News
For more than a decade, US opioid policy has been guided by a compelling but incomplete story: aggressive pharmaceutical marketing and overprescribing by physicians flooded communities with addictive pills, igniting an epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD) and death. This narrative drove sweeping supply-reduction measures, including dosage limits, forced tapers, patient abandonment, and intensified regulatory scrutiny of prescribers.
Recent news that U.S. drug overdose deaths dropped for a third straight year — and fell sharply in Connecticut — offers a moment of cautious hope. Yet new street drugs emerge and the death toll remains far too high. It is time to confront a harder truth: reducing the supply of prescription opioids has not solved the crisis.
The story of the reversal of Measure 110 is incomplete
Street Roots Publishes My Op-Ed, Recriminalizing Drugs Won’t Fix Oregon’s Overdose Crisis
Deconstructing Toxic Narratives. Data, Disparities, and a New Path Forward in the Opioid Crisis.
For years, the opioid crisis has been explained as a three-wave disaster: pills, heroin, and fentanyl. This narrative is repeated by public health agencies, journalists, policymakers, and prosecutors.
Psychreg published my article, “Why Cutting Opioid Prescriptions Didn’t Stop the Overdose Crisis.”
The American Council on Science and Health has invited me to join their Board of Scientific Advisors. It is an honor.
Salt Lake Tribune published my op-ed, “Salt Lake County’s Addiction Treatment Approach Is Good Policy.”
Pain Medicine News quoted me in an article, “Technology Allows Doctors to ‘Touch’ Patients From Afar, Reducing Pain Symptoms.”
