Whole Truth With David Eisenhower

Overmedicated, Overdosed America: The Opioid Epide

With opioid overdose deaths now surpassing deaths from car accidents in the United States, it's absolutely clear that this is a public health problem of great urgency. But what has caused the surge addiction and its consequences and what can be done about it? Our panel explores issues including the social, economic, and cultural context of the rapid increase in opioid abuse and related deaths, the medical aspects of substance abuse treatment and recovery, and public policy recommendations for a national response to these issues. Guests: Dr. David Herzberg, Associate Professor of History at the University at Buffalo; Dr. Michael Pantalon, Psychologist and Senior Research Scientist at the Yale School of Medicine; Dr. Bertha Madras, Professor of psychobiology at Harvard Medical School and member of the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis; Regina Marchetti, Certified Recovery Specialist at Crozer-Keystone Health System and a recovering addict.