Dr. Tom Freeman is a Reader in Addiction Psychology at the University of Bath, UK. He directs the Addiction and Mental Health Group, an interdisciplinary group bridging Psychology, Life Sciences, Health, Management, and the Institute for Policy Research. He is currently funded by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship. He also leads the Substance Use and Addiction work package of the NIHR Bath Mental Health Research Group, and is deputy lead of the Drugs theme of the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Addictions. His research has generated impacts with the National Institutes of Health, the European Union Drugs Agency, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. 

Dr. Freeman is internationally known for his research on cannabis and cannabinoids. In this podcast he will discuss his work developing new approaches to help people experiencing problems with cannabis use. These include trials for the treatment of cannabis use disorder, and novel strategies for reducing harms such as the standard THC unit.

Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or positions of the United States Government or any of its agencies. The content was recorded prior to the speaker's current federal service and is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only.  No agency endorsement or approval should be inferred.

Amy Neville is the President of the Alexander Neville Foundation (ANF), an organization her family founded after the tragic loss of her 14-year-old son, Alexander. A drug dealer on Snapchat convinced Alex to buy a pill that killed him. This heartbreaking experience pushed Amy to dive deeply into understanding the fentanyl crisis and the role social media plays in it.

The work of ANF is rooted in collaboration with young people, aiming to educate and raise awareness about the new drug landscape and social media harms. ANF is now a guiding voice in the effort to curtail substance misuse and redefine the influence of social media on youth today. As a representative for ANF, Amy has shared her families story and insights on CNN, FOX, CBS, and ABC.

To learn more about Alexander's story and the critical issues ANF is addressing, you can visit their website and read Rolling Stone's "Inside Snapchat’s Teen Opioid Crisis,” chronicling their journey and work.

Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or positions of the United States Government or any of its agencies. The content was recorded prior to the speaker's current federal service and is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only.  No agency endorsement or approval should be inferred.

Marc Berkman serves as the CEO of the Organization for Social Media Safety (OFSMS), which he has grown into the world's preeminent consumer protection organization focused on social media. As a globally recognized expert in social media safety, Marc has testified before Congress and been featured in notable publications like the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. Previously, Marc served for over a decade as a senior advisor to members of the United States Congress and the California State Assembly. Marc received his JD from Columbia Law School and his BA from UC Berkeley. He lives with his wife and two children in Los Angeles, CA.

Organization for Social Media Safety, OFSMS is the first and leading nonprofit (501c3) consumer protection-organization focused exclusively on social media. Through advocacy, education, and technology development, OFSMS protects against all social media- related dangers including cyberbullying, suicide, human trafficking, and more. OFSMS has taught essential safety skills to hundreds of thousands of students, parents, and educators across the world; has passed groundbreaking social media safety legislation like Jordan’s Law; and has conducted groundbreaking with research in partnership with U.C.L.A.'s School of Education.

Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or positions of the United States Government or any of its agencies. The content was recorded prior to the speaker's current federal service and is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only.  No agency endorsement or approval should be inferred.

Kenneth Finn, MD practiced Pain Medicine in Colorado Springs from 1994-2024.  He moved to Prescott, Arizona in 2025 to continue practicing comprehensive Pain Medicine.  He is Board Certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (1995), Pain Medicine (1998), and Pain Management (2000).  He is certified in Cannabis Science through the University of Colorado (2022).  He was a associate professor for the University of Colorado Medical School, Colorado Springs branch (2018-2024).  He is former President (2022-24) of the American Board of Pain Medicine and has served on their Exam Council for over 25 years. He served on the Colorado Governor’s Task Force on Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana for recreational use, Consumer Safety and Social Issues Work Group (2012) and served 4 years on Colorado’s Medical Marijuana Scientific Advisory Council (2014-18). He was an invited speaker to the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, March 2023.  He testified to the Canadian Senate on their marijuana bill (2018) as well as New York General Assembly (2019), and speaks internationally on the health impacts of marijuana, including being an invited speaker to the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, UCLA VA Medical Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) and the Texas Medical and Pain Societies, among many others. He works nationally with other state legislators considering legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational purposes. Dr. Finn was selected to testify to the Department of Justice on the rescheduling of marijuana (2024). He is editor of Cannabis in Medicine: An Evidence-Based Approach (2020) and currently the Co-Vice President (2021) of the International Academy on the Science and Impacts of Cannabis (https://iasic1.org) which is now a member of the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (2023). 

Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or positions of the United States Government or any of its agencies. The content was recorded prior to the speaker's current federal service and is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only.  No agency endorsement or approval should be inferred.

Cedric Akbar is a San Francisco-based community leader and a passionate advocate for recovery and prisoner reentry. With over 25 years of leadership, particularly in San Francisco’s Bayview Hunters Point, Cedric serves as the Director of Forensic and Recovery Services at Westside Community Services. He is a founding member of Positive Directions Equals Change, an advisor to Drug-Free Sidewalks, and was elected to the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee in 2024.

Feb 2025 BayView Black Newspaper

Muck Rack Articles

Positive Directions Equals Changes

Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or positions of the United States Government or any of its agencies. The content was recorded prior to the speaker's current federal service and is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only.  No agency endorsement or approval should be inferred.

Since 2018, Julie has been a tireless advocate for youth, empowering families with tools and language to have honest conversations about marijuana’s risks. Her work reflects a deep commitment to safeguarding the health and development of the next generation. Julie holds a BA in History and English from Mount Vernon Nazarene University.

THC photos

Why it matters- call to action 

Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or positions of the United States Government or any of its agencies. The content was recorded prior to the speaker's current federal service and is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only.  No agency endorsement or approval should be inferred.

Globally, about 70-75% of the population believe in God or a higher power and faith traditions represent about 84% of the population. There are about 20 -25 organized religions and over 4,000 faith groups worldwide.

The Faith Leaders have an important role in the issue of drugs and are underutilized group in drug prevention, treatment, and recovery.

Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman is the founder and director of Chabad Intown - Atlanta. Chabad Intown is now a full-service provider for Jewish Life in Atlanta whose offerings include; Mommy and Me, Intown Jewish Preschool, Intown Hebrew School, C-Teen, Young Jewish Professionals, Intown Jewish Academy, JBN, Jeff’s Place Recovery Center and the Shul @ Chabad Intown. From its inception in 1997 Chabad Intown has grown exponentially and currently serves over 2,000 Jews of all backgrounds throughout the year.

In addition, Rabbi Schusterman is a consultant for many Chabad Centers in fundraising and organization management. One of his passions is utilizing technology and business technique to better impact the Jewish world and increase Jewish involvement.

He received ordination from the Central Chabad Yeshiva in Brooklyn. He and his wife Dena, Executive Director of the Intown Jewish Preschool, have 8 children, and 2 grandchildren.

https://www.clintonfoundation.org/programs/education-health-equity/clinton-global-initiative/overdose-response-network/engaging-community-leaders

Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or positions of the United States Government or any of its agencies. The content was recorded prior to the speaker's current federal service and is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only.  No agency endorsement or approval should be inferred.

Dr. Daniel Myran is a public health and preventative medicine physician, a family physician and researcher. He holds a Canada Research Chair in Social Accountability at the University of Ottawa and is an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine. He practices family medicine with an interest in addiction medicine. 

Dr. Myran’s research uses health administrative data to track healthcare visits for mental health and substance use at the population level and investigate the impact of alcohol and drug policy including the legalization of non-medical cannabis on these outcomes. His work also focuses on understanding risks and downstream health outcomes associated with substance use disorders. 

Dr. Myran's publications can be found here.

Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or positions of the United States Government or any of its agencies. The content was recorded prior to the speaker's current federal service and is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only.  No agency endorsement or approval should be inferred.

Samuel P. Chapman is CEO of The Parent Collective Inc, a California non profit operating in the areas of social media harm and fentanyl poisoning education and activism. Also providing grief support for those left behind. He has done over 160 media appearances warning the nation about the fentanyl crisis. He speaks to law enforcement groups, does grand rounds at hospitals and gives talks to children and their families warning of dangers online for children. He has written Op Eds for major newspapers and is a regular guest on Fox News nationally and locally in California. He has testified before legislatures around the country and participated in Congressional hearings. He is currently sponsoring a bill in Congress named after his deceased son, Sammy's Law (HR 2657,) and is actively promoting bills by the same name in legislatures around the country.

Sign Petition for Sammy's law - 

Dr. Laura Berman - Sammy's mom, relationship therapist, provides grief counseling

Bark - parental controls for your kid's devices

Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or positions of the United States Government or any of its agencies. The content was recorded prior to the speaker's current federal service and is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only.  No agency endorsement or approval should be inferred.

Judge Linda Davis was appointed to the bench on March 27, 2000, by Michigan Governor John Engler. Prior to her judgeship, she spent 13 years as an Assistant Prosecutor with the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office. Davis played a crucial role in the creation of Face Addiction Now, formerly Families Against Narcotics and has been instrumental in the success and growth of the organization. She has received several prestigious awards from organizations such as the FBI, Care House, and the Girl Scouts of America. Among the awards she has been given are the Macomb Community College Outstanding Alumna Award; the Michigan Association of Treatment Court Professionals President’s Award; the Macomb Bar Distinguished Public Service Award; and the Macomb County Humanitarian of the Year Award. She has also been named the Henry Ford Hospital Woman of Excellence and Influence and the 2019 Community Star for the state of Michigan in conjunction with National Rural Health Day.

Judge Davis served on Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s Opiate Task Force and later was appointed to chair the Governor’s Commission for the Prescription Overdose and Opiate Response Team. In addition, she was invited to consult with President Donald J. Trump’s Opiate Task Force and First Lady Melania Trump’s roundtable discussion on how the opioid epidemic is affecting families. Davis’ expertise was also called on by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, resulting in a spot on the state’s Opioid Task Force Advisory Board. Davis is currently FAN’s Executive Director and primary speaker and presents multiple times a week to groups—both statewide and nationally—on the opioid crisis and the stigma associated with addiction. A frequent plenary speaker at conferences, she works tirelessly to educate doctors, nurses, dentists, law enforcement, lawyers, and legislators about substance use disorder.

Davis’ recent presentations include those made to Impact100; the Michigan Association of Treatment Court Professionals Conference; the Michigan Rural Health Conference; the Michigan Department of Corrections; the Opioid and Substance Use Disorder Virtual Summit; the Police Treatment and Community Collaborative’s Pre-Arrest Diversion Summit (Chicago); the CDC/HIDTA Overdose Response Strategy Conference (Salt Lake City); and the Southern Nevada Substance Misuse and Overdose Prevention Summit (Las Vegas), Keynote speaker for National Rural Health conference (Washington D.C.  Presently working on an initiative to take FAN’s programming to rural areas of Michigan, Davis was recently appointed as a voting member of the new Opioid Advisory Commission in Michigan, which will determine how funds from the National Opioid Settlement will be spent in the state.

Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or positions of the United States Government or any of its agencies. The content was recorded prior to the speaker's current federal service and is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only.  No agency endorsement or approval should be inferred.

Jeffrey Davis is a skilled healthcare executive with substantial knowledge of regulatory advocacy and healthcare policies. Jeffrey’s work focuses on issues tied to provider payment and reimbursement as well as quality reporting. He also has significant experience with recent regulatory developments such as the implementation of surprise billing rules.

Jeffrey is the primary author of Regs & Eggs, M+’s weekly regulatory affairs blog. To browse blog entries and subscribe to updates, click here.

Prior to joining McDermott+, Jeffrey served as the director of regulatory and external affairs at the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). In that role, Jeffrey managed ACEP’s formal response to federal policies and worked with federal agencies and other stakeholders to help advance ACEP’s federal affairs agenda.

Jeffrey also spent eight years working with the US Department of Health and Human Services, where he advised senior officials on major budgetary and policy considerations within Medicare and prepared detailed analyses of Medicare regulations and legislation.

*** Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or positions of the United States Government or any of its agencies. The content was recorded prior to the speaker's current federal service and is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only.  No agency endorsement or approval should be inferred.

Dr. John Hsu has practiced anesthesia, chronic pain management, addiction medicine for 31 years.  He is now on a quest to address the opioid epidemic. He has started three companies, including:

IPill Dispenser - a medical device for remote medication adherence monitoring. It is a FDA breakthrough designated product and holds six patents for it.

Quivive Pharma - drug development company that has combined opioids with a respiratory stimulant. He is running a clinical trial at the Cleveland clinic and a supported by a $1.9 million NIDA/NIH grant.  He holds three patents for this company.

Fentavive - a drug development company that has combined Narcan with a respiratory stimulant to address dosing ambiguity with Narcan. He holds one patent for this company. 

Dr. Lev discussed drug endangered children and solutions with Eric Nation.

National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children

Executive Director

Eric Nation spent over 20 years in the field of law enforcement where he worked his way

up to Lieutenant. As a Lieutenant, he led a large successful drug task force and started a

countywide Drug Endangered Children Alliance. Mr. Nation came to National DEC to

have a greater impact on law enforcement and other professionals by training and

educating them on substance misuse and the impact to children. Mr. Nation was the

Director of Training and Development where he helped develop curriculum and

materials, worked with agencies across the country to provide trainings and technical

assistance to professionals. Mr. Nation is also a national trainer on various topics

including substance use, law enforcement, building multidisciplinary teams, capacity

building, and drug trends. Mr. Nation is currently National DEC's Executive Director

impacting change at a different level. Mr. Nation is very passionate about helping

children and brings passion to every part of the work he does across the country.

Chad was a regular marijuana user with a large bong displayed on his coffee table. 

Bryn inhaled the THC from the bong and within minutes developed cannabis induced psychosis.

Having severe hallucinations, Bryn stabbed Chad 108 times, using kitchen knives. She also stabbed her beloved service dog and then repeatedly stabbed herself in the neck, nearly killing herself.

Bryn is doing community service for involuntary manslaughter. She joins High Truths with her mother and Aubree Adams.

Aubree Adams is the founder and director of Every Brain Matters, a nationally trusted educational resource formed by families with loved ones whose lives were damaged or ended by marijuana. Every Brain Matters has a memorial to the many lives lost to marijuana. She hosts her own podcast, "It's Just pot, what's the problem?" She returns to High Truths from Episode # 170.  

High Truths discussed the Bryn Spejcher manslaughter case of Chad O'Meilia on previous episodes on High Truths.

On episode #163 we spoke with Heidi Swan and Dr. Christy Brown who attended Bryn's trial and discussed the trial.

On episode #172 we spoke with Eve Simmon, a reporter from the Daily Mail who reported on the trial. She empathized with Bryn.

It’s special... and a little emotional. Because I have some big news to share with you.

So let’s start with the tough part first. The bad news is... I’m going to need to hit pause on the High Truths podcast for now. High Truths is one of my most favorite projects.  I love talking to you and I learn so much from my guests. We learn together and inspire action to make things better around us.

I will really miss you and High Truths.

But here’s the good news — and it’s really good: I’ve been offered — and accepted — a position back at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, ONDCP.

Listen to my special message.

In 2022, 43% of suicides among individuals 25 and under in San Diego County involved THC.

Emergency visits due to marijuana rose by 521% in California from 2008 to 2022.

Youth aged 12–17 accounted for nearly 38% of marijuana treatment admissions in 2023.

High-potency cannabis is increasingly linked to psychosis and cannabis use disorder.

Executive Director David King join High Truths to discuss HIDTA and the report.

David King was appointed Executive Director of the San Diego Imperial Valley HIDTA ni 2017 after 28 years of law enforcement service with the California Department of Justice/ Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement (DOJ/BNE) and San Diego Harbor Police Department. Mr. King is a graduate of the University of San Diego with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Political Science, and he attended the FBI National Academy (FBINA) 240th Session in Quantico, Virginia. Mr. King began his law enforcement career with the San Diego Harbor Police Department in 1989 where he worked a variety of patrol assignments before being selected as the first task force officer ni the department's history to investigate narcotic and bulk currency smuggling at the San Diego International Airport. Mr. King received state and federal recognition when he was named by Harbor Police, Peace Officer of the Year, in 1995. Mr. King was hired by the California Department of Justice/ Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement ni 1997, and he served on the Clandestine Laboratory Program, Special Operations Unit and supervision of multi-agency narcotic task forces. Mr. King promoted to Special Agent in Charge where he expanded wire intercept capabilities and mission readiness for federal, state and local law enforcement agencies combating drug trafficking organizations operating along the U.S./Mexico Border. During Mr. King's tenure with the California Department of Justice he served as Senior Special Agent ni Charge of regional offices located ni San Diego, Riverside, Orange and Los Angeles before retiring as the Executive Director of L.A. IMPACT comprised of 50 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and is credited with being the largest domestic task force in the United States. During Mr. King's tenure at L.A. IMPACT, his teams were the recipient of three national HIDTA Awards, and he is the recipient of the California Attorney General's Award for Excellence as a Team. Mr. King is a lifetime member of the California Narcotic Officers Association (CNOA), National Narcotic Officers Association Coalition (NNOAC), currently serves as an elected member of the National HIDTA Directors Association (NHDA), and he is honored to work with over 800 dedicated federal, state and local law enforcement officers, intelligence analysts and prosecutors who are assigned to HIDTA task forces in San Diego and Imperial Counties.

In keeping with the anonymous aspect of the organization, I am just using Bart's first name.

Bart was a summer camp counselor, camp director and teacher, earning his Teaching credential from Chapman University.  After retiring from teaching he started volunteering with Mar-Anon, Every Brain Matters and other educational non-profits.  Bart used to think marijuana was harmless. “When I was smoking weed in my 20’s I used to say stuff like, “it’s just pot, it’s not a big deal.” Marijuana was a very big deal for his son, Kevin. Bart witnessed his son experience many episodes of Cannabis Induced Psychosis.  Kevin died by suicide in 2018 at 29 years old.  The last articulate words Bart heard him speak were, “Cannabis has ruined my life.”

Resources: 

Mar-Anon - for supportive meetings

Every Brain Matters - for facilitated meeting

Luke Niforatos serves as the Executive Vice President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) and is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading drug policy experts. Leveraging more than a decade working on drug, addiction and health care issues, Luke drives the strategy behind FDPS & SAM’s federal, state, and educational initiatives. Luke has testified in state capitols across America. He is a sought-after guest on major media outlets including ABC, Fox News, NBC, CNBC, CSPAN, Newsmax, and network affiliates, as well as syndicated and local radio shows in markets coast to coast. Luke has been featured in Time Magazine and as a speaker at drug policy events held by The Economist, the United Nations’ Commission on Narcotic Drugs, and hundreds of town halls. Prior to joining SAM, he was the co-founder of a successful healthcare company. Luke attended the University of Denver and has a Master of Arts from Johns Hopkins University. 

@learnaboutsam

@gooddrugpolicy

@lukeniforatos

Learnaboutsam.org

Gooddrugpolicy.org

Ginger Constantine, M.D. is the Chairperson, Co-Founder & CEO of PleoPharma.

Ginger Constantine, MD – Chairperson and CEO - with over 25 years of pharmaceutical regulatory and clinical development experience with the approval of more than 15 products filing numerous INDs, NDAs, and MAAs. Previous Vice President of Women's Health & Bone Repair Clinical Research at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals through its acquisition by Pfizer in 2010. Expertise in Phase 1 through 4 clinical development strategy and execution. 

​

Founded EndoRheum Consultants in 2010, a successful clinical development consulting firm. Member of multiple scientific advisory boards. Has planned, authored and presented numerous scientific studies.

PheoPharma was granted fast-track designation for PP-01, a new investigational drug for cannabis withdrawal syndrome. 

Jamie Ross wears many hats.  She is Executive Director of the PACT Coalition, coordinator for the Nevada Statewide Coalition Partnership and sits on too many boards and committees to count.

Jamie Ross has been the Executive Director of the PACT Coalition since 2011. She has been involved with substance misuse prevention from a young age, and took that passion into a career creating system wide change to reduce substance misuse. 

The PACT Coalition is a substance misuse prevention coalition in Las Vegas with diverse funding focusing on the spectrum of prevention including mental health, primary and tertiary substance misuse prevention, and the intersection of prevention into all aspects of community building.  

Jamie believes in the power of community to change itself for the better. When a community comes together to solve its own problems, the result is transformative.  As Sam Quinones says, ‘the solution to the opioid crisis isn’t naloxone, it’s community.’ 

Sue Thau is a Public Policy Consultant representing Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA). She is nationally recognized for her advocacy and legislative accomplishments on behalf of the substance abuse prevention field. She has an extensive background in public policy and has held high positions at the federal, state, and local levels. She was a Budget Examiner and Legislative Analyst at the Office of Management and Budget, in the Executive Office of the President for over ten years. Sue was a driving force behind the passage, reauthorization and full funding of the Drug-Free Communities Act. In addition, Sue has worked to save and enhance funding for all federal substance abuse prevention and treatment programs over the last two decades. She is highly respected as an expert on demand reduction issues by members of Congress and staff on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill. Sue has an undergraduate degree from Cornell University in Human Development and Family Studies and a Master’s Degree from Rutgers University in City and Regional Planning.

Robert J. Harkins, MS, is a Lecturer and Academic Advisor (Lastnames: A-M) for the Graduate Program in Homeland Security.  Professor Harkins has extensive Homeland Security public safety expertise specializing in offenses and conspiracies involving United States Code, Title 21, Food and Drugs (Controlled Substances Act), and governmental managerial experience, to include investigative planning, critical thinking, and oversight of personnel and programs. Mr Harkins is extremely involved with organizations and associations focused on the networking of professionals in the public safety and public health sectors. 

As an Adjunct Faculty member with the Homeland Security Graduate Program, Mr. Harkins led a major effort to secure external grant support for teaching about Fentanyl to the San Diego County region on multiple levels, and helped design and build demonstration products for a major grant proposal to the CDC that was prepared and submitted via the SDSU Research Foundation. Mr. Harkins works with regional leaders in helping move Fentanyl and opioid abuse awareness to regional, state, and national leaders, and to many people serving in the law enforcement and social services community responding to the opioid epidemic.  

Mr. Harkins represents SDSU and the Homeland Security Program in regular meetings with community leaders, law enforcement leaders, and social service leaders responding to the alarming number of overdose deaths in San Diego County. Mr. Harkins has taught about Fentanyl including the design of Fentanyl education programs for middle school and high school as well as adults. These meetings with community leaders led to the creation of the Community Response to Drug Overdoses (CReDO) subcommittee, which is supporting a mandate by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to create a Fentanyl education curriculum for all schools in San Diego County along with Narcan/Naloxone distribution. 

Mr. Harkins' ability to provide compelling teaching is from the hundreds of teaching episodes he has had in contacting community members, as well as teaching them how to recognize Fentanyl poisonings and then how to appropriately respond. These teaching experiences have given him a profound ability to communicate to a wide variety of people in a compelling way, which has almost certainly saved many lives in the region. Mr. Harkins uses this same teaching experience in teaching and advising of graduate students in the Homeland Security Graduate Program. 

The Good Little Druglord is an ode to redemption, recovery, and the mother/son bond—an ultimately UpLit memoir about a gay Mormon drug-dealing narc for the federal government.

           As a drug-dealing meth addict, I embraced my “darkness,” claiming my place among the worst of God’s beasts until my deeper humanity was challenged, when someone died because I failed to act. It was the call from the dead boy’s mother, begging to know what happened, that shattered me.

          I wrote this book to let that grieving mother know what happened to her son, and to let my own mother know what happened to her son. I also wrote this book for those struggling with identity, and for those who care about them. 

I believed I was a decent human, until I was confronted with the reality I was not. I believed I deserved every horrible thing that had happened in my life: abandonment, molestation, and beatings. I deserved to go to prison or be murdered by the volatile Russian Mafia meth supplier to whom I owed thousands of dollars.

          Like many others, maybe you, I spent too many years of my life engaged in a futile battle for self-love and acceptance. As long as I believed I was the cause for the lack, it would always feel like chasing rainbows (or running from them in my warped Mormon case). I picked up beliefs in my childhood from my parents, society, and religion that shaped a false identity. 

It was my fault my depressed mother didn’t love me, so I tried to be the best little Mormon boy I could be. When that failed, I became her worst fear: a hedonist, raging faggot, drug-dealing narc. I rejected the authentic parts of myself, and forced the “acceptable” to be effective until it wasn’t, leading to an implosion.

          It took me nearly twenty years to get here, journaling to find my way as I fought to be loved. I wore this story like a badge of honor in recovery, like a masturbatory glory piece. I wallowed in victim-y stuff, abating shame, but now, the shame is healing. 

I’ve shared my narrative, not just for the collective but to remember myself. It has become my superpower: Never forgetting my addiction makes whatever happens today a bonus, no matter how low I feel.

          There are other accounts of addiction, religious abuse, sexuality, and even gay boys and mothers, but few are wrapped in a riveting tale about a drug-dealing narc for the federal government evading the Russian Mafia. It’s identity and acceptance wrapped in a thriller.

Perhaps by the end, there may be hope for a drug-addicted loved one, or yourself if you need the help. I hope this story helps you see that you and those you care about can live through your worst fears and nightmares. You, too, can be a mother-effing dandelion fighting to grow through the cracks. You, too, can also make peace with your mother, or her memory. 

           My mother proudly walked me down the aisle at my very gay wedding and applauded when I kissed my new husband. 

           By the end of this, you’ll want to hug your mother, too.

Lori Jane Gliha is an ethical, enterprising, award-winning national investigative reporter for Scripps News. She is known for her exclusive, national, in-depth investigations, hard-hitting interviews, and continuous coverage of important issues including the use of ketamine - by paramedics -to sedate agitated people; fentanyl poisonings among babies, toddlers, and young children; and gun violence. In 2025, she was awarded the prestigious duPont-Columbia Award for her investigation into the deadliest mass shooting of 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. She has received two national Edward R. Murrow Awards and has been awarded the highly competitive IRE award for longform video journalism, a national recognition for investigative reporters and editors. She received a degree in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Southern California, and graduated, Summa cum Laude, as the Outstanding Broadcast Journalism Undergraduate. She minored in Spanish.

Scripps News Investigates: The silent toll of the fentanyl epidemic. Nov 2023

How a 5-year-old ingested fentanyl in her kindergarten classroom

Poisoned: Fentanyl's Child Victims march 2025

He was gasping for air: How witnesses describe child fentanyl poisonings

Colorado Gov Jared Polis 'disheartened by communication gaps in child fentanyl cases

Twin babies and parents saved following hospital fentanyl test

States push for life saving fentanyl testing laws amid rising opioid concerns - April 2025

Many Child fentanyl deaths remain uncharged, Scripps News review finds

Sebastian Rotella is an award-winning foreign correspondent, investigative reporter and novelist. His reporting has taken him across the world to more than 30 countries. Since 2010, he has been a senior reporter at ProPublica covering international security issues such as organized crime and intelligence. His honors include a Peabody award, multiple awards from the Overseas Press Club, Columbia University’s Moors Cabot Prize for coverage of Latin America, and Italy’s Urbino Press Award. He is a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Sebastian is also a critically-acclaimed author of three novels: Rip Crew (2018), named one of Kirkus Review’s best crime novels of the year; The Convert’s Song (2014), an editor’s pick on Amazon; and Triple Crossing, the New York Times Sunday Book Review’s favorite action thriller and debut crime novel of 2011. He is also the  author of Twilight on the Line: Underworlds and Politics at the U.S.-Mexico Border (1998), named a New York Times notable book. He has been an invited speaker at the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the U.S. Army, the NYPD Intelligence Division, and U.S. and foreign embassies, think tanks and universities. His coverage of the U.S. Mexican border inspired two songs on Bruce Springsteen’s album The Ghost of Tom Joad.

Rotella articles of interest:

https://www.propublica.org/article/china-fentanyl-prison-yafeng-illegal-drug-trade

https://www.propublica.org/article/chinese-organized-crime-us-marijuana-market

https://www.propublica.org/article/oklahoma-marijuana-china-diplomat-visits

https://www.propublica.org/article/marijuana-oklahoma-china-immigration-safety-workers

https://www.propublica.org/article/china-cartels-xizhi-li-money-laundering

https://www.propublica.org/article/liu-tao-trump-meeting-china-investigation

https://www.propublica.org/article/how-beijing-chinese-mafia-europe-protect-interests

Carlton Hall Consulting LLC (CHC) – Driving Global Change Through Community Solutions and Prevention Mastery

Carlton Hall Consulting LLC (CHC) is a dynamic, full-service consulting firm dedicated to providing customized solutions that drive measurable change for communities, organizations, and individuals. With a mission to solve complex social challenges and improve the human condition, CHC delivers expert training, technical assistance, and capacity-building services to clients in both the public and private sectors at local, national, and international levels.

As a co-owner of Prevention Mastery, CHC is at the forefront of professional development in the prevention field. Prevention Mastery is a cutting-edge, customizable online Learning Management System (LMS) that provides a suite of enhanced consultative services tailored for prevention professionals at the federal, state, regional, local, and international levels. Designed to streamline digital learning, Prevention Mastery consolidates e-learning needs into a single, comprehensive platform—offering automated training assignments, completion records, version control, and tracking. Through expert-led, self-paced courses, Prevention Mastery equips prevention professionals with actionable, data-driven strategies to drive change and leadership in the field.

Led by President and CEO Carlton Hall, CHC has been a leader in substance abuse prevention, capacity building, and community problem-solving for over 25 years. Carlton’s work spans four continents, partnering with global organizations, national governments, and grassroots coalitions to advance prevention science and demand reduction efforts. CHC has played a key role in international initiatives, including collaborations with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Colombo Plan, and the African Union, and has supported groundbreaking conferences and training programs in Kenya, India, South Africa, Zambia, Nigeria, and Uganda.

Committed to culturally responsive solutions, CHC has launched impactful global programs such as the Global Youth Prevention Scholars Initiative (GYPSI) and the NHIF Initiative in Kenya, which provided life-changing healthcare access to over 116 women and their families. CHC continues to shape global prevention efforts through executive training, technical assistance, and capacity-building support, including its work with SAMHSA’s Southeast Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC, Region 4). Carlton Hall also serves as President of the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children (NA-DEC) and sits on the board of Movendi International, further amplifying CHC’s influence in shaping sound drug policy, advancing prevention science, and strengthening community-led solutions worldwide.

Dr. Mark Gold is a frequent contributor to Psychology Today.

Dr. Mark Gold is an inventor, pioneering translational researcher, Eminent Scholar, Distinguished Professor, & Chairman whose career in translational neuroscience began in 1972. His theories have changed the field, stimulated research, and led to new treatments. Gold, while at the YSOM, proposed a novel brain mechanism and changes to explain opioid dependence and withdrawal, and discovered the anti-withdrawal efficacy of alpha-2 adrenergic agonists-clonidine and lofexidine. With his Yale colleague & mentor Herb Kleber, Gold helped change addiction psychiatry to disease management, evidence-based care with MATs, and evaluation & treatment of co-occurring disorders. He has made major contributions to Naloxone in overdose and Naltrexone and agonist therapies in OUD.  Gold’s work proved that cocaine caused a relative dopamine deficiency, anhedonia & was addicting   Gold pioneered the study of second-hand tobacco, cannabis, and opium smoke. Gold and Kelly Brownell co-chaired the historic Yale Conference on Food and hedonic overeating and the Oxford University Press textbook. Over his 25-year career at the University of Florida, he was a Professor of Neuroscience,  physician-scientist at UF McKnight Brain Institute, and University bench-to-bedside leader. He became a UF Distinguished Professor, Eminent Scholar & Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry.  He was awarded an innovator award from UF President as a translational researcher and inventor for work on Xhale Assurance’s disposable pulse oximetry ala sensor, which Philips acquired in 2018. Dr. Gold was a Founding Director of the MR-guided radiation oncology pioneer Viewray and AxoGen, the nerve recovery and repair platform. Since his retirement, Gold has continued his work as a researcher, mentor, and inventor working at WUSTL. Translating scientific progress to help patients, he worked with ADAPT Pharma on naloxone and naltrexone culminating in a HEAL grant to develop longer-acting formulations. He is on the BOD of education, intervention, and prevention organizations, including CADCA. ASAM presented Gold with the McGovern ” Annual Award for highly meritorious contributions … Lifetime pioneering work”.  Dr. Gold has received the APA’s Foundation Fund Award, APF’s Pillar of Excellence, DEA & NAATP’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Research, and Distinguished Alumni Awards from Yale, WUSTL, and the University of Florida. He was a Founding Editor of the Journal of Addiction Medicine & UpToDate. Currently, the Specialty Chief Editor of SUDs and Behavioral Addictions in Frontiers in Public Health.

Since his retirement as a full-time academic in 2014, Dr. Mark Gold has continued his teaching, mentoring, research, and writing as a University of Florida Emeritus Eminent Scholar, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University and an active member of the Clinical Council at the Washington University School of Medicine’s Public Health Institute. With Kelly Brownell, he has updated their ground-breaking Food and Addiction by Oxford University Press for a paperback edition and is currently working on updates and revisions for a Second edition. He has analyzed and presented epidemiological research on the opioid and emerging cocaine epidemics. He has written and lectured on responses to reduce overdose deaths, medication assisted therapies and opioid use disorders. He regularly lectures at Medical Schools, Grand Rounds and national scientific meetings on opioids, cocaine and the bench-to-bedside science in eating disorders, obesity, reward deficiency syndrome, and addictions.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Richard Taite is the founder and Executive Chairman of Carrara Treatment Wellness & Spa, an “ultra” luxury addiction treatment facility, and the Executive Chairman of 1 Method Centers, affordable substance use disorder treatment facilities. Richard graduated from UCLA with a degree in Political Science and Public Law and intended to become a lawyer, but after struggling with addiction himself, he learned what worked, what didn’t work, and where programs fell short and failed clients. In 2005 he founded Cliffside Malibu, a boutique rehab with only six beds which Richard steadily grew to 83 beds. In June of 2018, Richard sold Cliffside Malibu and took a much-needed break. Due to the exploding fentanyl epidemic, Richard came back to work to help combat this growing issue, and thus Carrara was born. One of Richard’s core beliefs is there is nothing to get, there is only to give. Building this legacy of giving people the life they were always meant to live, and leaving this world better than he found it he believes his children will be proud of. As he always says, a good father only cares about two things, that his children are proud of him, and that they are okay in the world when he is gone.

As a celebrated entrepreneur and visionary leader in the world of addiction treatment during the ever-burgeoning opioid crisis, Richard was a constant presence on television, radio and in magazine articles throughout his tenure at Cliffside, including featured appearances on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, ABC News’ Nightline, CBS’ This Morning, Entertainment Tonight and was the addiction expert in Prescription Thugs, an award-winning documentary, among many others.

Matthew Rossheim, PhD, MPH, CPH, FAAHB is an Associate Professor in the College of Public Health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. His work focuses on the marketing of especially high-risk products often used by young people, and he is one of the nation’s leading public health experts on derived intoxicating cannabis products (such as delta-8 THC) and “supersized” alcopops (such as Four Loko). His work, including more than 100 peer-reviewed research manuscripts and scientific presentations, has helped influence the development of laws and regulations from the local- to federal-levels. His research has been cited in reports by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and World Health Organization (WHO), as well as featured by BBC, CNN, CBS, NBC, NPR, Washington Post, and The New York Times. In recognition of his efforts that have profoundly influenced public health policy, he was awarded the 2025 Advocate of the Year award by CADCA.

We discuss his new book. We also look at his photography work cover war, homeless and drugs - his captures the similarity in human suffering.

Teun Voeten studied cultural anthropology and philosophy at Leiden university. As a photographer he has been covering conflicts worldwide since 1991. Voeten wrote books on the underground homeless in New York, the civil war in Sierra Leone and wrote a PhD thesis on the drug violence in Mexico. For the city of Antwerp, he researched drug related crime. Early 2025, The Devil’s Drug: The Global Emergence of Crystal Meth will appear. Currently, Voeten is researching the fentanyl crisis on the West Coast of America, from Tijuana to Vancouver.

Ms. Cipriani obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism at The Ohio State University and held staff positions in the Ohio Legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives.  She received her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and litigated for nearly a decade at Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich (now DLA Piper) before becoming an Assistant United States Attorney in 1999.  Ms. Cipriani has held several senior management positions, including Deputy Chief of the Civil Division, Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney, First Assistant U.S. Attorney, and Senior Management Counsel.

Soccer Team Video:

Our website has info on Project LEAD and the Juvenile Smuggling Program:

We also have information on United Against Hate. The updated calendar should appear on the website soon!

Mike Milstead began his law enforcement career in 1973 with the Sioux Falls Police Department (SFPD).  He served over 24 years on the SFPD, with assignments in all Divisions of that department, rising to the rank of Lieutenant detailed as the Night Shift Commander.  

In 1997, Mike Milstead was sworn in as Sheriff of Minnehaha County.  He has served as Sheriff for over 27 years.  Sheriff Milstead is on the Board of Directors of the National Sheriff’s Association (NSA) and is the Chair of the NSA Drug Enforcement Committee.  He served on the DHS Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee (HSIN-AC) and is currently a member of the DHS S&T First Responders Resource Group (FRRG).  Sheriff Milstead is the Chair of the Department of Justice Global Advisory Committee (GAC) and also represents NSA and GAC on the Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council (CICC).  For the past 25 years, he has served on the Executive Board of Mid-West HIDTA, the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Governor’s Senior Advisory Committee for Homeland Security.  He also represents South Dakota Sheriffs on the SD Fusion Center Advisory Board.  

The Minnehaha County Sheriffs Office is a full service law enforcement, public safety and corrections agency that serves the 200,000 people who live in the most populated county in South Dakota. With over 250 full and part-time employees, the Sheriff's Office is responsible for the preservation of peace and the protection of life and property within the jurisdiction. 

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.

Allison Wagner

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) is pleased to announce that it has welcomed Allison Wagner, a silver medalist swimmer at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, as its first Director of Athlete and International Relations.

In this role, Wagner will oversee Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American, and Parapan American athlete engagement efforts that will help USADA serve athletes and best meet their needs. Wagner will also work to ensure effective relationships with key international partners and advocate for anti-doping excellence on a global scale.

In addition to her experience as an elite swimmer, Allison brings to this role her recent experience as a research associate at the Sports Equity Lab at Yale University and as a postgraduate student in the Erasmus Mundus Program, a joint master’s degree delivered by an international consortium of six higher education institutions in the European Union.

Wagner is one of six Olympians worldwide to be selected by the International Olympic Committee for this program – a world-first innovation developed by the European Commission as a response to the global challenge to sport integrity. These programs allowed her to lead athlete outreach initiatives and develop expertise in international relations and sport governance, anti-doping policy, abuse and discrimination, athletes’ rights and advocacy, diversity and inclusion, and disability in sport. With this knowledge, she developed concrete and practical solutions related to policy, governance, and communication.

“Allison is passionate about athletes’ rights and standing up for them,” said USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart. “As an Olympian and scholar, through engagement with our athletes and international partners, Allison will elevate our mission to serve athletes and ensure that their rights are protected around the world.”

Wagner also has first-hand experience with one of the key reasons that a strong global anti-doping system is so important: She was beaten in major championships by swimmers who were later proven to be users of banned performance-enhancing substances. Despite these challenges, Wagner enjoyed a decorated swimming career, including holding a world record in the 200 I.M. (SCM) for almost 15 years, seven Southeastern Conference titles, 11 All-American honors, recognition as the SEC Female Swimmer of the Year in 1995 and 1996, and the University of Florida’s Most Valuable Swimmer in 1996. She earned the silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Since retirement, Allison has remained involved in sport in various capacities, most recently serving as Climate Survey Advisory Group and SafeSport Athlete Advisory Team Member at the U.S. Center for SafeSport and as Team USA Community Ambassador on the Council on Racial and Social Justice.

Wagner holds a BA in psychology from Naropa University where she finished her degree after swimming for the University of Florida. She joined USADA on May 11, 2021.

Nick DeMauro is the Executive Director of Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence (L.E.A.D.) 

Under Nick’s leadership, L.E.A.D. has grown to be the country’s leading organization teaching first responders and community leaders how to effectively teach anti-drug and anti-bullying to students.   

After earning a degree in Human Services, he joined the New Milford NJ police force, becoming the youngest detective in the agency’s history and launching its juvenile division being awarded two Police Officer of the Year Awards  Sensing the importance of the issue of substance abuse among youth, Mr. DeMauro’s  career path led to his appointment as in international executive in  a drug prevention program (DARE). In New Jersey, over 17 years, he built the largest law enforcement school based statewide charitable organization in the United States. His commitment to positive student outcomes fostered a dedicated vision and goal for law enforcement agencies to provide evidence based, proven effective curricula in the context of comprehensive programming.  In 2015, he was appointed Executive Director and CEO of L.E.A.D. (Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence), A New Jersey based national nonprofit organization designed to facilitate all law enforcement drug and violence prevention efforts throughout the United States and beyond.  Recipient of many leadership awards, his passion includes promoting community-based law enforcement efforts to assist communities foster a safe and healthy environment. Mr. DeMauro’s recent appointment to the Board of Directors of Applied Prevention Science International, Inc. is a prime example of his commitment to good prevention science, superior policy and realistic implementation of evidence-based programming.  Mr. DeMauro and his family reside in Belmar NJ and Naples Fla.

Each Saturday beginning at Noon, L.E.A.D. guy Nick DeMauro, speaks with experts, educators and law enforcement about important issues affecting you and your children. Tune into AM 970 The Answer for topical information and insight from experts waging the battle against drugs and violence in your community.  

Dr. Mark Chandy earned his MD and Ph.D. in 2008, at Pennsylvania State University. After completing

medical school, Dr. Chandy trained in Internal Medicine at the University of British Columbia, followed

by a Cardiology fellowship at the University of Toronto. He also completed a fellowship in

Echocardiography and enrolled in the Clinician Scientist Training Program at the University of Toronto.

With a desire to learn stem cell biology, Dr. Chandy trained in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)

disease modeling at Stanford University. Dr. Chandy’s research has been published in Cell and other

high-impact journals. He holds patents for his novel discoveries. As a recently appointed Assistant

Professor at the University of Western Ontario, Dr. Chandy is an independent physician-scientist using

iPSC disease modeling, next-generation sequencing (NGS), proteomics, and gene editing to

understand the mechanisms of cardiovascular disease. Dr. Chandy's current research focuses on

understanding the pathophysiology of environmental exposures such as air pollution, e-cigarettes, and

cannabis on cardiovascular disease using human iPSC-derived tissue. The overarching goal of his

research is to 1) investigate the effects of the environment on the cardiovascular system, 2) discover

biomarkers to risk stratify patients, and 3) discover druggable target genes for cardiovascular disease.

The relationship between cannabis and cardiovascular disease: clearing the haze. Nature Reviews. Jan 2025

Kim Glas joined the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) in May 2019 as President and CEO. NCTO represents the broad spectrum of the domestic textile industry from fiber to finished products. She has over 20 years of experience in government policy development and advocacy. Kim also serves as an appointed Commissioner to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. 

Her multi-faceted career includes spearheading manufacturing and trade policy efforts on Capitol Hill, serving as a key leader on behalf of the textile industry, and previously leading a non-profit organization, BlueGreen Alliance, engaged in advancing critical policies to grow quality, U.S. jobs in the clean energy economy.

Kim served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles, Consumer Goods, and Materials at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In that role, she worked to improve the domestic and international competitiveness of the broad product range of U.S. industries. She also served as the chairman for the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements.

Read about the Close the De Minimis Coalition

Read about How fentanyl traffickers are exploiting a US trade law to kill Americans

Native of Ironton, Ohio, Jan Rader joined the Huntington Fire Department in August of 1994. Ms. Rader is the first woman to reach the rank of Chief for a career department in the State of West Virginia. She holds a Regents Bachelor of Arts degree from Marshall University and an Associates Degree of Science in Nursing from Ohio University. Jan holds many fire service certifications and is also a Fire and EMS Instructor in the State of West Virginia. Chief Rader came to national prominence after the release of the short documentary “Heroin(e)” by Netflix in September of 2017. Then in April of 2018, she was chosen as one of Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. She retired from the City of Huntington Fire Department in February of 2022 and currently serves as the Director of the Mayor’s Council of Public Health & Drug Control Policy. The purpose of this council is to address substance use disorder in Huntington and the surrounding communities and to create a holistic approach involving prevention, treatment, recovery, and law enforcement. 

David Jernigan, PhD, is a Professor of Health Law, Policy and Management at the Boston University School of Public Health, and senior policy advisor for CityHealth, a project of the de Beaumont Foundation that provides leaders with a package of evidence-based policy solutions that will help millions of people live longer, better lives in vibrant, prosperous communities.

Dr. Jernigan is best known for his action-research approach to the issue of alcohol advertising, marketing, and promotion and its influence on young people. His work has led to better advertising regulations and a clearer understanding of the evolving structure of the alcohol industry. His work is policy relevant and scientifically rigorous. Dr. Jernigan has been very active in translating research findings into policy and practice. He testifies regularly at city, state, and national levels around alcohol advertising and youth, alcohol availability, and taxation. He also trains advocates around the world using the best evidence.

Cannabis: Moving Forward, Protecting Health

There are proponents of judging drugs like we do other health problems like injuries or cardiovascular disease. That is looking at the total disease burden, not just deaths.

For example, disability for depression and back pain rated much higher in disease burden compared to diabetes, emphysema and asthma combined. Yet we know emphysema is more lethal than back pain.  In this episode we will discuss the disease burden of drugs and alcohol.

Vaughan Rees, pHD

Dr. Rees is Director of the Center for Global Tobacco Control, whose mission is to reduce the global burden of tobacco-related death and disease through training, research, and the translation of science into public health policies and programs. He directs the Tobacco Research Laboratory at the Harvard Chan School, where the design and potential for dependence of tobacco products are assessed. Studies examine the impact of dependence potential on product use and individual risk, to inform policy and other interventions to control tobacco harms. Current research uses conventional and innovative strategies to evaluate new and novel tobacco products. Examples of these products include modified risk tobacco products such as e-cigarettes; reduced ignition propensity cigarettes; hookah (tobacco waterpipe); and novel smokeless tobacco products such as snus. Clinical research methods are used to evaluate the influence of tobacco product design features on consumer responses, and their role in promoting initiation or maintenance of use among targeted populations. Findings have been used to inform tobacco control policy, develop resources for communicating risks of tobacco products, and to enhance understanding of factors that contribute to tobacco dependence.

Other research involves development of strategies to reduce secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure in domestic environments, with a focus on evaluating interventions for reducing domestic SHS exposure among children. Dr. Rees also leads an NIH funded study which seeks to reduce secondhand smoke exposure among children from low income and racially/ethnically diverse backgrounds. This research utilizes the principles of community based participatory research (CBPR) to develop and evaluate a cognitive behavioral intervention to help caregivers maintain a smoke free home environment. He has conducted studies on SHS emissions of tobacco waterpipe, and SHS monitoring in indoor environments, including private homes and cars.

Dr. Rees' academic background is in health psychology (substance use and dependence), and he trained at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and did postdoctoral training through the National Institute on Drug Abuse. He has also published research on the role of cue reactivity in tobacco and alcohol abuse and dependence; and clinical trials on interventions for alcohol and cannabis dependence.

Towards a Comprehensive Measure of Drug Attributable Harm, JAMA

Connor Kubeisy

Connor Kubeisy is a Policy Analyst with the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions and its sister organization, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, after having joined them as a Communications and Policy Associate in January 2022. He began his career as an intern in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy during the Trump and Biden administrations. In 2022, he served as the Campaign Manager of the group that helped defeat the ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana in North Dakota. He co-authored a chapter in the ASAM Principles of Addiction Medicine, 7th edition, about the impact of the cannabis industry on cannabis use disorder. Additionally, he is a member of the National Safety Council’s Impairment Advisory Board and the Global Burden of Disease Study’s Collaborator Network.

Connor received the Director’s Award from Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and was selected to attend the Harvard Kennedy School’s Public Policy Leadership Conference. He was recognized by the Washington Examiner as “an emerging voice in the drug policy field.” Connor graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Berkeley, with a B.A. in Political Science, where he was a student manager with the school’s Division 1 baseball team and won the Kavanagh Award from the Society for American Baseball Research. He previously received an A.A. from Moorpark College, where he was named a member of the First Team All-California Community College Academic Team. He is currently a Master of Public Health student, in health policy, at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he was elected to serve as the Public Relations Coordinator for the Harvard Chan Student Association.

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.

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...

David Rettew, MD is a child & adolescent psychiatrist who currently works as the Medical Director of Lane County Behavioral Health in Eugene, Oregon.  He is also a clinical faculty member in the Psychiatry Department at OHSU.  Before moving to Oregon in 2021, he worked as a tenured associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Vermont Medical Center and was Medical Director of the child and families division of the Vermont Department of Mental Health.  He was also past president of the Vermont Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.  Dr Rettew built and then acted as first Training Director of UVM’s child psychiatry fellowship program.  He is the author of over 60 peer reviewed journal articles on a variety of mental health topics as well as two books, including Parenting Made Complicated: What Science Really Knows About the Greatest Debates of Early Childhood. He has served as the co-chair of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry’s (AACAP) Health Promotion and Prevention committee and was previously on their journal’s (JAACAP’s) editorial board.  Dr. Rettew did his general psychiatry and child & adolescent training at Harvard Medical School within the combined Massachusetts General/McLean Hospital programs.  Dr. Rettew writes a regular blog on Psychology Today that has over one and a half million views. 

I served as the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), having been nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate in March, 2014.  Having left office in January 2017, I will be the only confirmed CBP Commissioner during President Obama’s administration.

CBP was formed as part of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003 as a result of the recommendations issued by the 9/11 Commission. Its dual responsibilities are to secure America’s borders and facilitate lawful travel and trade. CBP is the second-largest contributor of funds to the U.S. Treasury, collecting $46 billion in Fiscal Year 2015. As the nation’s largest law enforcement agency, CBP employs 60,000 people at and between 328 ports of entry nationwide as well as in 40 countries around the world, with an annual budget approaching $13 billion.

One of my chief accomplishments at CBP was realigning an organization that had 21 direct reports to the Commissioner. The new organization streamlines decision-making and gives CBP’s workforce more efficient access to resources and information. I also oversaw the restructuring of the U.S. Border Patrol (which comprises 21,000 personnel), including the appointment of the first Border Patrol Chief from outside the organization since its founding in 1924. Under my leadership, CBP has made significant changes its use of force policies, incorporating new training at its academies and implementing robust internal affairs review and investigation authorities, which CBP did not have previously.

In addition, during my tenure CBP has expanded the use of technology to make it faster and easier for lawful travelers and cargo to enter the country securely – contributing to both national and economic security. Regarding travel, I oversaw the expansion of CBP’s Preclearance facilities overseas, placing Customs officers in key foreign cities to pre-inspect travelers destined to the United States, thereby adding a layer of security to our borders while facilitating the arrival of travelers from these cities. Regarding trade, I oversaw the enforcement of laws prohibiting goods derived from forced or child labor, counterfeit goods, or products that violate trade agreements and could harm the U.S. economy or consumers. 

CBP also has an important global presence; I lead the U.S. delegation to the 180-member World Customs Organization and I travel extensively internationally.  As a veteran of the United States Army – having served in the Army’s military police from 1970-1972 – I oversaw the creation of CBP’s National Frontline Recruitment Center which is designed to attract and recruit military veterans.

Before I was named CBP Commissioner, I served for five years as President Obama’s drug policy advisor as Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), a Senate-confirmed cabinet level position. When I started at ONDCP in May 2009, the growing abuse of and addiction to prescription drugs was not widely known by the general public. Besides authoring the ONDCP’s annual National Drug Control Strategy, I initiated the first Prescription Drug Strategy. 

During my tenure at ONDCP, law enforcement began using Naloxone to save victims of opiate overdoses. In addition, hospitals began changing their emergency department standards on pain medication, and physicians and dentists began receiving better guidance on the problem of prescription drug abuse and addiction. Non-governmental organizations and advocacy groups were welcomed into the drug policy conversation, which expanded from purely a law enforcement-centric discussion to include the necessary focus on public health. I received the Nathan Davis public service award from the American Medical Association, and I also led the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs. 

I served as Chief of Police for nine years in Seattle (2000-2009); during this period, crime decreased to its lowest level in 40 years, video cameras were installed in patrol vehicles, less lethal technology such as Tasers were issued, the department received national accreditation, and I implemented civilian management of Internal Affairs.  I was elected twice as President of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, which represents the largest city/county law enforcement agencies in the United States and Canada. 

I was Deputy Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) during the Clinton administration under Attorney General Janet Reno from 1998-2000.

My law enforcement career began in 1972 in Florida with the St. Petersburg Police Department. In 1984 I received a one-year fellowship to the National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the Department of Justice.  I was an officer, detective, sergeant, detective sergeant, and lieutenant, and I left to become a police a chief in 1987 when I commanded the detective division.  I led two small police departments in Florida before becoming Police Commissioner in Buffalo in 1994. 

I strongly support community law enforcement leaders’ involvement in education. At CBP, for example, I started a Mentoring Program to help employees identify and achieve their professional goals. In each city where I served as police chief, I taught graduate and under-graduate courses in criminal justice – specifically, at Seattle University, Buffalo State College and Florida Atlantic University. 

Finally, I have been interviewed extensively by both print and broadcast media, and I have testified numerous times at congressional hearings.

Ben Westhoff is an award-winning investigative reporter whose books are taught around the country and have been translated around the world, including Fentanyl, Inc.: How Rogue Chemists Created the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic, the bombshell first book about the fentanyl epidemic. He has advised officials at the top levels of government about the opioid crisis, writes the Substack newsletter Drugs + Hip-Hop, and is currently directing a film about the opioid treatment drug naltrexone, called Antagonist. His book Original Gangstas: Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube and the Birth of West Coast Rap is the definitive book about West Coast Hip-Hop. He has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, and the Guardian, and been interviewed as an expert commentator on CNN, NPR, and CSPAN, and on full, dedicated episodes of Fresh Air and the Joe Rogan Experience. 

The Honorable Mary Bono is a successful businesswoman and well-known political leader, Congresswoman Mary Bono was hailed as the "embodiment of powerful American womanhood" by the Washington Times during her tenure in the United States House of Representatives. Mary was elected to Congress in 1998 to serve California's 44th (later changed to 45th) Congressional District after the untimely death of her husband, entertainer turned Congressman Sonny Bono. She established herself as a respected and closely- watched leader on a wide range of critically important issues while serving 7 terms in Congress (1998-2013). She served on the Energy and Commerce, Armed Services, Judiciary, and Small Business Committees. A proven bipartisan consensus builder, Mary authored legislation that was signed into law by three Presidents: Clinton, GW Bush and Obama. Today, Mary is widely recognized as a national leader on multiple issues, including addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery. While serving in Congress, she co-created the first ever Prescription Drug Abuse Caucus and chaired hearings specific to the opioid abuse epidemic. She continues to be at the forefront of the nationwide fight against drug abuse and the fentanyl epidemic, both of which impact every community in the country. She currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Mothers Against Prescription Drug Abuse (MAPDA). In 2022, Mary received Distinguished Graduate Merit Award from her alma mater, the University of Southern California. She is married to former astronaut and Rear Admiral Steve Oswald (U.S. Navy, Retired) and is mother, a grandmother, and a dog mom. 

Anna Lembke, MD is professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. A clinician scholar, she is the author of more than a hundred peer-reviewed publications, has testified before the United States House of Representatives and Senate, has served as an expert witness in federal and state opioid litigation, and is an internationally recognized leader in addiction medicine treatment and education.

In 2016, she published Drug Dealer, MD – How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It’s So Hard to Stop (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016), highlighted in the New York Times as one of the top five books to read to understand the opioid epidemic (Zuger, 2018). 

Dr. Lembke appeared in the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, an unvarnished look at the impact of social media on our lives. 

Her latest book, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence (Dutton/Penguin Random House, August 2021) was an instant New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller and has been translated into 35 languages. It combines the neuroscience of addiction with the wisdom of recovery to explore the problem of compulsive overconsumption in a dopamine-overloaded world.

Josh began his career in chemistry at Eastern Washington University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and degrees in physics and biology. His quest for a deeper understanding of science led him to graduate school, where he attended the joint doctoral program at the University of California, San Diego, and San Diego State University. Josh saw the problems in the analytical cannabis industry with the lack of analytical research and public understanding associated with it. He wanted to change this, and with his knowledge and passion for the industry, Josh founded the lab with fellow chemist Dave Marelius in 2016. Together they’ve made it InfiniteCAL’s mission to ensure only safe; quality products are allowed to be sold to consumers

Connor Sheets is an investigative and enterprise reporter for the Los Angeles Times. He was part of the team that was a 2024 Pulitzer finalist for its coverage of the mass shooting in Monterey Park. Before joining The Times in 2021, he worked for six years as an investigative reporter in Alabama, reported from four continents as a New York-based enterprise reporter and covered local news for a weekly newspaper chain in Queens. A father of two, Sheets grew up in Maryland, where he delivered newspapers as a teenager and landed his first reporting job after graduating from the University of Maryland.

Social media handle: https://x.com/ConnorASheets

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

André McDonald, PhD, MPH, is an epidemiologist and postdoctoral fellow at McMaster University’s Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research and Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research. Dr. McDonald’s research focuses on the intersection between mental health and addictions among youth. Currently, his primary interest is in understanding the link between youth cannabis use and risk of mood, anxiety, and psychotic disorders. Dr. McDonald is supported by a Fellowship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Dr. McDonald completed his PhD in epidemiology and MPH in social and behavioural health sciences at the University of Toronto while working at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Prior to his graduate studies, he worked in Nunavut (Canada’s northernmost territory) on mental health and addictions issues among Inuit. Overall, he has over 10 years of experience working in the field of public health in both research and policy roles.

Professor Daynard is at the forefront of an international movement to establish the legal responsibility of the tobacco industry for tobacco-induced death, disease and disability. He is president of the law school’s Public Health Advocacy Institute, chairs its Tobacco Products Liability Project and helped initiate its new Center for Public Health Litigation. Recently, he has worked with PHAI on issues involving obesity, gambling, opioids, gun control and e-cigarettes.

Professor Daynard has written or co-authored more than 90 articles. He teaches in the areas of public health law, strategic litigation and interdisciplinary studies, and has lectured about legal issues in the control of tobacco and obesity in 54 countries as well as chaired 25 national and international conferences on these subjects. Professor Daynard is frequently honored, most recently with Northeastern University’s Pioneer Award. In 2019, he received the Robert Morris, Sr. Award for Courage in Litigation from the Massachusetts chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).

Professor Daynard has been the principal investigator in grants and contracts from the National Cancer Institute, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the American Legacy Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Professor Daynard’s academic interests currently center of the intersections among law, public policy and the behavioral sciences, and he teaches courses in the field both to law students and to undergraduate honors students.

Nicholas B. King is an associate professor in the Biomedical Ethics Unit and Department of Social Studies of Medicine, and associate member of Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health at McGill University. He directs the Montreal Health Equity Research Consortium (MHERC), a multi-disciplinary project investigating health and health equity research and policies. Dr. King conducts research in the following areas: (1) The role of social context, framing effects, and biases in the production and interpretation of health information; (2) Public health ethics and policy, including the ethics of biosecurity and public health preparedness; and (3) Health inequalities and the social determinants of health. He has published in the BMJ, PLOS Medicine, the American Journal of Public Health, and the Bulletin of the World Health Organization.

Russell Kamer, MD Occupational Med/Primary Care New York, USA

Russ Kamer, MD is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at New York Medical College and an Affiliate Physician in Medicine at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons. After serving as a Drug Testing Crew Chief for the National Collegiate Athletic Association and a Doping Control Medical Officer at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, Dr. Kamer co-founded Partners in Safety Occupational Medicine. In addition to practicing primary care and occupational medicine, Dr. Kamer has researched the impairing effects of marijuana.

Compassion that avoids consequences for committing a crime is not compassion, it is cruel.  Very Cruel – to the victim and the perpetrator.

The Homeless, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act, YES on Prop 36,  will bring more compassion to Californians through deterrence and bringing back drug courts.

Listen to someone who works with people who have serious addiction that resulted in crimes.

Darren White.

Darren White is the founder of Realized Potential Incorporated (RPI).  He oversees the organizations operations and maintains a network of resources of community based organizations serving high risk youth and young adults. Darren White has received countless awards and certifications including Violence Prevention Strategist, National Anger Management Certification, Restorative Justice Circle Award, Father Engagement Specialist, Alive and Free Prescription and the 2011 Civic Pride Award for Distinguished Community Service.  Mr. White is also a Certified International Life Coach.  Darren networks with other agencies to stay informed about services and resources.  He leads the mission of RPI.

For over two decades, Paul Martin has worked to ameliorate physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering. His work has focused largely around child welfare and child rights. He’s holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in philosophical ethics, is a former Anglican pastor, candidate for United States congress, and non profit CEO. In 2023 while on sabbatical in Northern New Mexico, Paul witnessed firsthand the insidious effects of fentanyl and in response launched United Against Fentanyl in 2024.

Gary Tsai, M.D. is a physician executive who is the Director of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Control, a division of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. In this role, he is responsible for leading nearly 500 staff with a budget of approximately $460M, overseeing a full spectrum of substance use prevention, harm reduction, and treatment services for the 10 million residents of Los Angeles County. Dr. Tsai also serves on the Board of Directors of NAMI California and is a physician board certified in both general psychiatry and addiction medicine, after completing his medical training at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine. Having experienced the stigma and criminalization that often accompanies serious mental illness as the son of a mother with schizophrenia, Dr. Tsai is a passionate advocate for improving our behavioral health systems. In his pursuit of meaningful change, he founded Forgotten Films, a film production company focusing on social issue projects, specializing in behavioral health. Its first film, Voices (www.VoicesDocumentary.com), premiered on public television in May 2015 for Mental Health Awareness Month and was awarded a SAMHSA Voice Award. He is also the award-winning author of Against All Odds: A Practical Guide to Successfully Navigate Psychosis and Behavioral Health Systems (www.AgainstAllOddsToday.com), which was published in July 2022.

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Ronald R. Flegel became the Director of the Division of Workplace Program in May of 2012.  He initially joined The Division of Workplace Programs, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in September of 2004 as the Forensic Toxicologist, following his employment with a nationally recognized laboratory, Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute.  As the Technical Scientist, his role included method research, development, validation, and regulatory compliance in all aspects of the toxicology operations.  His prior position was with a nationally recognized consulting firm, The Walsh Group, P.A.  His responsibilities at The Walsh Group included applied research, technology development, formulating new proposals and white papers leading to policy consideration. Prior to this position, he was employed with Quest Diagnostics Incorporated in the Forensic Toxicology Department as Shift Manager/ Section Supervisor in a SAMHSA Certified regulated drug testing laboratory.  His responsibilities included overseeing the laboratory certification process including quality control, data certification, method research, method validation, regulatory compliance, performance and developmental review of staff.  As a Technologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Department of Pathology, he certified and reviewed chemistry and emergency toxicology data and played a key role in shaping the continuing education program.

As a scientist, Mr. Flegel has worked on a variety of projects and written several technical papers that include cost effective approaches to substance abuse testing, cost efficient screening methodologies, marketing studies for state-of-the-art reagent protocols and instrumental validation procedures. These projects include method validation and reagent protocol development, modifications to reagents for cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness, and several other projects in drug evaluation programs.  He has chaired and co-chaired several committees, which strived to improve the overall quality of service in drug and alcohol programs.  He is a member of several professional societies including The American College of Toxicology (ACT), Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientist (AAFS), Society of Forensic Toxicology (SOFT) and The American Society of Clinical Pathologist (ASCP).

Mr. Flegel recently testified before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on Government Operations on the Federal response to marijuana legalization as it pertains to transportation policy.  He has lectured on numerous occasions for professional organizations on topics such as National Laboratory Certification Program, Prescription Drug Abuse, and Programs to Deter Drug Use, Analytical Approaches to Emergency Toxicology and Volatiles: Including Methanol, Ethanol and Isopropanol. Until he became Director, he had overseen the National Laboratory Certification Program as the Government Project Officer within SAMHSA which covers many aspects such as inspection protocols, review of regulatory guidelines, regulatory compliance issues and guidance documents for the laboratory.  In 1989, he had the honor of receiving the John C. Failing Award for Bench Medical Technologist of the Year.  Mr. Flegel received his Bachelor’s Degree from Northern Michigan University in biology and medical technology and his Master’s Degree from The University of Maryland in Forensic Toxicology.  He also completed several rotations at the Poison Control Center and Medical Examiner’s Office in the state of Maryland as well as his Medical Technology Internship at Hurley Medical Center in the department of pathology.  Mr. Flegel’s focus has been based on the testing procedures of Forensic Toxicology and Emergency Toxicology and all aspects of regulated testing and certification.

https://www.samhsa.gov/workplace/employer-resources

He uses his experience as a Dope Dealer to being a Hope Dealer

Matthew survived many acts of brutality as a child and spent 27 years with active addiction, criminality, violence, and other drug world activities. He was wounded 14 times by knives and twice by gunshots. He received freedom and victory from all this through faith in Jesus Christ. Having been saved from a life of crime and the streets, he followed the call to share with all people the good news of a savior who makes his people whole. God led Matthew to found Be Bold Street Ministries.

matt@beboldstreetministries.org

Fox News.  Inside one of Oregon’s largest homeless camps with a former drug dealer.  Feb 17, 2024.  Hannah Lampert.

Mrs. Ronshausen has dedicated most of her adult life to the work of drug demand reduction. In her sixteen years with Drug Free America Foundation and S.O.S, she has assisted in coordinating successful grassroots advocacy campaigns to promote sound drug policy, analyzed and tracked state and federal drug policy legislation, and trained prevention professionals at local, national and international conferences. Mrs. Ronshausen regularly testifies on issues related to drug demand reduction on the local and global stage.

Prior to coming to DFAF, Mrs. Ronshausen spent three years as a program specialist with the Pinellas County Adult Drug Court, working under four judges. While in drug court, Mrs. Ronshausen linked defendants with treatment providers and monitored their progress through the criminal justice system. Mrs. Ronshausen started her work in drug prevention with Operation PAR, where she started off as a call specialist in their access center and then worked as a juvenile certified GAIN assessor. She also worked as a juvenile counselor for PAR’s Adolescent Recovery Intervention Services and the Juvenile Enhancement Treatment Services and is trained in Motivational Enhancement and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Mrs. Ronshausen volunteers as the Executive Director for the Florida Coalition Alliance, representing over 30 community anti-drug coalitions. She chairs the Marijuana Task Force as part of the Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance, and serves on the Pinellas County Opioid Task Force. Mrs. Ronshausen serves on the board of Informed Families, is an advisory board member for the Foundation for a Drug Free World, a member of the International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP) and a master trainer for the Universal Prevention Curriculum (UPC).

 After being reelected in 2022, Mrs. Ronshausen serves as International President of the World Federation Against Drugs, a multilateral community of non-governmental organizations and individuals.

In 2023, Ms. Ronshausen was appointed by Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, to serve as a member of the Statewide Council on Opioid Abatement.

 Mrs. Ronshausen received her Bachelors of Arts Degree from University of South Florida.

 MarijuanaKnowTheTruth.org

Thomas E. Freese, Ph.D., received his doctorate degree in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in 1995. Dr. Freese is currently the Co-Director of UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs and Co-Director of the SAMHSA-funded Pacific Southwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center (PSATTC, HHS Region 9). Dr. Freese has served as Principal Investigator on numerous projects funded by the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs and Department of Health Care Services to train providers in a variety of evidence-based substance use disorder treatment practices (including medications for addiction treatment, SBIRT, contingency management, and motivational interviewing). Dr. Freese has also led several large training and technical assistance projects that assist providers in implementing integrated treatment for co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. He has been a featured presenter at conferences and meetings nationally and internationally on the impact and treatment of methamphetamine and opioid dependence. In addition, Dr. Freese has served as the Project Director on a number of studies including research on methamphetamine use. He has worked in the addiction field since 1983, and has developed and conducted trainings in 45 states and internationally, providing training and workshops for clinicians-in-training at the all levels.

kNOw More Promotional Video

To learn more about the CDC’s Cannabis Strategy Unit, I reached out to

Douglas Roehler, PhD, MPH

Health Scientist, Division of Overdose Prevention (DOP)

Douglas Roehler, PhD, MPH, serves as a Health Scientist for the Cannabis Strategy Unit in the Division of Overdose Prevention at CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. His work has focused on coordinating and implementing CDC’s cannabis strategic plan, expanding cannabis surveillance and research, and building surveillance and prevention capacity for drug-related overdoses.

Prior to joining the Cannabis Strategy Unit, Dr. Roehler served as a Health Scientist on the Overdose Morbidity Team in the Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch in the Division of Overdose Prevention. In this role, he provided technical assistance to funded states to build and enhance their nonfatal overdose surveillance systems.

Previously, Dr. Roehler focused on building and improving road safety surveillance systems in low- and middle-income countries, preventing youth violence, and investigating sudden unexpected infant deaths. He earned his PhD and MPH in Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Following his doctoral work, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Rush University Medical Center in the Department of Pediatrics. He has published extensively on cannabis, drug overdoses, traffic safety, youth violence, and child injury prevention in peer-reviewed journals, MMWRs, book chapters, and governmental reports, including serving as the lead author of the 2019 Annual Surveillance Report of Drug-related Risks and Outcomes.

Are we talking about individual rights, marijuana as medicine, public health implications, the integrity of the FDA medication approval process , or the reliability of the USA in keeping international treaties.

INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY ON THE SCIENCE AND IMPACT OF CANNABIS

DOCTORS EDUCATING ON MARIJUANA

IASIC is an organization of international experts on cannabis who are guided by medicine and science to provide accurate and honest information that guides decision-making. We recognize that the use of cannabis is potentially harmful, and that policies or practices which enhance or increase the use of cannabis risk serious medical and social consequences.

Check out the IASIC Library.

Eric A. Voth, M.D., FACP

Dr. Voth is a specialist in Internal Medicine, Pain Management, and Addiction Medicine. He serves as the President and Chairman of the Board of the International Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis (IASIC). Dr. Voth is a pioneer in the appropriate prescribing of controlled medications and is recognized as an international authority on drug use, drug policy-related issues, pain management, and appropriate prescribing practices.

He also serves as an advisor on alcohol and drug abuse issues to the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts, is a former member of the National Advisory Committee for the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment of HHS, and is a Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine.

 Dr. Voth has advised Reagan, Clinton, both Bush, and Obama administrations, and has advised or testified for numerous Congressional offices on drug related issues. He has appeared on or consulted to, numerous other radio media, and has been quoted by numerous international print media.

Elizabeth ‘Libby’ Stuyt, MD

Dr. Stuyt is a board-certified Addiction Psychiatrist and has worked in the addiction/behavioral health field since 1990. She was the Medical Director for the Circle Program, a 90-day inpatient treatment program, funded by the state of Colorado, for persons with co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse who have failed other levels of treatment from 1999 to 2020. She retired from this position in May 2020 in order to spend more time attempting to educate as many people as possible on the un-intended consequences she has seen from the commercialization of marijuana in Colorado, focusing primarily on the deleterious effects of high potency THC on the developing brain and mental health.

About Bertha Madras, PhD

 Current position. Professor of Psychobiology, Harvard Medical School (34 years) with office based at McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA; cross-appointment at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Educated at McGill University, Montreal with post-doctoral fellowships, MIT, Cambridge, MA.

Translational Research. Addictive and therapeutic drugs: behavioral, molecular responses. Drug discovery: Novel brain probes, candidate therapeutics for neuropsychiatric disorders. Drug Policy

Authorship.  Author of over 200 scientific manuscripts, articles, book chapters, co-editor of books “The Cell Biology of Addiction”, “Effects of Drug Abuse on the Human Nervous System”, “Imaging of the Human Brain in Health and Disease”

Inventions.  19 U.S. and 27 international issued patents, with collaborators

Government service and public policy. Numerous NIH committees and other advisory boards

• White House, 2006-2008: Deputy Director for Demand Reduction in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), Executive Office of the President, a presidential appointment confirmed unanimously (99-0) by U.S. Senate
• White House, 2017: Appointed by the President, as one of six members of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis (Governors C. Christie, C. Baker, R. Cooper, Cong. P. Kennedy, AG P. Bondi). At request of Commission Chair Gov. Christie, she shepherded and wrote major portions of the final Commission report
• World Health Organization: Sole author of a commissioned report, “Update of Cannabis and its Medical Use”; co-author of “The Health and Social Effects of Nonmedical Cannabis Use”
• S. Department of Justice: Sole expert witness for the U.S. Dept. of Justice in a landmark CA Federal Court decision on marijuana re-, or de-scheduling, which sustained DoJ position
• Vatican Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Narcotics Panel: Co-author and edited final statement
• National Academy of Medicine: Current member, National Academy of Medicine Collaborative on the Opioid Crisis

Educator, Public Service

• Course: Developed the first course (ABS elective) on addictions at Harvard Medical School
• Course: Developed first NIDA-sponsored international course on “Cell Biology of Addiction” at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
• Museum exhibition: Project Director, PI of NIDA-sponsored grant for exhibit, CD, play at Museum of Science, Boston “Changing your Mind: Drugs in the Brain”. Disney Corp. licensed the CD.
• Presentations: More than 750 public and professional presentations nationally, globally

Recognition

• Research Awards: NIH MERIT award, CPDD Innovator Award, Fishman Award, McLean Mendelson award, The Better World Report cited her brain imaging invention as “one of 25 technology transfer innovations (university to industry) that changed the world”
• Public Service Awards: NIDA, CADCA, CPDD, Sweden, American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry Founders’ Award, others

Her experiences in research, brain biology, education, government and public service offer her a unique perspective on

 Heather Bacchus is a dedicated advocate and mother, whose life was forever changed by the tragic loss of her son, Randy Michael, to suicide as a result of Cannabis Induced Psychosis on July 17th, 2021. Randy’s struggles with marijuana use began at the tender age of 15, eventually leading to a diagnosis of cannabis use disorder by the time he was almost 17. Heather and her husband were deeply shaken by Randy’s passing and embarked on a journey of discovery, delving into the complexities of today’s potent cannabis products and their detrimental effects on the adolescent brain.

Through exploring Randy’s personal videos and journals, they uncovered his battles with marijuana-induced psychosis, depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. Determined to prevent further tragedies, Heather and her husband founded the non-profit organization, Be Extraordinary, Be You, which empowers youth to embrace their true selves and avoid substance use.

Heather and Randy’s mission is fueled by the profound belief that sharing Randy’s story, grounded in scientific research, can help educate students and parents alike, empowering them to make informed decisions regarding substance use.

In addition to their advocacy work, Heather and Randy are proud parents to three daughters and licensed Realtors in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Heather often emphasizes their commitment to ensuring people find happiness in their homes, believing that a positive home environment, free from drugs, is essential for overall well-being.

Gerard Carroll, MD, is the Program Director for the EMS Fellowship at Cooper University Hospital. He is passionate about utilizing physician field response to translate the bedside, apprenticeship model of medical education into the field. His interests include addiction medicine and the role of urban EMS caring for underserved populations. As an undergraduate at Brandeis University, Dr. Carroll became passionate about Emergency Medical Services, and following graduation became certified as a Paramedic . He worked for nearly a decade in the New York City 911 system and was recognized for his service on the morning of the 9-11 attacks. He then earned his medical degree from Dartmouth Medical School where he was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. He completed Emergency Medicine Residency at Temple University Hospital and completed a fellowship in Emergency Medical Services at Cooper University Hospital. He is triple board certified in Emergency Medicine, Emergency Medical Services, and Addiction Medicine. Dr. Carroll loves the practice of academic Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services and is not satisfied with the status quo. He believes strongly that EMS is a practice of medicine and as such needs to constantly be refocused on patient outcomes while optimizing its place in the healthcare system. He helped spearhead the movement of addiction medicine into the field by educating paramedics about Opioid Use Disorder and training them to rescue patients in withdrawal with Medication Assisted Therapy using buprenorphine. Dr. Carroll loves the varied practice environments of EM and EMS making academic, rural, prehospital, austere disaster deployment, and even cruise ship medicine a part of his regular medical practice.

In 1997 – 40% of Iceland’s adolescents got drunk in the past 30 days, one of the highest teen alcohol problem in the world.

 After a national prevention program consistent over 20 years, the trend has been reversed to just 5%.

A side effect of the program also measured decreased tobacco, cannabis, as well as decreased bulling, violence, theft, sexual abuse.

What is Iceland secret?

Inga Dora Sigfusdottir is Professor and Founding Director of the Icelandic Centre for Social Research and Analysis at Reykjavik University, and Research Professor in Health and Behavior Studies at Teachers College, Columbia University. A sociologist, her research focuses on understanding how biological and social factors interact to influence the development of risky behavior among adolescents, including substance use, suicidal behavior, unprotected sex, self-inflicted harm, and delinquency. Dr. Sigfusdottir has been the Project Director in Iceland for the European School Survey Project of Alcohol and other Drugs and for the European Cities Against Drugs Youth in Europe Project. She is currently the Principal Investigator of a life course study funded by the European Research Council which is investigating the effects of stress on biology, emotion and behavior throughout childhood.

Forensic Toxicologist

Dr. Peace received her B.A. in Chemistry from Wittenberg University, a Master of Forensic Science from George Washington University, and her Ph.D. from the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).

Dr. Peace is a forensic toxicologist and a Full Professor in the FEPAC-accredited Department of Forensic Science at VCU and is one of the founding faculty for the Department. She served as Associate Chair and Chair for nearly a decade. Dr. Peace has also served as a manager in a private forensic drug testing laboratory and has worked as a scientist for Procter & Gamble, where she holds 3 patents.

Dr. Peace has been funded by the National Institute of Justice since 2014 to study the efficacy of electronic cigarettes, particularly as they pertain to substance use and abuse. Her research has highlighted emerging issues of electronic cigarettes as a tool for vaping drugs other than nicotine and has characterized the merging of the cannabis and e-cigarette industries. Her current project is a clinical study to assess the impact of vaping on roadside impairment evaluations for suspected DUI and drug testing.

Dr. Peace is a Past President of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists and is a member of The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists and is a Fellow in the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. She is a member of the National Safety Council’s Alcohol, Drugs, and Impairment Division. She was nationally recognized for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring by the Society of Forensic Toxicologists.

Dr. Peace speaks regularly to train law enforcement and probation/parole officers, addiction specialists, attorneys, health system personnel, and primary and secondary education administrators on relevant issues regarding the mechanism of vaping and e-cigarettes as a tool to deliver drugs other than nicotine, as well as the effects of CBD and THC. She has provided testimony and opinions to develop scientifically relevant and robust policy and legislation at the state and federal levels, and she consults with companies and school systems as they re-develop smoking policies to include vaping.

Dr. Peace has testified to the Food and Drug Administration and the Virginia General Assembly regarding issues of quality assurance, public health, and public safety with the emerging cannabis industry. She has been featured in the New York Times, Consumer Reports, and AARP. The American Chemical Society and Discover Magazine featured her and her research in 2018 and 2019 as some of the most timely, interesting, or influential research in the nation.

Dr. Graham joined the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in 2006, and later served as Deputy Chief Medical Examiner for the borough of Manhattan. With a particular focus most recently on the investigation of overdose fatalities, he leads OCME’s response to the opioid epidemic in coordination with local, state and federal partners. Dr. Graham established the OCME Drug Intelligence and Intervention Group in 2016 and currently serves as Chair of the city’s RxStat Overdose Fatality Review Committee led by the OCME since summer 2021.

A native of Tennessee, Dr. Graham graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He then completed general surgery internship and anatomic pathology residency at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta prior to subspecialty fellowship training in forensic pathology at the Emory/Fulton County Medical Examiner program. Dr. Graham is board certified by the American Board of Pathology in both anatomic and forensic pathology. He holds faculty appointment currently as Chair for the Department of Forensic Medicine at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Graham has published in numerous peer-reviewed scientific journals in the areas of forensic science, medicine, and pathology, and he is a member of both the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the National Association of Medical Examiners.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4414493/

Zulauf CA, Sprich SE, Safren SA, Wilens TE. The complicated relationship between attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and substance use disorders. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2014 Mar;16(3):436. doi: 10.1007/s11920-013-0436-6. PMID: 24526271; PMCID: PMC4414493.

4/20 – the improptu national holiday for marijuana, and we want to bring about marijuana awareness.  Marijuana has many side effects and health consequences, but today’s focus is on drugged driving.   If you smoke weed for any reason don’t get behind the wheel for at least 4 hours.  If you use edibles, wait at least 8 hours.  Driving sober means no alcohol or drugs.

Lesley Phillips is an Education & Training Specialist with the Training, Research and Education for Driving Safety (TREDS) program at UC San Diego. She develops online learning programs for various health-related projects and implements marketing campaigns to expand the reach of TREDS’ traffic safety curriculum. Lesley served as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa after she completed her bachelor’s degree at Occidental College. This experience sparked her interest in health education and inspired her to pursue a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Lesley has over 15 years of experience in public health and has a passion for working with people in a variety of settings.

Steer Clear Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Course for High School Students

Eve Simmons is a British writer, journalist and health and wellness editor at DailyMail.com.

She is an award-winning health journalist with a dogged determination to sniffing out fake health news – especially when it comes to diet. Formerly the deputy health editor at the Mail on Sunday in the UK, continues to work on vital and entertaining reports on her specialist subjects in the US which include mental health, disability and eating disorders. And she’s not afraid to dress up like a fool and try the latest fitness fad…for the good of journalism.

She’s written several in-depth reports on cannabis legalization – most recently covering the Bryn Spejcher manslaughter trial.

From 18 year-old who shot his girlfriend’s baby while high on marijuana to stoned babysitter who let TWO toddlers drown: we reveal how cannabis has led to nearly 300 brutal child deaths

How California’s legal cannabis dream became a public health nightmare: It’s a class B drug in the UK – but in the US state it’s led to spiralling addiction, psychotic illnesses and hospitals facing a deluge of poisonings

Kristen M. Gilliland, Ph.D.

Dr. Kristen Gilliland delivered a TEDx presentation titled Rewiring Revolution: Neuroplasticity’s Impact on Wellbeing in 2018.

She earned her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She later served as an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo. During her professorship at Cal Poly, she taught Organic Chemistry, Neurochemistry, and the Chemistry of Drugs and Poisons.  After Kristen’s son was diagnosed with cannabis-induced schizophrenia at the age of 17, Kristen joined the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery at Vanderbilt University (2018) to research new treatments for schizophrenia.  Tragically, Kristen lost her son to an accidental overdose in 2019 after his mental health severely declined and he became addicted to opioids and stimulants. Kristen then changed the trajectory of her life to utilize her scientific teaching, presentation, and research skills to educate adolescent-aged children and their parents on mental health challenges and how it can lead to substance use and/or substance use disorder. As the Director of Outreach and Advocacy Programs for the Warren Center, Kristen presents to middle schools, high schools, community centers, and recovery programs across Middle Tennessee. In addition, she has developed an award winning educational documentary aimed for middle school and high school-aged children titled Speaking Through Me which will be released Summer of 2023. The documentary and Kristen’s presentations focus on the developing teenage brain and neuroplasticity, the structural and functional changes that occur in the brain when under repeated stress and anxiety, the impacts of high potency cannabis on the adolescent brain, the neurobiology of addiction, and the dangers and prevalence of fentanyl.  Lastly, the documentary and presentations also include methods to combat everyday stressors or adversity and the importance of self-care and self-compassion on the developing adolescent brain.

Aubree Adams is a leading advocate who stands up against the predatory addiction-for-profit marijuana industry. She has a BS in Exercise Science and Health promotion but is most proud of her experience as a mom of two sons and two dogs and as a host mom for youth in recovery. She is the founder and director of Every Brain Matters, a nationally trusted educational resource formed by families with loved ones who have been severely damaged or killed by the effects of marijuana. The stories of these families are featured on the Every Brain Mattes YouTube channel and the It’s Just Pot What’s The Problem?Podcast.

This former Pueblo, Colorado, mom lived at ground zero of the marijuana expansion movement. She has shared her devastating first-hand experience about this public health crisis before the FDA, The National Academy of Science, and in the documentary Chronic State. She has testified in many state governments, asking them to embrace healthy communities and families rather than the expansion of drugs. Aubree has been nationally featured on Fox News and Newsmax along with her op-eds published in USA Today and the Denver Gazette entitled “Standing up to the Threat of Marijuana.”

After finding refuge and recovery for herself and her two sons in Houston, Texas, Aubree formed a group called Citizens for a Safe and Healthy Texas to unite and educate communities on the impacts of marijuana and warn Texas about THC Hemp products, which were legalized through the 2018 Federal Farm Bill. Citizens for a Safe and Healthy Texas helped prevent several marijuana bills from advancing during the 2023 legislative session.

Aubree states that families and communities are unprepared for this era of industrialized marijuana that targets youth with flavored candies and vapes that provide a rapid and potent chemical assault to the brain. Families lack the resources to prevent, manage, or recover from a child or loved one addicted or psychotic from cannabis.

Aubree rejects the false narrative that potent marijuana is a harmless expression of personal freedom. Based on the latest scientific evidence and personal stories, she states that THC is a dangerous and addictive drug, and like all drugs of abuse, it can destroy lives.

Peter serves as president of The Partnership for A Healthy Iowa and the Face It Together (PDFI/FIT) coalition, and co-director of the Iowa Digital Literacy & Wellness Project.  He succeeded Senator Grassley as Chair of Face It Together Coalition’s healthy communities’ initiative, which still stands to this day as the oldest statewide coalition of substance abuse prevention resources in Iowa.

Peter travels throughout Iowa coordinating projects including the Iowa Media Literacy Project, Take5Iowa, the Drug-Free Workplace Program, Speak Out 4 Kids, the Power of Grandparents, the Blueprint for Healthy Communities, and the Iowa Caring Communities Tour.

He was invited by Mediacom to host the TV series, Children & Drugs: Secrets for Parents, which aired eight episodes in 2013.  Building on that success he was invited back to host the TV show Surviving Bad, now in its 10th year on the air.

He is co-founder of the Internationally renowned Iowa Digital Literacy & Wellness Conference, and as a writer and a speaker, has been entertaining audiences of all ages with his observations on “living in the digital world – life at the speed of human.”

He also speaks to children and adults, on topics ranging from “How Substance Abuse, Media and other Addictive Behaviors Impact Your Bottom Line,” “A Mindful Approach to the Media – Knowing the Tricks & Traps,” to “Rebuilding America from the Inside Out.”  He has enjoyed a healthy dose of media exposure, has been a TEDx speaker, and is often aired on Iowa radio and TV stations as a subject matter expert on substance abuse, prevention, and youth high risk behaviors.

Additional information is available at www.AHealthyIowa.org

In 2003, Mrs. Howe began her career as a Special Agent with the DEA in the Minneapolis/St. Paul District Office.  In 2012, she was promoted to Group Supervisor of the San Ysidro Resident Office and in 2015 was named as the Resident Agent in Charge.  As a supervisor, Mrs. Howe led Special Agents, Task Force Officers, Intelligence Research Specialists and support personnel in support of DEA’s mission.

In 2017, Mrs. Howe was selected to serve as an Inspector for the Office of Professional Responsibility in Arlington, Virginia.  In 2018, she was promoted to the Executive Assistant for the Operational Support Division and for the Principal Deputy Administrator of DEA.

In 2019, Mrs. Howe was selected to be the Assistant Special Agent in Charge in the San Diego Field Division.  In 2022, Mrs. Howe was promoted to the Senior Executive Service as the Special Agent in Charge of the San Diego Field Division.  As the Special Agent in Charge, Mrs. Howe is responsible for DEA operations in San Diego and Imperial Counties.

During her law enforcement career, Mrs. Howe has received numerous awards for exceptional service, including City of St. Paul Chief’s Award, Minnesota State Association Narcotics Investigators Group of the Year Award, and the DEA Administrator’s Outstanding Group Achievement Award.

Mrs. Howe holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology with an emphasis in criminal justice from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Mrs. Howe is married with three young children.  She enjoys golfing and the outdoor activities San Diego has to offer.                                                                                                           

Aubree Adams is a leading advocate who stands up against the predatory addiction-for-profit marijuana industry.  She is the founder and director of Every Brain Matters, a nationally trusted educational resource formed by families with loved ones who have been severely damaged or killed by the effects of marijuana. The stories of these families are featured on the Every Brain Mattes YouTube channel and the It’s Just Pot What’s The Problem?Podcast.

This former Pueblo, Colorado, mom lived at ground zero of the marijuana expansion movement. She has shared her devastating first-hand experience about this public health crisis before the FDA, The National Academy of Science, and in the documentary Chronic State. She has testified in many state governments, asking them to embrace healthy communities and families rather than the expansion of drugs. Aubree has been nationally featured on Fox News and Newsmax along with her op-eds published in USA Today and the Denver Gazette entitled “Standing up to the Threat of Marijuana.”

After finding refuge and recovery for herself and her two sons in Houston, Texas, Aubree formed a group called Citizens for a Safe and Healthy Texas to unite and educate communities on the impacts of marijuana and warn Texas about THC Hemp products, which were legalized through the 2018 Federal Farm Bill. Citizens for a Safe and Healthy Texas helped prevent several marijuana bills from advancing during the 2023 legislative session.

Aubree states that families and communities are unprepared for this era of industrialized marijuana that targets youth with flavored candies and vapes that provide a rapid and potent chemical assault to the brain. Families lack the resources to prevent, manage, or recover from a child or loved one addicted or psychotic from cannabis.

Aubree rejects the false narrative that potent marijuana is a harmless expression of personal freedom. Based on the latest scientific evidence and personal stories, she states that THC is a dangerous and addictive drug, and like all drugs of abuse, it can destroy lives.

Libby holds a Masters Degree in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of William and Mary.

Chief Scott began his career with the U.S. Border Patrol on May 11, 1992, as a member of Academy Class 252.  His first assignment was to the Imperial Beach Station, San Diego Sector as a frontline field agent.  As Chief Scott promoted through the ranks, he earned a reputation as an innovative, problem-solving leader.   As a result, Chief Scott was asked to take on several leadership and specialized assignments.  Following the 9-11 terrorist attacks he served as a principal advisor to the Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on anti-terrorism matters.  Chief Scott was later selected as the Deputy Executive Director of the CBP, Office of Anti-terrorism.  Chief Scott served as the Director for CBP’s, national Incident Management and Operations Coordination Division which oversaw preparedness, national emergency response and interagency coordination.

Chief Scott was selected to serve as the Chief Patrol Agent for El Centro Sector and the San Diego Sector before being selected as Chief, US Border Patrol.   As the national Chief, Scott led over 21,000 personnel and was responsible for securing the vast international borders of the U.S. between the official ports of entry.

After retiring Chief Scott immediately leveraged his vast experience and knowledge in border security to inform and educate politicians and the public about the threats that our nation faces when we choose to leave our international borders unsecured.    In November 2021 Chief Scott teamed up with Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) as a Distinguished Senior Fellow on border security and immigration.  Through TPPF and direct contacts, Chief Scott continues to work with Congressional leadership, State legislators, civic groups, and media outlets to provide insight and expertise in border security.  Chief Scott also serves as an advisor to A1C Partners and DFND.  Chief Scott has testified before Congress on several occasions, routinely appears on major news networks and has shared his insights on various podcasts with the likes of Vice President Pence, Dr. Ben Carson and many others.

Border 911

Customs and Border Protection Data

As a trial prosecutor, she tried more than 100 jury trials, including cases of complex homicides, sexually violent predators, child molestation, sexual assaults, school shooting, and human trafficking-related cases. She served as Chief of the DA’s North County Branch and Chief of the Sex Crimes and Human Trafficking Division, a special victims unit she pioneered.

As the District Attorney, Summer opened a state-of-the-art Family Justice Center in the North County for victims of domestic violence and elder abuse. Summer launched a juvenile diversion program that diverted hundreds of kids away from the school to prison pipeline. Summer fulfilled her commitment to test every rape kit with over 2000 rape kits tested. Her office tripled the prosecutions of hate crimes and doubled down on the prosecution of deadly fentanyl dealers. Summer is implementing innovations to help address the intersection of crime and homelessness.

DA Stephan holds leadership positions in public safety nationally and locally, including serving as a vice-president of the National District Attorneys Association, and co-chair of the National Association of Women Judges Human Trafficking committee. Summer served on the Governor’s Task Force for High-Risk Sex Offenders and Sexually-Violent Predators. She spearheaded the innovative “Know the Price” campaign, which focused on reducing sexual assaults on college campuses. She also led the award-winning “The Ugly Truth” human trafficking awareness campaign as well as the “San Diego Opioid Project,” aimed at reducing opioid and fentanyl overdoses. Summer led a coordinated effort to protect the community from targeted mass violence with a School Threats Task Force that implemented a unified protocol with all 42 school districts in San Diego County. In addition, she began an effective Veterans Treatment model in North County inspired by a heroic Marine Corps veteran.

Summer is the recipient of numerous local, state, and federal awards, including an FBI commendation for organized crime prosecution, outstanding achievement award from the Deputy District Attorneys Association for the complex prosecution for the rape and murder of an elderly woman. She was named an “Angel of Anti-Human Trafficking” and a “Modern Day Abolitionist.” In 2022, she received the Bernard E. Witkin Esq. Award for Excellence in the Practice of Law, for her extraordinary contributions, leadership, and accomplishments as District Attorney. She was selected as the 2017 Southern California District Attorney of the Year by Crime Victims United, was awarded the Pathbreaker Award by Shared Hope International, and received the 2019 Humane Award for her work in fighting animal cruelty.

Summer received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Davis and her Juris Doctor from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.

https://www.sdcda.org/office/meet-da

The Homeless Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act

Dr. Haney's research has been continuously supported by NIDA since 1999. She is internationally recognized for her expertise, particularly regarding cannabis use disorder. She is an author on more than 150 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 12 book chapters, is an Associate Editor for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, an advisory editor for Psychopharmacology, a longstanding participant in NIH review groups, and is a fellow in the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and recent past President of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence.

Dr. Haney frequently provides media interviews, including television (CNBC, NBC, CBS), newspapers (e.g., NY Times, Wall St. Journal), magazines (e.g., Time, New York Magazine), radio (WNYC, NPR), podcasts (Science Rules! with Bill Nye) and digital media (seeker.com).

Heidi Swan

Heidi Swan is the co-author of the only fictional story illustrating the negative mental health impacts of youth marijuana use: "A Night In Jail."  She's appeared on Dr. Phil, KCAL, KQED, Fox.com, NBCLA, Epoch Times's California Insider and the radio programs We the People Radio and Bob Enyart. She advocates for legislation to provide consumer protections on THC products. She's spoken for Esquire CLE, the Professional Fiduciary Association of California, Stanford REACH's Teaching Cannabis Awareness, Smart Approaches to Marijuana and many others. She works closely with Every Brain Matters, Johnny's Ambassadors, Parents Opposed to Pot, Moms Strong, Americans Against the Legalization of Marijuana and Parent Action Network.

A former actress, Heidi is thrilled to have been the voice of Jill Valentine in the hit video game, Resident Evil (2002).

Dr. Christy Brown

Dr. Christy Brown is professor emeritus at Mission College in Santa Clara.  Her son was a victim of cannabis use disorder and cannabis induced psychosis from marijuana that he obtained from medical marijuana dispensaries.  He is currently in recovery.  She is the communications director for Mom's Strong, one of the earliest organizations founded to support parents of children who have experienced the adverse effects of marijuana such as cannabis induced psychosis, and to raise awareness of these effects and advocate for policies that protect children and young adults.

Steve Adami, MPA, Director, Reentry Division, San Francisco Adult Probation Department

After spending over two decades in and out of jails and prison Steve’s life changed.  His recovery and transformation started in a pair of handcuffs.  After being released from prison in December 2010, he earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, was inducted into a National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration, and received the Barbra Jordan Award for Academic Excellence from San Francisco State University. In 2014 he was hired by the San Francisco Adult Probation Department as a Reentry Services Coordinator, promoted to a managerial position in 2017,  and was appointed the Director of the Reentry Division in 202o. In this role he designed and managed a portfolio of 22 million dollars of reentry and recovery-focused programs, and managed San Francisco’s Reentry Council and Community Corrections Partnership.  In May 2023, Steve was appointed the Executive Director of The Way Out, a recovery-focused homeless initiative of The Salvation Army.

https://www.steveadami.com

Destiny Pletsch, MPA, Salvation Army, San Francisco

Destiny is the Deputy Director of Way Out, the Salvation Army’s recovery-focused homeless initiative in San Francisco. With a decade of experience, Destiny has played a pivotal role in designing, implementing, and monitoring a portfolio of services with the Reentry Division of the San Francisco Adult Probation Department. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from San Francisco State University, she combines her expertise with hands-on experience to address the complex challenges of homelessness and create and implement opportunities that help people rebuild their lives

https://mailchi.mp/usw.salvationarmy.org/the-way-out-september-2023-newsletter-12648819

Bertha Madras is a Professor of Psychobiology, Harvard Medical School (36 years), based at McLean Hospital, cross-appointed at the Massachusetts General Hospital. The focus of her career is research (preclinical and human) and public policy. For over four decades, she has investigated addiction biology, neuropsychiatric disorders, with results published in over 200 manuscripts, articles, and co-edited books, “The Cell Biology of Addiction”, and “Effects of Drug Abuse on the Human Nervous System” and “Imaging of the Human Brain in Health and Disease”.  With collaborators, she holds 19 U.S. and 27 international patents.

Dr. Finn graduated Medical School from the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston (’90). He completed residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation from the University of Utah (’94), and is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (’95) as well as Pain Medicine (’98), and Pain Management (’00). Practicing medicine in Colorado Springs since 1994, Finn serves on the American Board of Pain Medicine Exam Council (’01), Appeals Committee (’14), and Executive Board (’14).  He is the President-Elect of the American Board of Pain Medicine (’20).  Finn served on the Colorado Governors Task Force on Amendment 64, Consumer Safety and Social Issues Work Group (’12) and served 4 years on the Colorado Medical Marijuana Scientific Advisory Council (’14-’18). He was an Executive Board member of El Paso County Medical Society (’14-’18) and helped Colorado Medical Society and Colorado Pain Society develop their position statement on cannabis (’18) as well as the El Paso County Board of Health (’14) and Medical Society (’14) on their statements. Finn is a voluntary clinical instructor for the University of Colorado Medical School-Colorado Springs Branch (‘17-’20) and sees pain patients at the Colorado Springs Rehabilitation in Colorado.

Arianna Campbell, PA

Arianna Campbell is an Emergency Department PA with more than 20 years of clinical expertise informing her work. As an APP Lead for US Acute Care Solutions at Marshall Medical Center in Placerville, California, Arianna initiated an innovative program to treat patients with opioid use disorder. Recognized by leaders in addiction medicine and beyond, Arianna became a founding clinician of CA Bridge, a program of the Public Health Institute. She currently serves as Director and Co-Principal Investigator for CA Bridge, dedicated to making 24/7 access to addiction treatment the standard of care in every hospital. Arianna presently serves on Marshall’s Provider Advisory Council and the California Academy of PAs’ Professional Practice Committee. She is a dedicated advocate for harm reduction practices and treating the patient as a whole person.

California Bridge is a program of the Public Health Institute in Oakland, California. Their goal is to transform addiction treatment by ensuring that every hospital in California provides 24/7 access to evidence-based care, treating substance use disorder like any other life-threatening condition.

Joe holds professional teaching credentials and technical skills in law enforcement and per-hospital emergency care. He has had the opportunity to travel the world on disaster rescue missions realizing how fortunate we are as Americans.

Check out Chemical People   and We The People Radio.

Mr. Redman is passionate about assisting specific communities because, as an expert on national and international drug problems, he understands how action at the local level can be extremely effective.

Other past honors include:

• Ambassador of Peace with, the United Nations Middle East Peace Initiative;
• Delegate to the United Nations Collaboration on Global Drug;
• Director’s Award for Distinguished Service from the President’s, Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP);
• The President’s Call to Service Award;
• Citizen of the Year from the California Narcotics Officers Association;
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration award for outstanding leadership.

Mr. Redman holds a B.A. from Texas A&M University, an M.F.A. from San Diego State University, and a Doctor of Divinity from Sacramento Theological Seminary and Bible College.

Mr. Evans provides policy guidance on the many issues affecting treatment providers

1. Treatment protocols and policies and forms
2. Employee policies and handbooks
3. Drug and alcohol testing
4. Human resource matters
5. Insurance denials for treatment
6. Compliance with treatment regulations
7. Governmental policy
8. Compliance with state treatment professional licensing
9. Confidentiality of provider records - 42 CFR 2 and HIPAA

Cannabis Industry Victims Educating Litigators (CIVEL)

LA Times article on Kratom Lawsuit

Kratom Addiction/Withdrawal - NIDA information

Jacquelyn L. Bainbridge, BSPharm, PharmD, FCCP, MSCS, FAES, is a Professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, where she holds joint appointments in the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, and the Department of Neurology in the School of Medicine. Dr Bainbridge received her doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Colorado in Denver, where she subsequently completed a specialty residency in neurology. Dr Bainbridge is a Multiple Sclerosis Certified Specialist (MSCS) who is actively involved in clinical research in many areas of neurology, including multiple sclerosis (MS), epilepsy, geriatrics, Parkinson’s disease (PD), back pain, cannabis, and psilocybin. Currently, she is working on 3 clinical trials investigating cannabis for the treatment of back pain, PD and autism, sponsored by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), and 1 synthetic cannabidiol (CBD) study involving patients with Fragile X syndrome.  Dr. Bainbridge is involved in 1 additional clinical trial sponsored by the CDPHE, for back pain in patients not on opiates or on opiates, with a dose reduction using cannabis (CBD and delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)). Dr. Bainbridge is also involved in 2 psilocybin trials 1 involving cancer patients and one involving severe depression.  Additionally, Dr. Bainbridge is reporting on post-surgical cancer patients and their endocannabinol response whether they are a cannabis user or not. Dr Bainbridge continues to study the safety and efficacy of antiseizure medications (ASMs) in older adults. She was previously an investigator for several National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded trials researching drugs that may be neuroprotective in PD. Dr. Bainbridge has completed 1 clinical trial using a synthetic CBD product in patients with scleroderma. She has published several articles in professional journals, including Epilepsia, Pharmacotherapy, The International Journal of Multiple Sclerosis Care, and the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. She has reviewed and written several book chapters on MS, epilepsy, migraine, chronic pain, women’s issues, pharmacokinetics, and the practice of pharmacy. Dr Bainbridge is a frequent lecturer on topics of neurologic and pharmacologic interest, including MS, chronic pain disorders, epilepsy, migraine, movement disorders, neuroprotection, restless legs syndrome (RLS), Huntington’s disease and the administration of cannabis for therapeutic intent. Dr Bainbridge is a member of numerous professional organizations, including The Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC), The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS)  Epilepsy Foundation of Colorado, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), the American Epilepsy Society(AES), Epilepsy Foundation of America (EFA), American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), Colorado Pharmacists Society (CPS), and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). She is the past president of the board of directors for The Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation (RLSF) and The Epilepsy Foundation of Colorado (EFC). Dr. Bainbridge is currently on the Board of Governors for The Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC), and on the Board of Directors for The Epilepsy Foundation of Colorado and Wyoming Professional Advisory Board and The American Lung Association (ALA).  Dr. Bainbridge has been elected as a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (FCCP), Fellow of the American Epilepsy Society (FAES) and has won several student preceptor and teaching class awards. Dr. Bainbridge has been asked to address the United Nations in Vienna on the safe practice of cannabis use in March of 2023.

Clinical Administration: He directs the Neuropsychiatry Program at VA Connecticut Healthcare System, the clinical service that cares for veterans with serious mental illnesses including psychotic disorders, mood disorders and personality disorders. He also chairs the Research and Development Committee at VA Connecticut Healthcare System.

Research Administration: He directs the Neurobiological Studies Unit where experimental psychopharmacological studies are conducted. He serves as the Chair of the Research and Development Committee of VA Connecticut Healthcare System.

Education: He is actively involved in teaching residents. In recognition of his contributions as a teacher, he received the Yale Psychiatry resident’s teaching award in 2008. He also directs the VA Schizophrenia Research Fellowship program the training ground for a number of current researchers. He is a mentor for a number of junior faculty who have career awards.

Pathophysiological Research: He directs the Schizophrenia Neuropharmacology Research Group at Yale (SNRGY). Over the last 3 decades, he has employed three approaches to his research. He has conducted experimental psychopharmacological studies with ketamine, amphetamine, THC, nicotine, salvinorin A in healthy human volunteers and patients to evaluate the contributions of various neurotransmitter systems to the pathophysiology of psychosis, cognitive deficits, and reward dysfunction. He also uses in vivoneuroreceptor imaging to study schizophrenia and cannabis use disorder with ligands that bind to synaptic vesicles, muscarinic receptors, CB1 receptors, etc. He is also involved in a consortium to collect fluid biomarkers in schizophrenia.

Treatment Research: In parallel to these studies of pathophysiology, he has conducted phase 1 - 4 clinical trials to develop new treatments schizophrenia, mood disorders and cannabis use disorder. More recently he has been investigating the therapeutic potential of psychedelic compounds (psilocybin, dimethyltryptamine) in the treatment of neuropsychiatric conditions including depression and migraine. His research is funded by the U.S. National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), VA R&D and several foundations.

His work has been published in the highest impact Psychiatry journals including Molecular Psychiatry, Lancet Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry, American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuropsychopharmacology (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=qDmD8DsAAAAJ&hl=en). He is a principal editor of the journal Psychopharmacology.

He is involved in public outreach – he serves on the Physicians Advisory Board for Connecticut’s Medical Marijuana Program. He is recognized as a leading expert on the relationship between cannabinoids and psychosis, and has been involved educating the general public about the relationship between cannabis and psychosis.

Some of the services offered include:

• Educational presentations on marijuana and the effects of its legalization for law enforcement groups, public forums, community coalitions, and legislators
• The NMI Speakers Bureau, which consists of independent subject matter experts who conduct informational presentations about their respective fields
• A public resource for valid information and reliable data based upon current research into marijuana and its impacts

Dale Quigley is the Deputy Coordinator of the National Marijuana Initiative for the HIDTA program in the United States. He is responsible for providing information and education on issues surrounding marijuana. Prior to this role, he served at the Rocky Mountain HIDTA in Denver from 2011 – 2016 as the Manager of Intelligence and later oversaw their training program.

Deputy Quigley holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and has been a peace officer in Colorado since 1979. In January 2016, he retired as a Sergeant from the Aurora Police Department. In his experience, Deputy Quigley notes his most rewarding assignments have been related to drug enforcement. He has an extensive background in narcotics investigations and supervising drug units, which includes supervising a gang-oriented drug task force for the FBI.

Recognized as a subject matter expert in several aspects of drug enforcement, he regularly speaks at regional, national, and international drug conferences on the impacts of drug usage. Additionally, he has instructed drug law at the Community College of Aurora (Colorado) and a series of drug enforcement classes for the Rocky Mountain HIDTA program.

Ed Shemelya is the National Marijuana Initiative Coordinator for the HIDTA Program. He has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. He has been speaking on Legalization in America, Understanding Hemp and Marijuana, and Current Affairs in Marijuana since 2013.

Eric Gremminger, ICADC

Eric is CEO and Co-Founder of ERPHealth and a nationally recognized leader in the behavioral health space. Since 2014 Eric has trained behavioral healthcare professionals around the country on how to use patient reported outcome measures to personalized clinical curriculums, and inform policy and procedure. Eric holds a degree in Psychology from Drexel University and is a regular guest lecturer on the topics of recovery and the neurobiology of addiction. Eric received his counselor’s training from Villanova University and is an internationally-certified drug and alcohol counselor as well as a published author.

Eric is a board member for Prevention Plus, an organization focused on promoting healthy, safe and drug-free lifestyles in the state of New Jersey and is a part of the advisory council for National Fentanyl Awareness Day, a federally recognized day dedicated to raising awareness of the dangers of fentanyl.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-gremminger/

https://www.ncqa.org/blog/inside-health-care-87-eric-gremminger-the-tech-push-to-individualized-behavioral-healthcare/

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/nbc10-issue/a-new-approach-to-treating-addiction/2971857/

Laura Petracek, PhD, LCSW is a certified DBT therapist who, as a recovering addict herself, uses her own experiences with recovery and treatment to help others. Dr. Petracek received her Master of Social Work from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work and her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. She has worked in the field of psychotherapy for more than thirty years, twenty-six of which have been spent as a practicing Clinical Psychologist in California. Dr. Petracek is an LGBTQ+ member and ally. She believes that mental illness can feel like you’re in a freefall because you’ve lost control of your mind but emphasizes that it’s okay not to be okay. She is committed to providing the highest quality psychotherapy services, as a psychologist and author, that honor where individuals are on their personal growth journeys. Dr. Petracek is the author of The Anger Workbook for Women and The DBT Workbook for Alcohol and Drug Addiction.

As a former member of the United States National Disaster Medical System, Dr. Ciottone was Commander of the Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) Massachusetts-2, one of the first federal teams deployed into Ground Zero responding to the 9/11 attacks. He is a Founding Member of the US Department of Homeland Security and has been a consultant to the White House Medical Unit for the past three administrations.

Dr. Ciottone’s clinical and field experience includes 25 years as a practicing emergency physician and over 500 missions as a flight physician on an aeromedical helicopter service. He has conducted educational programs in more than 30 countries around the world and has served as a disaster response fellowship director for the International Atomic Energy Agency. Dr. Ciottone has written over 150 scholarly works, including his textbook Ciottone’s Disaster Medicine, now in its 3rd edition and considered the leading textbook in the field. He is the 2018 recipient of the American College of Emergency Physicians Disaster Medical Sciences Award, and the 2020 recipient of the American Academy of Disaster Medicine Distinguished Service Award.

CARFENTANIL DRONE ATTACK SIMULATION

The New England Journal of Medicine put out an educational video based on my 2018 Toxidrome Recognition in Chemical Weapons Attack article. The video simulates a  Carfentanil drone attack. https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMp2302441

Dr. Schneider was elected to the ACEP Board of Directors in 2004 and again in 2007. She served as the board’s secretary-treasurer before being elected vice president last year. She formerly served on the board of directors of the American Association for Emergency Psychiatry, and she is the former president of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine and the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Schneider served as the founding chair of the department of emergency medicine at the University of Rochester from 1993-2007. She established a residency training program there in emergency medicine and fellowship programs in pediatric emergency medicine, sports medicine, international emergency medicine and EMS.

Dr. Schneider earned her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh and completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at Hospitals of the University of Pittsburgh. She is a board certified in emergency medicine and is the author of over 50 peer-reviewed articles and 35 book chapters.

ACEP is a national medical specialty society representing emergency medicine with more than 28,000 members. ACEP is committed to advancing emergency care through continuing education, research and public education. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, ACEP has 53 chapters representing each state, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. A Government Services Chapter represents emergency physicians employed by military branches and other government agencies.

Visit www.acep.org for more information.

Quest Diagnostics 2022 Health Trends Reports on Drug Misuse in America. The showed that 1 in 2 patients are misusing prescription drugs and use of stimulants such as Adderall surged 5-fold over the last decade.

For 50 years, Robert L. DuPont, MD has been a leader in substance use disorder treatment and prevention. He was the first Director of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (1973-1978) and the second White House Drug Chief (1973-1977). From 1968-1970 he was Director of Community Services for the District of Columbia Department of Corrections. From 1970-1973, he served as Administrator of the District of Columbia Narcotics Treatment Administration. In 1978 he became the founding President of the Institute for Behavior and Health, Inc., a non-profit research and policy organization that identifies and promotes powerful new ideas to reduce drug use and addiction.

A graduate of Emory University, Dr. DuPont received an MD degree in 1963 from the Harvard Medical School. He completed his psychiatric training at Harvard and the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. DuPont maintains an active practice of psychiatry specializing in addiction and the anxiety disorders and has been Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Georgetown University School of Medicine since 1980. His most recent book is Chemical Slavery: Understanding Addiction and Stopping the Drug Epidemic.

Caroline DuPont, MD

Dr. DuPont is Vice President of the Institute for Behavior and Health, Inc. (IBH), a 501(c)3 non-profit research and policy organization located in Rockville, MD.  In her role as Vice President, Caroline DuPont, MD focuses on the areas of addiction treatment and prevention. She maintains a private practice specializing in anxiety and addiction.

Formerly she was the founding President and Principal Investigator of DuPont Clinical Research, Inc., where she directed a team that conducted studies of investigational medication for the anxiety and affective disorders.

Dr. DuPont received her MD from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Houston and completed her training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, where for years she held an appointment on the clinical faculty of psychiatry. She is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and by the American Board of Addiction Medicine. She is the co-author of numerous publications and several book chapters on anxiety and addiction.

Without support and guidance, quitting vaping is an incredibly difficult journey, and we often hear in our research that most teens do not feel like a traditional quitline or quitting service is intended for them. Our quantitative and qualitative research demonstrate that teens perceive quitlines as too formal for their needs. Additionally, they worry about how they may be treated in their friend groups if they try to quit and are not successful.

Rescue Agency, Hopelab, and UCSF examined the quitting journey with these insights in mind and developed a virtual cessation support group for young people called Quit the Hit. Quit the Hit is designed as a vape-first, teen-first social cessation intervention hosted through moderator-led group DMs on Instagram and has helped over 2,000 teens and young adults in 8 different states on their path to quitting.

• Web page with more information
• Hand out with more information
• Video about how Quit the Hit works
• Ad promoting Quit the Hit to teen participants
• Annual National Youth Tobacco Survey
• JAMA 2021 study

Krysten Isaac, Vice President, Group Management Director, Rescue Agency

Krysten serves as Vice President and Group Management Director at Rescue, overseeing multiple public health programs and teams to promote health equity and behavior change within youth prevention campaigns and behavioral health-driven initiatives across 15 different states. Within the past decade of work in behavior change, she has been instrumental to growing one of the largest youth vaping communications efforts in the country, Behind the Haze, which is now active in over a dozen states and has worked with major players like FDA Center for Tobacco Products, NIDA, American Lung Association, and more. Currently, she oversees Tobacco Control Programs at Rescue along with other campaigns that focus on youth marijuana and substance misuse, vaccination communications, and more.

Brionna Zimmerman, Account Supervisor, Rescue Agency

Brionna serves as an Account Supervisor at Rescue, overseeing youth-centered programs with an emphasis on mentorship, coaching and substance prevention and cessation. She began her work in this area as a Market Manager with Fresh Empire, focusing on at-risk youth in South Carolina, then expanded into Hustle & Strive as a Success Coach, focusing on at-risk youth in Virginia. Brionna is now the Group Facilitator for the Quit The Hit programs across 6 states, virtually supporting teens and young adults through their vape-quitting journey. Brionna is also a high school girls basketball coach, which gives her unique insight into the mentorship and development of teens and young adults.

RESOURCES

Talk. They Hear You: https://www.samhsa.gov/talk-they-hear-you

Screen4Success: https://www.samhsa.gov/talk-they-hear-you/screen4success

FindTreatment.gov – Millions of Americans have mental and substance use disorders. Find treatment near you

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988

Disaster Distress Helpline – 24/7 crisis counseling for emotional distress related to a disaster. 1-800-985-5990

National Helpline – Free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service.

FindSupport.gov – Get the best ways to search for a health care professional or program.

Please let me know if I’ve overlooked any resource.

California Bridge is a program of the Public Health Institute in Oakland, California. Their goal is to transform addiction treatment by ensuring that every hospital in California provides 24/7 access to evidence-based care, treating substance use disorder like any other life-threatening condition.

Senator Umberg began his military service at the Korean DMZ and was deployed overseas for three  tours – totalling over five years.  In additon to his overseas deployments, Colonel Umberg was assigned as a paratrooper with the Army Special Operations Command and the XVIII Airborne Corps.

As a federal and miltary prosecutor, Senator Umberg prosecuted numerous white collar, civil rights, murder, and sexual assault crimes.  He successfully tried over 100 cases to verdict or judgment.

Senator Umberg served as Deputy Drug Czar for President Bill Clinton where he was responsible for foreign drug interdiction, counter-drug intelligence, and international drug policy.  Umberg has a deep understanding of the strategies and resources we need to stop the current opioid epidemic and to put an end to senseless gun violence in our communities.

Senator Umberg also served three terms in the State Assembly, representing central Orange County.  During this time, he worked across party lines, authored 76 laws, and brought more than $563 million in funds to Orange County.

Senator Umberg founded and built a successful veteran-owned small business in Orange County, recognized as one of California’s preeminent boutique law firms by Best Lawyers and The Daily Journal.  Senator Umberg knows how to run a business and is a strong advocate for local business owners helping them to cut red tape and streamline unnecessary regulation.

Senator Umberg and his wife, Brigadier General (retired) Robin Umberg, have three children and seven grandchildren.

Roger Chou, MD, is Professor of Medicine and Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, OHSU, and the Pacific Northwest EPC Director. Dr. Chou’s is trained in internal medicine and is internationally recognized as an expert in opioids and pain. Dr. Chou has led over 70 systematic reviews, including numerous reviews on pain, opioids, overdose prevention, and addiction. Dr. Chou has also conducted primary research on opioids. His reviews were used to develop the 2016 CDC opioid guideline and other high-impact guidelines in this area. He served on the Steering Committee for the 2016 CDC guideline, an NIH-convened research task force for low back pain, an NIH work group to inform the Federal Pain Research Strategy, a federal interagency work group on reducing adverse events associated with opioids, and a CDC opioid prescribing estimates workgroup. He served on a National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine committee on Evidence-based Clinical Practice Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for Acute Pain, serves on the National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic, was Coordinating Editor of the Cochrane Back and Neck Group and is now a Senior Editor of the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group, and is on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. He also serves as the methodologist for a number of past, and current, World Health Organization guideline development efforts.

I served my entire professional career as a state and federal prosecutor. As a state prosecutor for the first five years, I started with crimes such as speeding, theft and drunk driving, but within a short time, my cases changed to more serious crimes such as burglaries, robberies, crimes involving the abuse and neglect of children, and many violent crimes including murder.

Some of my most rewarding assignments, as well as some of the most heartbreaking, involved working directly with kids “in the system” for a variety of crimes often influenced by the poor choices of adults in their lives (but sometimes the result of their own life choices despite positive adult influences and many opportunities.) Many of these poor choices, by adults and juveniles, were related to some form of substance abuse. As a result of these experiences, I helped form and run the first full-time drug prosecution unit in Idaho history.

In 1987 I was appointed as an Assistant United States Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Idaho where I supervised the Organized Crime/Drug Enforcement Task Force – a group of agents, analysts and prosecutors who investigated and prosecuted high-level drug trafficking organizations including Los Angeles street gangs, drug cartels, methamphetamine manufacturers, and international drug smugglers and money launderers. Some of these cases involved decades of investigation working with state, federal and foreign law enforcement agencies in pursuit of evidence and witnesses across the United States and foreign countries such as Hong Kong, Thailand, Fiji, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, and various locations in Europe. Because of the nature of my caseload, I was also a sworn Special Deputy United States Marshall for most of my career.

In 1995, I served as Special Counsel to the Director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys in Washington D.C. where my primary assignments involved domestic terrorism, violent crime, juvenile justice, and narcotics.

As a result of my career experiences, I had the opportunity to teach in many places that included the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina, numerous state and regional law enforcement conferences, and five international organized crime seminars where I worked with prosecutors, judges, and police officers from the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Montenegro, and Croatia.

During this same time, I was also a passionate drug educator and speaker for schools, businesses, churches, law enforcement agencies, prevention groups, and other youth and parent organizations. One of my proudest personal and career achievements was the organization and implementation of the statewide "Enough is Enough” anti-drug campaign which produced community coalitions in every area of Idaho.

In 2011, after realizing that three decades of experience provided me with a unique opportunity to prevent much of the pain inflicted upon children, families, and communities because of substance abuse, I left government service in order to devote all of my time as a keynote speaker and trainer at local, state, regional and national conferences relating to drug policy, law enforcement, youth leadership, drug prevention, corporate training, and maintaining safe communities. I am particularly focused on national policies that impact youth substance abuse.

My speaking style combines real-life experiences as a federal drug prosecutor, working with kids, and my love of the outdoors. After life-long exposure to the darkest aspects of society, and the realization that these experiences affected my ability to appreciate some of life’s simplest pleasures, a growing interest in nature and wildlife photography led to my rediscovery of everything that is wonderful in life -- a world full of amazing people, beautiful landscapes, fascinating creatures, and boundless opportunities and adventures. Consequently, at the end of every presentation, I use stories and images to illustrate the dramatic difference that choices bring – either the darkness of a toxic and dangerous drug culture or a life filled with beauty, joy, children, families, friendships, safe communities, and healthy brains and bodies.

Union Tribune Article

Pen America

Voices of Hope Video

Ed and his wife Mary have formed a nonprofit charity called Song for Charlie, where they create and distribute social media campaigns and educational materials.  Their programs provide fact-based resources directly to young people in plain language and encourage healthier alternatives for managing stress.

Ed has a BS in Political Science from Santa Clara University and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Wesley Perkins

Dr. Perkins has published extensive research on alcohol and other drug problems among college students, adolescents, and young-to-middle aged adults in professional journals and is editor of a recent book on The Social Norms Approach to Preventing School and College Age Substance Abuse. He was a pioneer in work uncovering peer misperceptions of alcohol and other drug norms and developed the theory underlying the social norms approach to prevention. He also conducts research on problems of collegiate children of alcoholics, gender-related aspects of drug use, stress and drinking, religious-ethnic differences in drinking and other drug use, and evaluation studies of secondary school and university environments. He has delivered over 500 guest lectures, keynote addresses, workshops and research presentations for colleges, universities, secondary schools and professional conferences in the United States and internationally. Dr. Perkins has also served as a consultant to schools throughout the United States and to state and national drug abuse agencies and has testified at a Senate hearing on problems of alcohol abuse on campus. In 1999 he received the Outstanding Service Award by the Network of Colleges and Universities Committed to the Elimination of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse for his significant career contribution to prevention work in higher education at both the local and national level. In 2016 he received the Community Collaboration Award given by Success for Geneva’s Children, a New York organization dedicated to mobilizing the community to improve the lives of Geneva, NY children. The award recognized Dr. Perkins' work over a ten year period preparing multiple data books to enhance the community understanding of local youth health and well-being. Dr Perkins' work has been frequently cited in the press and television news coverage including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, National Public Radio, New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, and Time Magazine. His work has also been cited in The Times Educational Supplement in England and the Scotsman and the Herald in Scotland and his research was discussed by members of the Scottish Parliament in a formal Parliament session. He recently completed work as a project director on a project designing, implementing, and demonstrating the significant positive impact of a social norms marketing campaign to reduce alcohol abuse among Airmen age 18-24 at selected U.S. Air Force bases located in the U.S and international settings.

Dr. Perkins' other research interests and publications include studies of family roles and well-being among young adults and comparative studies of social values and religion in Great Britain and the United States. He is also conducting an extensive research project on forgiveness and health in the life course of young and middle-aged adults and research on social norms and bullying among adolescents in the U.S and the U.K

Personal web page:  http://people.hws.edu/perkins

Alcohol Project website:  http://www.AlcoholEducationProject.org

Youth Health and Safety Project:  http://www.YouthHealthSafety.org

YouTube video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVIBfY35dGw&feature=plcp

Dominic aims to bring light to darkness through raw and bold storytelling. His messaging has consistently been successful in effecting heart change in those who encounter it. Dominic’s desire is to use his God-given creative gifts to help set people free, save lives and change the world.

Since 2018, Dominic has owned his own business serving clients in a variety of industries with multimedia content. Dominic has created countless videos used for online marketing, entertainment, and educational purposes, amassing hundreds of millions of views around the globe. He has also served as a creative consultant to individuals and organizations on a mission to find their identities and tell their stories.

After over a decade of experience in various creative fields, Dominic has yet to lose his passion for telling powerful stories through video. His tenacity for excellence in multiple mediums has made him a versatile creative problem-solver. His commitment to glorify God in His work has enabled him to do more than he could have imagined as a young boy with a camera.

Substance and Addiction Prevention Branch

 Youth Cannabis Prevention Initiative

• Cannabis use among youth is more common than either binge drinking or smoking tobacco
  • According to the California Healthy Kids Survey, 16% of 11th graders are current cannabis users.

• Today’s youth are in a season of self-discovery, seeking meaning, connections, independence, and learning how to regulate and manage their emotions.
  • Youth are increasingly turning to cannabis in this developmental stage to bond with friends and to cope with day-to-day stressors
• Under age cannabis use affects two key pillars of mental health:
• Social well-being – how youth socialize, bond, and make meaningful connections with others
• Emotional well-being – how youth cope with mental health challenges
• Cannabis use in youth is associated with:
  • Impairments in cognition including memory, learning, and attention
  • Increased risk of psychotic, mood, and addictive disorders
  • Increased risk of mental health issues
• In order to support and encourage local communities and partners to get involved in the campaign, CDPH will be hosting regular webinars – knowledge sharing opportunities to utilize campaign learnings and materials, and will provide other resources.
• CDPH will also put together educational toolkits for local communities and partners that provide accurate and actionable materials, such as conversation guides, fact sheets, youth mental health support resources, and more.

Dr. Halpern-Felsher is a developmental psychologist whose research has focused on cognitive and psychosocial factors involved in adolescents’ and young adults’ health-related decision-making, perceptions of risk and vulnerability, health communication, and risk behavior. Her research has focused on understanding and reducing health risk behaviors such as tobacco use, alcohol and marijuana use, risky driving, and risky sexual behavior. Her research has been instrumental in changing how providers discuss sexual risk with adolescents and has influenced national policies regulating adolescent and young adult tobacco use. As part of the Tobacco Center's of Regulatory Science (TCORS), she is the PI on an NIH/NCI and FDA-funded longitudinal study examining adolescents’ and young adults’ perceptions regarding as well as initiation, continuation, and cessation of current and new tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. Dr. Halpern-Felsher is also the founder and director of the Tobacco Prevention Toolkit, an online curricular aimed at reducing and preventing youth tobacco use. Dr. Halpern-Felsher’s research and committee work have been instrumental in setting policy at the local, state, and national level. In California, Dr. Halpern-Felsher’s research was cited in support of school-based tobacco education initiatives within California’s Tobacco Education Research Oversight Committee’s 2012 Masterplan, and again in their 2017 Masterplan. This Masterplan sets funding priority areas for research, education and intervention for California. Dr. Halpern-Felsher is also collaborating with the California Department of Education to develop, implement and evaluate new school-based tobacco prevention and education materials. At the national level, Dr. Halpern-Felsher’s research was highlighted in the 2012 Surgeon General Report, ”Preventing Tobacco Use among Youth and Young Adults,” and Dr. Halpern-Felsher contributed to the chapter on Clinical interventions: The role of health care providers in the prevention of youth tobacco use. Dr. Halpern-Felsher has been a member of five Institute of Medicine, National Academies of Sciences committees focusing on adolescent and young adult health risk behavior. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine and currently serves on the Council for the Society for Pediatric Research (SPR), and Co-Chairs the SPR Mentoring Committee. In 2007, Dr. Halpern-Felsher became one of the Program Directors for the NIH/NIDDK-funded Short-Term Research Experience for Underrepresented Persons (STEP-UP), High School Program. She has received two NIH 5-year grants to coordinate this program thus far. For this Step-Up Program, Dr. Halpern-Felsher mentors and supervises 22-25 junior and senior high school students each year. These high students are recruited throughout the country, and conduct their 8-10 weeks of research in their hometown. In addition to mentoring high school students, Dr. Halpern-Felsher has been a mentor to over 75 graduate and medical students and postdoctoral fellows.

James J. Mahoney, III, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and Clinical Neuropsychologist in the Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry and the Department of Neuroscience at the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI) and West Virginia University (WVU) School of Medicine. Dr. Mahoney is currently Director of Addictions Research at the RNI and previously served as Chair of the Research Oversight Committee in his primary department. Prior to joining WVU, Dr. Mahoney completed his doctoral training at the University of Houston and completed specialized post-doctoral training in neuropsychology at the University of Virginia. He has accumulated over 20 years of research experience, most of which have focused on the treatment and assessment of substance use disorders. Dr. Mahoney has co-authored 68 peer-reviewed manuscripts (25 first/senior authored), has published several book chapters and a textbook focusing on substance use, and has presented original research findings at several international conferences. Since beginning his position at WVU, Dr. Mahoney has served as co-investigator on several externally funded proposals including a NIDA funded UG3/UH3 award. Dr. Mahoney’s specific areas of research focus includes cognitive sequelae related to substance use as well as the investigation of various forms of neuromodulation, including deep brain stimulation, focused ultrasound, and transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of substance use disorders.

CNN Story Brain Stimulator

Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development. Providing a registry of Experimentallhy Proven Programs.

The Blueprints mission is to provide a registry of evidence-based interventions that are effective in reducing antisocial behavior and promoting a healthy course of youth development and adult maturity.

Most programs implemented in communities to improve youths’ lives, unfortunately, do not produce the hoped-for effects when rigorously evaluated, or cost more to implement than they produce in benefits. Blueprints promotes only those interventions with the strongest scientific support. It does so by providing a list of interventions certified as Promising, Model or Model Plus that communities can adopt with confidence.

Interventions certified by Blueprints are family, school, and community-based and target all levels of need — from broad prevention programs that promote positive behaviors while decreasing negative behaviors to highly-targeted programs for at-risk children, troubled teens or formerly incarcerated adults that get them back on track.

Angie Ferguson has made it her mission to protect the futures of teens and young adults from drug and alcohol devastation. As the Executive Director of Drug Free Clubs of America since 2012, she has built collaborations with health care, education, military, business, and community leaders in over 100 communities to combat substance-based threats to adolescents.  Under her leadership, Angie and her team have strengthened and expanded their proven prevention program.

DFCA applies a practical strategy to delivering tangible tools, reinforcements, education, and leadership opportunities to students, schools, parents, and community members.  Its methods have been independently validated by formally trained social psychologists and its positive outcomes have been identified by PhD level researchers.

Angie and DFCA have been recognized for contributions to the drug prevention industry through the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award, the United States Attorney Community Outreach Award, as a Rotarian Jefferson Award Finalist, and featured in a book titled, Not Far From Me, which won the 2019 Schwartz Prize for outstanding work.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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 of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Lee has received multiple prestigious analytics and practice excellence awards including INFORMS Franz Edelman award, Daniel H Wagner prize, and the Caterpillar and Innovative Applications in Analytics Award for novel cancer therapeutics, bioterrorism emergency response and mass dispensing for casualty mitigation, personalized disease management, machine learning for best practice discovery, transforming clinical workflow and patient care, vaccine immunity prediction, and reducing hospital acquired conditions. Dr. Lee is an INFORMS Fellow. She was also inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows, the first IE/OR engineer to be nominated and elected for this honor.

• Episode from the Vault of High Truths

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.

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/

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 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.

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 Health (MIH) Team, better known as Community Paramedics.  She also provides trainings on Crisis Intervention Teams and Post Overdose Response Teams.

Tara received her undergrad from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Master’s from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has worked in behavioral health, both in the community and in the hospital, and emergency services environments. Her experience provides her with the knowledge to better bridge the two fields in their practices and beliefs. She spent ten years of her career working on Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Teams and trained others on the ACT Model. This foundation strengthened Tara’s belief that we must meet people where they are and treatment should be community-based to better engage people.

Tara places high value on bringing about creative, collaborative change, and often speaks on topics that are innovative and encourages others to rethink the way they perceive addiction, recovery and leadership. She addresses the need for new solutions that will empower communities by using their existing resources and working through issues and barriers. She often shares successful strategies and works with groups on how to implement system change. Tara is a passionate communicator who aims to serve her community.

Tara strongly strongly encourages inclusion of those with personal lived experiences and family members in change efforts. She enjoys connecting with others, sharing insights and experiences, and brainstorming ideas around change and transformation. Once you meet Tara, you will see she is an advocate for system change and has an unwavering passion to help those suffering from addiction as well as their family members. Her business and information technology education and experiences coupled with her clinical experiences allow her to be a visionary thinker with revolutionary ideas.

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.

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.

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 at local high schools and before the United States Congress and has participated in expert panels at CDC, SAMHSA, ONDCP, OWH, FDA, and NIH primarily on issues related to gender, reproduction, and addiction.

Dr. Triveni DeFries is an internist and addiction medicine physician from the Bay Area, CA. She is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine at University of California, San Francisco, where she also completed a fellowship in Primary Care Addiction Medicine. She previously worked with the Indian Health Service in the Navajo Nation where she focused on improving the use of medications for alcohol use disorder. She currently works at San Francisco General Hospital's general medicine primary care clinic and attends on the hospital's inpatient addiction medicine consult service. She has worked as a clinician consultant for the National Clinician Consultation Center's Substance Use Warmline since 2019. Her areas of interest are in addressing unhealthy alcohol use and immigrant health.

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

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

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.

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 parents of three grown sons. They currently live in Indianapolis, Indiana, with their Maltese dog Mimi (that he claims to hate but really loves).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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/

Marc is a psychotherapist in private practice in Boulder, CO and the past President of the Four Corners Group Psychotherapy Society. He helps clients that have a harmful relationship to their inherent aggression or who are stuck in the pain of their repetition compulsions. Many of his clients struggle with addiction, anxiety, and self-sabotage. Marc helps people uncover and destroy the unconscious barriers that cripple them by using a blend of Modern Psychoanalytic and Contemplative Psychotherapy. His therapeutic style can best be described as irreverent with surprising moments of profound depth. Listen to Marc's podcast, From The Ashes.

 marc-azoulay.com

Stuart Reece, MD

Dr. Stuart Reece is a family physician working in Brisbane with a special interest in the medical treatment of drug addiction.  He is interested both in the underlying pathophysiology of drug addiction – how drugs work on the body and becomes so destructive to long term health – and also in the treatment of drug addiction including its radical cure.  He is one of the Australian pioneers of the use of both implant naltrexone and flumazenil infusions and implants for drug addictive disorders.  Dr Reece has written many papers on the pathophysiology of opioid addiction.  Dr Reece has a long-standing interest in cannabis dependency particularly as it relates to its neurotoxicity in both the adult and developing human organism, and cannabis genotoxicity, epigenotoxicity and chromosomal toxicity which has downstream effects lasting for multiple generations.  For these reasons, Dr Reece has done research on cellular and organismal aging in multiple addictions, and cannabis induced neurotoxicity and genotoxicity as reflected in the incidence of both birth defects and cancer development both in exposed adults, and in the offspring of exposed individuals and subsequent generations.  Dr Reece extensively uses advanced space-time statistical analytical techniques and the formal techniques of causal inference to analyze not just associations across space and time simultaneously but also to quantitatively evaluate the evidence for truly causal relationships.  Dr. Reece was appointed and now re-appointed a Professor in the School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences at both the University of Western Australia and Edith Cowan University in recognition of his many contributions to our understanding of the toxicophysiology and treatment of drug addiction.

Luis Chaparro is a freelance journalist working at the border between Texas and Mexico. He specializes in investigative journalism in Latin America criminal organizations, drugs and immigration.

Instagram: @LuisKuryaki

Twitter: LuisKuryaki

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LuisChaparro

Website: https://www.lchaparro.com

Aaron Weiner is a board-certified Psychologist and addiction specialist, and speaks nationally on the topics of addiction, behavioral health, and the impact of drug policy on public health.   He earned his doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and completed his fellowship in Addiction Psychology at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.  His perspective is informed by years of experience growing and directing addiction service lines for hospitals and healthcare systems, the current state of medical and psychological research, and his own observations in private practice.  Dr. Weiner is the President-Elect of the Society of Addiction Psychology, a member of the Physician Speakers Bureau for the National Safety Council, and on the Science Advisory Board for Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

Dr. Aaron Weiner’s website.

Dr. Weiner’s article in Newsweek

Mental Health Hygiene article

Dr. Bader has worked in a variety of treatment settings including residential, outpatient, private practice, and Native American health care. She spends time in the sport environment in collegiate athletic departments, working with professional teams, and Olympic athletes. She currently compliments the multi-disciplinary team at Women’s Recovery by serving as the Chief Clinical Officer, advancing treatment for women. In addition, she maintains a private practice offering counseling, consultation, educational presentations, and sport psychology services. She authored a chapter in the evidenced based book, Cannabis in Medicine. She serves on the Speakers Bureau for the National Marijuana Initiative as a subject matter expert on emerging research, addiction and treatment.

Elizabeth ‘Libby’ Stuyt, MD

Dr. Stuyt is a board-certified Addiction Psychiatrist and has worked in the addiction/behavioral health field since 1990. She was the Medical Director for the Circle Program, a 90-day inpatient treatment program, funded by the state of Colorado, for persons with co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse who have failed other levels of treatment from 1999 to 2020. She retired from this position in May 2020 in order to spend more time attempting to educate as many people as possible on the un-intended consequences she has seen from the commercialization of marijuana in Colorado, focusing primarily on the deleterious effects of high potency THC on the developing brain and mental health.

Sir Robin Murray, FMedSci FRS

Professor Sir Robin Murray is a Professor of Psychiatric Research at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), King’s College London and a Fellow of the Royal Society. He is ranked as one of the most influential researchers in psychiatry by Thomson Reuters’ Science Watch and 3rd in schizophrenia research. He is one of only 5 psychiatrists ever elected as Royal Society Fellows. In 2011, he was awarded a Knighthood for services to medicine. He has won most of the major prizes in psychiatry and has been honored with awards from countries throughout the world including the USA, Germany, Finland, Italy, Brazil and Denmark. In 2005, he was chosen as one of the top role models in medicine by the British Medical Association.

Murray is the recipient of the Schizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS) Lifetime Achievement Award for 2020. His work challenged the prevailing view of schizophrenia as an adult-onset brain disease, instead demonstrating that it is in part a neurodevelopmental disorder fueled by insults to the brain during early life. He has identified that environmental and social factors are of great importance in determining susceptibility to psychosis. He found that migrants to the United Kingdom have a much greater incidence of psychosis than their counterparts back home, which appears largely due to social adversity. Robin also identified an increased risk of schizophrenia following heavy use of cannabis, particularly in adolescence, and often speaks publicly about this.

He currently researches the molecular effects of THC, the main psychotogenic ingredient of cannabis, and another component known as CBD, which appears to partly block the effects of THC; the high THC/CBD ratio in modern skunk cannabis carries more risk than traditional marijuana. Robin is now most interested in the interaction between predisposing genes and environmental factors in causing psychosis. He treats patients within the National Psychosis Unit at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust.

Professor Sir Robin Murray graduated in medicine at University of Glasgow in 1968 and began his training in psychiatry in 1972 at the Maudsley Hospital in London.  He started researching at the IoP in 1975 where he has, for the most part, remained ever since.

Rachel L. Levine, M.D.

Admiral, U.S. Public Health Service

Assistant Secretary for Health

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

 Admiral Rachel L. Levine serves as the 17th Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the head of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. She fights every day to improve the health and well-being of all Americans. She’s working to help our nation overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and build a stronger foundation for a healthier future – one in which every American can attain their full health potential. ADM Levine’s storied career, first, as a physician in academic medicine focused on the intersection between mental and physical health, treating children, adolescents, and young adults. Then as Pennsylvania’s Physician General and later as Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health, she addressed COVID-19, the opioid crisis, behavioral health and other public health challenges.

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health (OASH)

HHS Overdose Prevention Strategy 2021

Listen to Dr. Nora Volkow’s discussion with Dr. Roneet Lev on the gold standard for addiction, substance use disorder treatment, innovations in drug treatment, naloxone, emergency treatment, stigma, decriminalization, marijuana, and more.  This podcast includes Dr. Nora Volkow  keynote presentation at the Western Regional Opioid & Stimulant Summit of November 2021.

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.

Listen and learn why I am jealous of diarrhea.

I will list the top 10 accomplishments of 2022, Failures, and Hope for the future.

Here are links to:

International Academy on Science and Impact of Cannabis

Fentanyl Testing Tool

Emergency Department Drug Surveillance

Here are 6 reasons I envy infectious diseases:

#1:  Mapping

#2:  Treatment

#3: Contact tracing and Friend treatment

#4: Removing the source of disease

#5: Recuperation Hotels

#6:  Primary prevention, or Vaccines

This High Truths finale is dedicated to you and to answering your questions.

The CDC announced that our predicted 12-month overdose rate has exceeded 100,000 people. That’s like an airplane a day falling out of the sky. More people 18 to 45 year old died of fentanyl then died of COVID. And while fentanyl is the driver of deaths, I have not met a single patient that used fentanyl that did not start out priming their brain at a young age with marijuana. Not one.

Listen to our esteemed experts as they share High Truths Highlights of 2021 and Hopes for 2022.

Dr. Bertha Madras is a professor of psychobiology at Harvard Medical School and former Deputy Director for Demand Reduction at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, ONDCP. She has numerous scientific publications, courses, patents, and awards. I followed Dr. Madras’s service at ONDCP and she has been an invaluable mentor.

Dr. Ken Finn practices pain medicine in Colorado, he is the editor of the first medical textbook on Cannabis in Medicine, is President of the American Board of Pain Medicine, and is my colleague as Vice President of IASIC, the International Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis.

Joe Eberstein is a certified prevention specialist and member of SAMHSA region 9 Prevention Technology Transfer Center. He is the program manager for the San Diego Marijuana Prevention Initiative and is my colleague at CCR, Center for Community Research.

Since recording this episode, Senator Melissa Melendez, California, will sponsor the Fentanyl Bill Dr. Lev wrote that will include fentanyl in all drug screens when ordered in a hospital.

Edward Byrne

Edward Byrne is a Special Agent with Homeland Security Investigations, currently assigned to the San Diego Office and is a member of Narcotics Task Force (NTF) Team 10 that is tasked with investigating opioid overdose deaths in San Diego county. He has expert experience working border cases involving fentanyl and 4ANPP, the immediate precursor to fentanyl, and works in partnership with other agencies, including U.S. Postal Service, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and local police departments regarding fentanyl investigations.

Special Agent Byrne is involved in federal investigations related to the emerging international trends of the illicit manufacturing and smuggling of fentanyl and it’s analogues.

HBO Special. Crime of the Century. 

Natalie Laub MD, MHSP 

Dr. Natalie Laub is an attending Physician at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego where she is the Program Director for Child Abuse Pediatrics. She is an assistant professor of pediatrics at UCLA.

Dr. Natalie Laub  is an assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego and serves as the fellowship director for the Child Abuse Pediatrics fellowship program. She completed residency in Boston and her child abuse fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia before she finally left the east coast for sunny San Diego. Her research interests include improving systems of care to better identify child abuse victims, illicit ingestions in children, and physician wellbeing.

Anthony P. Albanese, MD

Dr. Albanese is a gastroenterologist, hepatologist and addiction medicine specialist who has over 25 years of experience in clinical medicine and medical education. He works with VA medical centers and their university affiliates to enhance interprofessional faculty education and develop, expand, and enhance Graduate Medical Education (GME) in accordance with the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability (VACAA) and MISSION Act initiatives. Dr. Albanese is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine and is Chief of the Hepatology Division for the VA Northern California Healthcare System based in Sacramento.  He is President of the California Society of Addiction Medicine and Chairman of the State Chapters Council for the American Society of Addiction.  Albanese attended Oral Roberts University for undergraduate and medical school training. He trained in internal medicine in New York at St Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital and continued for gastrointestinal and addiction medicine fellowship. He obtained further training in hepatology at the University of Miami.

ASAM, American Society of Addiction Medicine

High Truths on Drugs and Addiction

Episode #48 High Truths on Drugs and Addiction with Dr. Ilse Wiechers on Benzodiazepines

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Benzodiazepines are additive to opioids in depressing the central nervous system. Safe Prescribing must include opioid stewardship, benzodiazepine stewardship and consideration that opioids, anxiety medications, stimulant medications, sleep aids, and marijuana have additive effects. The Veterans Administration have been innovators in safe prescribing with education to their prescribers and patients.

Ilse Wiechers, MD MPP, MHS

Dr. Wiechers is a geriatric psychiatrist with additional expertise in health policy and health services research. She works in the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in VA Central Office leading several national mental health programs that focus on evidence-based psychopharmacology, quality improvement, and geriatric mental health. Dr. Wiechers specializes in providing clinical care for Veterans with late-life mood, anxiety and trauma-related disorders. She teaches extensively to interprofessional healthcare audiences at all levels of training and experience. She is a collaborator on several grants focused on improving the quality of psychotropic prescribing and also serves as an operational partner for several VA-funded studies. She is also deeply engaged in advocacy and policy work through her service to professional organizations (American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry and American Psychiatric Association).

Dr. Wiechers earned her MD and MPP at Duke, did her psychiatry residency at MGH and McLean Hospitals, and her geriatric psychiatry fellowship at Yale. She is an alumna of the VA Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment, the Yale RWJF/VA Clinical Scholars Program, and the John A. Hartford Foundation’s Center of Excellence in Geriatric Medicine and Geriatric Psychiatry Training Program.

https://ilsewiechers.com/about

VA Clinical Tools

Public webpage with all of the VA Academic Detailing educational materials

(free for public use)

https://www.pbm.va.gov/PBM/academicdetailingservicehome.asp

https://www.va.gov/PAINMANAGEMENT/Opioid_Safety/Clinical_Tools.asp

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Insomnia Coach webpage 

https://mobile.va.gov/app/cbt-i-coach

Christine L. Miller, Ph.D.

Christine L. Miller received her B.S. degree in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the Neuroscience Training Program at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Her academic career with the University of Michigan and Johns Hopkins University, was devoted to researching neurobiological mechanisms that underlie psychotic disorders. Now retired from academia, she volunteers her time as a science advisor for Smart Approaches to Marijuana www.learnaboutsam.org and Moms Strong www.momsstrong.org, educating the general public and legislators about the causal link between marijuana use and serious mental health impacts, including psychosis and suicide. Dr. Miller has continued to author scientific papers and reviews, most recently book chapters entitled “The Impacts of Marijuana on Mental Health”, published by Oxford University Press in 2018 and “Marijuana and Suicide: Case-control Studies, Population Data, and Potential Neurochemical Mechanisms”, published by Springer Press in 2020.

Dr. Miller reviewed the Bradford-Hill Criteria for epidemiological causation verses association as it related to marijuana and psychosis.

1. A strong association
2. A dose-response relationship
3. Timing of the association
4. Administration of THC in the clinic
5. Drug-seeking behavior risk does not seem to explain the impact
6. Quitting the habit resolves psychosis (in 50%)
7. Plausible biological mechanism

You can find more details on the Bradford Hills Criteria on the IASIC website library under Psychosis, the International Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis.

Dr. Miller’s Marijuana Psychosis Facts:

• 5x risk chronic psychotic disorder for heavy marijuana users
• 7 x increase risk suicide attempt in Caucasians who begin using in teens
• Recovery of a psychotic break from marijuana occurs 50% of the time compared to recovery other drugs 70% – 95% recovery
• Risk of violence in any drug induced psychosis is 9-fold increase compared to those with psychosis has nothing to do with drugs
  • Violence risk is 18-fold from marijuana induced psychosis compared to controls
• Psychotic individual who are not using drugs and taking medication are very unlikely to commit violence

Dr. Miller is honored by the introduction in this podcast, but wishes to make clear her knowledge is based on the meticulous work of renowned epidemiologists, for which she can take no credit.

Richard A. Rawson, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus at the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and a Research Professor at the Vermont Center for Behavior and Health at the University of Vermont.  He received a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Vermont in 1974. Dr. Rawson conducted numerous clinical trials on pharmacological and psychosocial/behavioral addiction treatments for the treatment of individuals with cocaine and methamphetamine disorders. He has conducted numerous treatment service evaluations including an evaluation of the Vermont Hub and Spoke treatment network.  He was a member of the Federal Methamphetamine Advisory Group to Attorney General Janet Reno (1996-2000) and has represented the US at numerous international meetings on methamphetamine.  He has led addiction research and training projects for the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the U.S. State Department, exporting science-based knowledge to many parts of the world. Dr. Rawson has published 3 books, 40 book chapters, and over 250 peer-reviewed articles and has conducted over 1,000 workshops, paper presentations, and training sessions.

Contingency Management Mobile Applications

• DynamiCare
• reSET
• WEconnect

Contingency Management Resources

• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network online course Contingency Management for Healthcare Settings (https://attcnetwork.org/centers/northwest-attc/news/new-online-course-contingency-management-healthcare-settings).
• The Motivational Incentives Suite—a collection of tools and other resources to help organizations understand and implement CM (http://www.bettertxoutcomes.org/bettertxoutcomes/).
• The ATTC Network’s guidance on the founding principles of CM (https://attcnetwork.org/centers/network-coordinating-office/contingency-management-part-2-founding-principles).

About Sam Quinones

Sam Quinones  is a Los Angeles-based freelance journalist and author of four books of narrative nonfiction. His latest book is The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth.

In The Least of Us (published October 2021), Quinones chronicles the emergence of a drug-trafficking world producing massive supplies of dope cheaper and deadlier than ever, marketing to the population of addicts created by the nation’s opioid epidemic, as the backdrop to tales of Americans’ quiet attempts to recover community through simple acts of helping the vulnerable.

The Least of Us follows his landmark Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic (Bloomsbury, 2015), which ignited awareness of the epidemic that has cost the United States hundreds of thousands of lives, and become deadliest drug scourge in the nation’s history.

Dreamland won a National Book Critics Circle award for the Best Nonfiction Book of 2015.

It was also selected as one of the Best Books of 2015 by Amazon.com, Slate.com, the Daily Beast, Buzzfeed, Seattle Times, Boston Globe, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Entertainment Weekly, Audible, and in the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Business by Nobel economics laureate, Prof. Angus Deaton, of Princeton University.

In 2019, Dreamland was selected as one the Best 10 True-Crime Books of all time based on lists, surveys, and ratings of more than 90 million Goodread readers.A Young Adult version of Dreamland was released in July of 2019.

His first two highly acclaimed books grew from his 10 years living and working as a freelance writer in Mexico (1994-2004).

True Tales From Another Mexico: The Lynch Mob, the Popsicle Kings, Chalino and the Bronx was released in 2001. It is a cult classic of a book from Mexico’s vital margins – stories of drag queens and Oaxacan Indian basketball players, popsicle makers and telenovela stars, migrants, farm workers, a narcosaint, a slain drug balladeer, a slum boss, and a doomed tough guy.

In 2007, he came out with Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration. In it, Quinones narrates the saga of the Henry Ford of Velvet Painting, and of how an opera scene emerged in Tijuana, and how a Zacatecan taco empire formed in Chicago. He tells the tale of the Tomato King, of a high-school soccer season in Kansas, and of Mexican corruption in a small LA County town. Threading through the book are three tales of a modern Mexican Huck Finn. Quinones ends the collection in a chapter called “Leaving Mexico” with his harrowing tangle with the Narco-Mennonites of Chihuahua.

Sam Quinones is formerly a reporter with the L.A. Times, where he worked for 10 years (2004-2014).  He is a veteran reporter on immigration, gangs, drug trafficking, the border.

Contact him at www.samquinones.com or samquinones7@yahoo.com.

Supply & Demand by Dr. Lev

Let’s talk about supply and demand. Which came first the chicken or the egg?  The chicken and egg metaphor are used as a causality dilemma.   In drugs, what is more critical the supply of drugs coming in from across our borders or the demand for drugs by our citizens?

Let’s look at history to learn.  During the Vietnam War some of our troops were exposed to heroin and became addicted, and yet when they returned home their heroin addiction ended. Speaking to America’s Drug Czar during the Vietnam war, it is clear that heroin availability was limited in the United States and therefore heroin use did not follow our troops home from Vietnam. The was lack of supply.

Fast forward to the prescription opioid epidemic.  The driver of overdose deaths was the supply of prescriptions, peaking in 2013. The drugs were infused by the medical community, myself included. Today, prescription pain pills are no longer the leading cause of overdoses. Ending the supply of prescription opioids ended that epidemic.

In the beginning of this century deaths from illicit fentanyl did not exist.  Today – fentanyl is the driver of all overdose deaths.

Today methamphetamine use is almost considered normal for people who are homeless.

Supply matters.

And scientifically speaking —  the egg came before the chicken. It is not such a big dilemma.

1. Health claims
2. Normalization of use
3. Disaster is finally recognized
4. Lawsuits

Andrew Kolodny, M D

Dr. Kolodny previously served as Chief Medical Officer for Phoenix House, a national non profit addiction treatment agency and Chair of Psychiatry at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Kolodny has a long-standing interest in public health. He began his career working for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in the Office of the Executive Deputy Commissioner. For New York City, he helped develop and implement multiple programs to improve the health of New Yorkers and save lives, including city-wide buprenorphine programs, naloxone overdose prevention programs and emergency room-based screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) programs for drug and alcohol misuse.

Dr. Kolodny’s testimony before for the United States Congress is available here.

Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. May 14, 2014
America’s Addiction to Opioids: Heroin and Prescription Drug Use

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. January 17, 2018
Unintended Consequences: Medicaid and the Opioid Epidemic

Committee on Energy & Commerce, Subcommittee on Health, U.S. House of Representatives. February 28, 2018
Combatting the Opioid Crisis

See the listing of Dr. Kolodny’s publications on PubMed
here.

Awards and Honors

• University of Chicago Leon I. Goldberg Award (2019)

Patrick Foley

Patrick Foley has over 20 years of experience in the addiction treatment field. Patrick currently works for McAllister Institute, serving people with various dependency issues. Mr. Foley is a coaching consultant and a frequent speaker and subject matter expert regarding adolescent dependence promoting solution-based goals that navigate clients through the recovery process. Patrick is certified by CCAPP as licensed treatment professional.

McAlister Institute

What is a popped lung?  It is called called a pneumothorax and a collapse of a lung – like a popped balloon.

Is a serious and potentially life threatened problem because the lung is not working causing lack of oxygen.  It can even progress to a tension pneumothorax which is a restriction on the heart preventing it from beating normally.

Chris’s Chest X-ray

 Chris came to the emergency department with chest pain on August 2020, in the midst of a pandemic. He was taken straight to the COVID section of the emergency department as medical staff dressed in helmets, masks and gowns treated him for possible COVID.  His chest x-ray told a different story.  His diagnosis was pneumothorax from marijuana use. Anxiety and isolation during the pandemic increased his marijuana use by smoking with a bong and by vaping.

The right side of the X-ray picture is Chris’s normal left lung. It has white hazy marking throughout the properly inflated lung going from top to bottom of the rib cage. Think of the lung as a balloon that is inflated. The left side of the X-ray represents Chris’s right collapsed lung.  The balloon has popped. The dark, blacker area is air with no lung. The white hazy part of the lung close to the midline and away from the outer rib cage is the collapsed, deflated balloon. The collapsed lung takes up only a small section of the total chest area and does not expand throughout the entire field as it should.

It not uncommon to suffer pulmonary barotrauma associated with deep inhalation and holding the breath while using marijuana. It happens with vaping, inhaling a joint or bong.

Chris was treated with a chest tube that reinflated his lung. He has not smoked since this happened to him. Chris is an intelligent high functioning young man who read about harms of smoking during a pulmonary pandemic but also read about possible immune benefit of marijuana. He admits to having an addiction and reading sources that supported his habit.

Thank you Chris for bravery in sharing your story. You will be educating others about the reality of marijuana use.

Learn more about pulmonary issues with cannabis in the IASIC library,  the International Academy on Science and Impact of Cannabis.

Bishop Jethro C. James, Jr.

Bishop Jethro C. James, Jr., Senior Pastor of Paradise Baptist Church, was born in Paterson, New Jersey, the eldest of seven children to the late Jethro Sr. and Mary James.  Most of his childhood years were spent in Powhatan, Virginia where he attended the public-school system before returning to Paterson, NJ with his family.   He continued his education in Paterson, graduating from John F. Kennedy High School and furthered his education at Bergen Community College and Rutgers University earning a certificate in Labor Studies.  He attended the Lamb’s School of Ministry in Brooklyn, New York and Christian Bible Institute of New Jersey where he received a Doctor of Divinity Degree. Gifted to serve the church community as mentor and advisor to pastors and congregations, alike he was consecrated to the office of Bishop on April 17, 2010.  He was affirmed as a Bishop in the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International on April 23, 2014, under the leadership of Bishop Paul S. Morton, International Presiding Bishop. He currently serves the Fellowship as the New Jersey State Director of Social Action under the leadership of Bishop Rudy V. Carlton, Regional Bishop Kenneth L. Robinson, Presiding Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III and Founder, Bishop Paul S. Morton.

Bishop James is President of the Newark/North Jersey Committee of Clergy.    He is also a member of several civic and fraternal organizations and is very active within the community.  He serves as a chaplain for New Jersey State Police Departments and has been appointed by the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey to serve a member of the Attorney Legal Ethics Committee.  In addition, he serves as chairperson of the Human Services Advisory Council of Essex County, chairperson of appropriations committee of FEMA, Community Advisor to the State of New Jersey Office of Homeland Security, along with a host of other affiliations.  He is certified by the State of New Jersey as a Social Worker.  An eloquent informed speaker Bishop James is often sought to address political and civic organizations nationwide. Bishop James served as a member or the Law & Justice Transition Team for Governor Phil Murphy and a Senior Advisor for NJ R.A.M.P. (Responsible Approached To Marijuana Policy).

In June 2006, after thirty-eight years of dedicated service, Bishop James retired from Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) in Newark.   Prior to his retirement, Bishop James was an Urban Development Executive, responsible for the urban centers from Paterson to Camden.

Bishop James is married Dr. Kim Yancey James.  They are the proud parents of a son, Terrill, a daughter, Danielle and chosen daughter, Tanisha.  They are also the grandparents of a 2 granddaughters, Taylor Jewel and Sofia-Jo  and 2 grandsons; Isaiah Nathaniel and Micah Elisha.

Catherine Antley, M.D.

Catherine Antley, M.D. graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, completed her residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at Duke University Medical Center and fellowship in dermatopathology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.  She is board certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology and in Dermatopathology and is a Fellow of the American Society of Dermatopathology. For 20 years she has served as laboratory director of Vermont Dermatopathology, a woman owned, independent dermatopathology lab serving VT, NY, and NH.  She has a strong interest in public health and prevention and exploring the impact of policy on addiction and health care costs. She has co-authored a number of Vermont Medical Society resolutions on cannabis and recently organized and led a delegation of 10 Vermonters to Iceland to learn about their 20 year history bringing down the country’s high addiction rates using their successful, science based prevention model. She recently contributed a chapter “Cannabis in Dermatology” to the textbook “Cannabis in Medicine, an Evidence Based Approach” edited by Dr. Ken Finn and published by Springer Nature.

Cannabis in Medicine: An Evidence Based Review

Dr. Timothy Brennan is one of the pioneers who is out to make addiction medicine specialty medical care more available in America.

Timothy K. Brennan MD, MPH

Dr. Brennan is the Director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospitals. He is also the Director of the Fellowship in Addiction Medicine Program at the Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai. Dr. Brennan has spoken at local, state, national and international levels about addiction policy issues, particularly as related to young adults. He is the co-editor of Lippincott’s “Essentials of Addiction Medicine”, and was appointed by Governor Cuomo to serve on the Medical Review Board at the New York State Justice Center.

He is a frequent contributor in the media regarding addiction issues and has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CBS News, and NPR. Dr. Brennan volunteers as a member of the Adolescent Advisory Panel at the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.

Dr. Brennan completed his Fellowship in Addiction Medicine at The Addiction Institute, a Fellowship in Medical Ethics at Harvard Medical School, and a Residency in Pediatrics at New York Presbyterian Hospital / Weill Cornell Medical College. He also completed an intern year in Internal Medicine at Georgetown University Hospital. He received a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, and a combined MD/MPH from Tulane University School of Medicine and School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

He is Board Certified in Pediatrics by the American Board of Pediatrics and Board Certified in Addiction Medicine by the American Board of Preventive Medicine.

The American College of Academic Addiction Medicine – ACAAM

Additional Information on Dr. Brennan

https://www.mountsinai.org/profiles/timothy-k-brennan

The ASAM Essentials of Addiction Medicine

What is going on with Oregon Drug Laws? The state of Oregon made history, the first state in the United States to decriminalize the possession of all hard drugs on November 2020.  Marijuana was legalized in Oregon since 2014.

Is this a good idea, a bad idea, or a yet to be determined social experiment?

Oregon Measure 110, a ballot initiative funded by the Drug Policy Alliance, an advocacy group that promotes drug normalization, and passed with more than 58% of the vote. Possession of heroin, cocaine, meth, ecstasy or other drugs is no longer a criminal offense in Oregon. Possession may be a civil, not a criminal violation that may result in a fine or court ordered therapy, but not jail.

People in Oregon can carry small amounts of drugs. What is a small amount? Less than 1g of heroin, less than 2 g of meth, less than 40 pills of oxycodone.  You can judge if you think that is small or large.

Gerald Posner’s book Pharma uncovers the history of the pharmaceutical industry and the reasons behind distrust.

About Gerald Posner

The author of thirteen acclaimed books, including New York Times nonfiction bestsellers Case Closed, Why America Slept and God’s Bankers. Posner was a finalist for the Pulitzer in History. “A merciless pit bull of an investigator” concluded the Chicago Tribune. The New York Times said his latest book (2020), PHARMA, was “a withering and encyclopedic indictment of a drug industry that often seems to prioritize profits over patients…[it] reads like a pharmaceutical version of cops and robbers.”

From Law to Writing

Posner was one of the youngest attorneys (23) ever hired by Cravath, Swaine & Moore. A Political Science major, he was a Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, where he was also a national debating champion. At Hastings Law School, he was an Honors Graduate and was the Law Review’s Associate Executive Editor. He was a litigation associate at the Wall Street law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore before leaving in 1981 to co-found Posner & Ferrara, a New York public interest law firm. Several years of a pro bono legal representation on behalf of surviving twins of Nazi experiments at the Auschwitz death camp led him to coauthor his first book in 1986, MENGELE: The Complete Story, a bestselling and critically acclaimed biography of the infamous Nazi “Angel of Death,” Dr. Josef Mengele. Read a profile on Gerald on how the Mengele book led to him to leave the law. Publishers Weekly explains how he changed from being a Wall Street lawyer to a bestselling nonfiction author. In the past, he was a regular panelist on the History Channel’s Sunday current events program.  He has been a freelance writer for many news magazines, and a regular contributor to NBC, the History Channel, CNN, FOX News, CBS, and MSNBC. He is represented by BrightSight Group for lectures about investigative journalism and his books. His wife, author, Trisha Posner, works with him on all projects.

https://www.posner.com/bio

Dr Mike Scott  MB ChB FRCP FRCA FFICM

Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at the Hospital of the University of PennsylvaniaDivision Chief Surgical & Neuroscience Critical Care Medicine
Medical Director, PENN E-LERT Telemedicine ICU Program
University of Pennsylvania

Biography

Dr. Mike Scott undertook his undergraduate medical training in the UK and Postgraduate training in the UK and Australia. He trained in internal medicine before doing anesthesiology and critical care medicine and has Fellowships with the Royal College of Physician’s, Royal College of Anaesthetists and Faculty for Intensive Care Medicine.

He was one of the first clinicians to adopt Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) principles in 2001 at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford UK and has championed it ever since. He was appointed a National Clinical Advisor in Enhanced Recovery for NHS Improvement in 2012. Mike has a keen research interest and has been investigator / Chief Investigator for multiple studies in analgesia, haemodynamic monitoring, fluid therapy and the stress response for surgery within an ERAS Protocol. He advocates opioid sparing analgesia and hemodynamic monitoring including bedside ultrasound as a standard of care. He was lead author of the Perioperative Quality Initiative for opioid sparing analgesia and recently co-author of the international multidisciplinary consensus statement on the prevention of opioid-related harm in adult surgical patients.

Dr. Scott is President of ERAS USA and co-author for some of the ERAS Society Consensus Guidelines, Chair of the ERAS Education Committee and is on the ERAS Society Executive Committee. Mike has lectured extensively around the world and has published clinical trials, editorials and review papers. He is Senior Editor for Anesthesia and Analgesia.

Dr. Scott moved to the USA from the UK at the end of 2016 to take up the position of Medical Director for Clinical Effectiveness and Division Chief of Critical Care medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, Richmond, Virginia.

He moved to take up the position of Division Chief at the University of Pennsylvania at the beginning of 2020 just in time for the COVID pandemic!

ERAS Resources

• Enhanced Recovery After Surgery
• Statement on prevention of opioid-related harm in surgery from international multidisciplinary healthcare professionals.

Glenn Ignazio lived his dream of being a decorated air force pilot and it all came crashing down after a terrible accident. He became addicted to opioids, lost his beloved career, faced divorce, and dealt with the pain of friends dying from suicide.  He seemingly lost everything as he was learning to walk again.  What is the secret to his resiliency?  Glenn explains Failing Forward.

About Glenn Ignazio

Glenn Ignazio is a military expert and public speaker, with experience in technology solutions for intelligence, defense, and Special Operations. His background as a Retired Air Force Special Operations commander and Defense Intelligence Technology innovator has made him a sought-after public speaker, media contributor, and inspiring storyteller.

Glenn is best known for his experience translating complex technology into tactical operations that strategically position critical solutions for commercial, defense, and government organizations. This reputation has led to professional expert and advisory engagements with the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for C4ISR, members of the UAE Royal Family, and defense agencies throughout Europe and Asia.

He has used various sensor and unmanned systems in security operations that included the protection of borders, ports, economic exclusion zones, and critical infrastructures. Further, he has conducted anti-piracy and counter-smuggling operations across the globe, including detecting, deterring, and preventing the illicit movement of weapons, drugs, trafficked humans, and technology.

In addition to his advanced technological expertise, Glenn has also conducted numerous civilian and combat rescues. Among these lifesaving rescues, Glenn personally negotiated a hostage release of a senior executive in the Middle East. He is also highly decorated with Air Medals, Air Force Commendation Medals, Special Operations Citations, and received United States Congressional Recognition for Combat Operations.

In 2022, Glenn will release a book where he chronicles the lessons of resilience, from high to low moments of his personal and professional life.

You can follow Glenn in Instagram: @theglennig and Facebook: @glennignazio, or on his website:https://www.glennignazio.com/

The opioid epidemic has a silver lining. It engaged the medical community in solution. All medical specialties have been activated in the issue of addiction and pain. And the medical community is rallying – with solutions and innovation in managing pain better with less addiction.

Alexis M. LaPietra, DO, FACEP

Dr. Alexis LaPietra is System Chief for Pain Management and Addiction Medicine as well as the Fellowship Director of the Emergency Medicine Pain Management Fellowship and Emergency Medicine Addiction Medicine Fellowship at St Joseph’s Health in NJ. She created the St Joseph’s Health Alternatives to Opioids (ALTO ^SM) program and founded the Pain Management/Addiction Medicine Section of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). She has been involved in multiple national educational initiatives with ACEP and is the current Chair for the PACED (Pain and Addiction Care in the ED) Accreditation Program.

In 2016 she received the Emergency Care Innovation of the Year Award from G.W. University Center for Healthcare Innovation as well as the American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians Practice Innovation Award. Dr. LaPietra’s work has been highlighted in The Annals of Emergency Medicine, NPR, NBC, The New York Times, Fox News, and CNN. Her work was the basis for the “ALTO in the ED Act,” part of the legislation included in the H.R.6- SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act signed into law by President Trump in October 2018.

Jo McGuire

Jo McGuire is a known advocate for safe and drug free workplaces, families, and communities with over ten years of experience in the drug and alcohol testing industry. She was appointed to serve on the Taxation, Banking & Civil Law workgroup for the Governor’s Task Force to regulate Amendment 64 in Colorado due to her expertise in the field of workplace drug and alcohol testing and represented the industry during the United Nations General Assembly on the World Drug Agreements. As a recognized subject matter expert, Jo is a highly requested national conference speaker, writer, and public policy advisor.

5 minutes of courage

National Drug & Alcohol Screening Association, NDASA

Paula D. Gordon, Ph.D.

Paula D. Gordon, Ph.D. is an educator, writer, analyst, researcher, speaker, consultant, and independent contractor. She has taught at many institutions including the California State University System, the George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Richmond. Her current teaching includes the Auburn University Center for Governmental Services and Eastern Kentucky University. Visit her websites at GordonHomeland.com, GordonPublicAdministration.com, GordonDrugAbusePrevention.comand GordonCancerTheory.com. Her newest website, GordonHumankind.com, includes a two-part copy of her dissertation, “Public Administration in the Public Interest” and a newly updated piece entitled “Wishes for the Family of Humankind”. The latter is also posted on the newly launched Global Futures Intelligence Systems website of The Millennium Project in the Global Ethics section at https://themp.org/challengegroup/15/resources/.

Dr. Gordon has taught a wide variety of courses at many different institutions of higher learning throughout the nation. Topics have included Homeland Security Policy; Leadership in Challenging and Catastrophic Situations; Planning and Preparedness for Homeland Security and Emergency Management Post 9/11 and Post Katrina; Some Key Challenges Facing Homeland Security and Emergency Management Post 9–11 and Post Katrina; Critical Infrastructure; Management and Organizational Behavior; Leading Organizational Change; Women and Leadership; Organization Development Theory; Policy and Complex Global Challenges; Marketing and Business Ethics; Public Administration; Public Policy Analysis; Management Decisions: Tools and Judgment; Organization, Management, and Leadership; Managerial Communication; Strategic Planning; Project Management; Group Dynamics; Unleashing Creativity; Problem Solving; and Organizational Health; and Service-Oriented Marketing and Business Practices.

Full Bio: http://lifeboat.com/ex/bios.paula.d.gordon

pgordon@starpower.net

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordonpaula/

http://GordonPublicAdministration.com

http://GordonHomeland.com
http://GordonDrugAbusePrevention.com

http://GordonHumankind.com (including “Wishes for the Family of Humankind”)

Doctoral Dissertation: Public Administration in the Public Interest
http://GordonPublicAdministration.com

Phillip A Drum, PharmD, FCSHP