and training for parents, teens, schools, healthcare, anti-drug coalitions, community- based prevention organizations, corporate wellness programs, and government agencies. Laura is the recipient of the Drug-Free America Foundation’s Moxie Award for protecting youth from substances, as well as the Leadership in Advocacy Award from the National Speakers Association. By sharing Johnny’s own warning about marijuana, Laura is determined to start a movement to bring teen marijuana use, mental illness, and suicide into the spotlight and get them to #StopDabbing. Laura lives with her husband near Denver, Colorado and has two surviving adult children, ages 26 and 20. “Forge ahead despite your pain and give meaning to your loss.” – Laura Stack

They devil is in the details, or lack of details when in comes to Amendment 3, Florida's ballot initiative on legalizing marijuana. When California and other states legalized weed without including regulations and consumer protections, babies were poisoned, people were exposed to pesticides and contaminants, high potency products proliferated, emergency visits for cannabis poisoning skyrocketed, and people experience second hand smoke on a regular basis. We hope Florida learns from the mistakes of California.

Dr. Jessica Spencer set the foundation for her work in the field of substance abuse prevention by earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminology from the University of Tampa and working with at risk juvenile and adult populations in the Tampa area.  Spurred on by a desire to contribute more to her field, she subsequently rounded out her education with a master’s degree in substance abuse counseling and education and a doctorate of education in organizational leadership with a focus on substance abuse prevention and treatment. Her dissertation topic was examining strength-based treatment planning with adolescents.

She is a certified prevention and addictions professional with over 24 years in the prevention and treatment field. Dr. Spencer has developed the ability to quickly identify and resolve issues through conventional and unconventional means bringing meaningful growth to agencies, community groups, and coalitions. Over the years, Jessica has served on many mental health and substance abuse prevention community boards.

She served as the face of the Vote No on two campaigns to defeat the proposed constitutional amendments to legalize marijuana for medical purposes during the 2014 and 2016 campaign cycles. She signed on to the No on 3 campaign team this year as director of advocacy to help defeat the amendment because it is a bad plan for Florida.

Cannabis use is associated with alarming increase in mental health crisis, especially in youth. High potency THC products are the driving this problem. Dr. Levy sees this in her clinic treating kids with cannabis use disorder.

Sharon Levy, MD, MPH

Sharon Levy, MD, MPH is a Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician, Addiction Medicine specialist, Director of the Adolescent Substance Use and Addiction Program at Boston Children’s Hospital and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School.  Over the past 20 years she has evaluated and treated thousands of adolescents with substance use disorders, and she has written extensively on the topic.  In 2016 she established the nation’s first accredited Pediatric Addiction Medicine Fellowship training program.  She has expertise in the integration of substance use treatment services into pediatric primary care.

Peer  support is a blessing for many individuals with substance use disorder. Listen to Dominique's inspiring journey and how he gives back to the community in San Francisco.

Dominique McDowell

Mr. McDowell joined the leadership team to create an innovative Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) program to serve those struggling with opioid or alcohol addictions and also Contingency Management Program (CM) for patients struggling with Methamphetamine use . His program has received statewide and national acclaim, and allowed MCHWC to bring important substance use and homelessness services to southern Marin. He is trained as a Relapse Prevention Specialist (RLPS), Gorski-CENAPS, Housing Active Users, is certified by the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP), CASIII-Clinical Supervisor, Substance Abuse Certified Counselor (SUDCCII) and teaches anger management and conflict resolution. Mr. McDowell brings tremendous knowledge, expertise and empathy to this role, as a service provider and recovering individual. Previously, Mr. McDowell was Program Manager of the Marin County Safety Net at Ritter Center, Substance Abuse Counselor at Marin Outpatient Recovery Services, and HIV Counselor with the SF Department of Public Health. Throughout his career, he has worked with high-risk clients in chronic disease management, including HIV and Hepatitis C, and has assisted individuals and families with disparities, such as post-incarceration referrals to treatment. He is committed to a harm reduction model around addiction, I.V. drug use, safe sex and health awareness, and is actively owner of the JustUs sober living home in Marin County (Justussle.com). Mr. McDowell graduated from SF State with a degree in Public Health, specializing in Addiction Studies.

Collaboration yields better results. Breaking silos between public heath and public safety while integrating prevention is key in decrease addiction and the harms from drugs. San Diego CReDO Task Force, Community Response to Drug Overdose is an example of such collaboration Drs. Close and Grover have similar solutions in Monetary, California.

Reb Close, MD

Dr. Close is an Attending Emergency Physician, currently in the process of becoming board-certified in addiction medicine in addition to Emergency Medicine and the lead clinical physician for the Monterey County Prescribe Safe Initiative. The Monterey County Prescribe Safe Initiative is a collaborative effort in Monterey County to promote the safe use of prescription drugs, promote safe pain management, reduce overdoses, and address substance use through preventative efforts and treatment. She has been a Regional Director for the California Bridge to Treatment Program since 2019. Dr. Close attended medical school at UCLA, and completed residency in Emergency Medicine at UCLA-Olive View Medical Center in Los Angeles. She has been on staff at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula since 2003.

 Prescribe Safe website:

https://www.montagehealth.org/about/prescribe-safe/

Casey Grover MD

Dr. Grover is an Emergency Physician at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. He attended medical school at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He completed his residency in emergency medicine at Stanford University. He is currently the physician champion of the Monterey County Prescribe Safe Initiative and is currently in the process of becoming board-certified in addiction medicine in addition to Emergency Medicine. He also serves as Vice Chief of Staff at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.

Link to Dr. Grover Podcast:  https://anchor.fm/casey-grover/