High Truths on Drugs and Addiction

How should law enforcement, fire, hazmat, and hospitals respond to exposure to chemicals and drugs. Should hazmat to sterilize the area where a bag of fentanyl is found? Should we train for fentanyl exposure like we train for a tornado Diaster? Is fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction Do law enforcement officers suffer overdoses or a nociebo reaction? Nociebo is the cousin of Placebo. Placebo is a...

How has the landscape changed for Drug Crime? Listen to Monte Stile share his career experience as a federal prosecutor. Is smoking Hookah safer than marijuana? Sarah, a pharmacy student ask a question. Listen for an answer. Monte Stile 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, t...

Is there hope for severe addiction or substance use disorder? Absolutely, listen to Frank's inspiring story. Frank was a college professor in American Literature when he hit rock Botton due to addiction. He lives through skid row, homelessness, and convicted felon sitting in prison. While incarcerated he won a first place writing competition against 800 submissions. Ken tells his story and demonst...

What are some upcoming innovations for methamphetamine use disorder? Learn from Dr. Brooks Gentry how monoclonal antibodies can be the new MAT for meth. Intervexion Therapeutics Outlast Study W. Brooks Gentry, MD Dr. Brooks Gentry is a Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), where he has served as Vice-Chair for Research since 2002,...

The National Overdose Prevention Network, NOPN ,  held a Webinar titled "End of the X Waiver: A New Frontier in Addiction Treatment." Mary Maddux-Gonzalez interviewed Dr. Roneet Lev on the subject.  This podcast is a recording of that Webinar with permission by NOPN. Dr. Lev presents the history behind the X-Waiver, the ripple effects predicted from the change in policy, deconstructs stigma, and h...

What does the Bible say about Drug, Alcohol, and Addiction? Are there words of ancient wisdom that apply to our modern times?  I asked Rabbi Rabbi Efrem Goldberg is the Senior Rabbi of the Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS) , a rapidly growing congregation of over 1,000 families in Boca Raton, Florida. BRS is the largest Orthodox Synagogue in the Southeast United States. Rabbi Goldberg's warm and welcomin...

How do we educate our youth on the dangers of fentanyl? Song for Charlie has free educational resources. Listen to a conversation with Ed Ternan, father of Charlie, who pivoted his marketing career to overdose prevention. Ed Ternan’s professional background includes marketing communications, product development and project management. A pragmatic “problem solver,” he has extensive experience build...

Do all kids try Alcohol? Marijuana? Drugs? What are the social norms? Listen to the developer  of the Social Norms Theory, Dr. Wes Perkins, to learn how to use social norms to change risky behavior. Wesley Perkins WESLEY PERKINS received the B.A. in Sociology from Purdue University, an M.Div. degree from Yale University Divinity School, and the M.A. and Ph. D. in Sociology from Yale University. He...

Dead on Arrival is a heart wrenching documentary that is raw and real. Listen to Dominic Tierno the producer of the movie on why he made the movie and how it impacted him. Dominic Tierno has told stories through video since he was a child. As he grew into his teenage years, with the rise of social media, he realized he could use video to make an impact. Dominic won his first film festival award at...

  California Department of Public Health 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, an...

If Illicit Fentanyl as Weapon of Mass Destruction? Who better to ask than former Assistant Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Andrew Weber. Andy talks about getting to the upstream supply side of illegal fentanyl. Senior Fellow, The Janne E. Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons Andy Weber is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks’ Janne E. Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons. Mr. Weber has...

Dr. Karl Hill directs the Prevention Science Program and is a professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder, and is co-director of the prevention registry, Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development . Over the last thirty years he has focused on two key questions:  What are optimal family, peer, school and community environments that encourage healthy youth and adult...

Brain Surgery for Addiction? Listen to Dr. James Mahoney discuss his research on using deep brain stimulation with implanted electrodes that target the pleasure center of the brain to treat addiction. 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 Ne...

Blueprints for healthy youth contain over 100 randomized control evidence based program that at proven to prevent either youth drug use, violence, bullying, or other adverse behaviors. Not only that, primary prevention in youth saves money. Just before the DARE program did not end up being evidence based, does not mean there are not other programs that are successful. Our children are our future,...

Drug Testing at School? Is that crazy? Fun? Or smart drug prevention. Angie Ferguson talks about how drug testing is used as a reward and positive experience with Drug Free Clubs of America . 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 col...

Patty McCarthy, M.S., is the Chief Executive Officer of Faces & Voices of Recovery, a national recovery advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining Faces & Voices, she was a senior associate with the Center forSocial Innovation (C4), where she served as a deputy director of SAMHSA’s BRSS TACS initiative. Ms. McCarthy served for a decade as the director of Friends of Re...

Death Diaries is what I call the  research I did with Dr. Jason Doctor. We reviewed data on every single person who died of an unintentional medical overdose and compared the drugs on autopsy to what was prescribed to the person. This list of medications were diaries that lead to death.  The research changed my life as a doctor and how I prescribe medications. Dr. Jason Doctor is an Associate Prof...

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

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

What is the best approach for preventing youth with substance use disorder? Learn from Dr. Sid Puri who reaches kids with SUD in LA County. "Prevention begins at birth or before." "It's the end of casual drug use" - because of fentanyl Dr. Siddarth Puri Dr. Puri is the Associate Medical Director of Prevention at the division of Substance Abuse Prevention and Control (SAPC) at the Los Angeles Depar...

How does a retired bald DEA agent reach children about making the right choices when it comes to drugs? Rockwell Herron Developed “I Choose My Future” a drug prevention presentation for kids.  Since 2007 he delivered over 820 presentations in 15 countries to 165,000 kids ages 12 to 22. Rocky know about drugs from his service as a DEA Special Agent from 1990 to 202. He is the Alcohol and Other Drug...

Dr. Lynn Silver talks to High Truths about the history of marijuana legalization and best practices for policies that protect public health. Lynn Silver, MD, MPH, FAAP Pediatrician, public health researcher and advocate, Silver is Senior Advisor at the Public Health Institute (PHI) and Clinical Professor at University of California San Francisco. She directs PHI’s Prevention Policy Group, includin...

A recent publication in JAMA Pediatrics shows that mental health burdens are associated with prenatal cannabis exposure that persists from childhood to early adolescence. These are results from the Longitudinal ABCD (Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development) study. David Baranger, PhD I am a Neuroscientist and Postdoc at Washington University in St. Louis. My primary interest is in understanding how...

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

This High Truths podcast is a 2023 monologue as I review accomplishments of 2022 and present hopes for 2023. I welcome in the New Year with blessing of health, happiness and meaning to all. After two full seasons with over 100 guests there is still so much to discuss about drugs and addiction. We have a strong season ahead with High Truths, interesting guests and conversations. Who is wise? One wh...