Cover 2 Resources

This past August, we started our two-part series covering the public release of the ARCOS data, the DEA’s virtual roadmap to the opioid epidemic. Today, we finish that coverage with Washington Post Investigative Reporter Scott Higham.

Scott is a Pulitzer Prize-winning member of The Post's investigations unit. Since joining The Post in 2000, he’s examined conflicts of interest on Capitol Hill, the origins of the opioid epidemic, and much more.

With his expertise, Scott guides us through an in-depth look at the ARCOS data. We discuss what communities were hit the hardest, how this data was hidden from the public, and the people you never knew were involved.

With so much information it can be difficult to pinpoint who’s responsible. Scott provides some much-needed clarity, but ultimately, only you can decide.

Join us on today’s Podcast we breakdown the ARCOS data, the fight to get it released, and what it means for America.

Last time on the Cover2 Podcast, David Siegel, the CEO of Westgate Resorts, shared how the opioid epidemic changed his family forever when it took the life of his daughter Victoria.

With a new purpose, David decided to tackle the pandemic head-on, meeting with several of our nation’s leaders responsible for solving the crisis. He quickly learned they weren’t close enough to the issue to make any real change.

Shifting tactics, David took to traveling the country. He met with people struggling with addiction, and others in recovery, learning as much as he could about the epidemic from the front lines. He quickly became an expert in the field and took his fight to Congress, aiming to make rapid, meaningful change.

In part two of this two-part series, David shares the story of what happened after he testified before congress. As you’ll hear, it didn’t take long for things to begin happening.

Guided by an unparalleled sense of urgency, David’s mission to stop kids from using drugs before they start, took shape in less than a week.

Join us for the conclusion of David Siegel’s story, as he shares his vision for a new, national prevention program he and his team will officially launch in Las Vegas Next Month.

To learn how you can become a part of that change, visit the Victoria Siegel Foundation’s website. There you can find information on David Siegel’s new National prevention program, Victory Clubs, and it’s launch at his Gala at the Westgate Resort in Las Vegas on October 25th.

Since we began this podcast series three and a half years ago, we’ve met some amazing people doing incredible work, each making a difference in the opioid epidemic in their own way. Today’s guest is no exception. What sets him apart is the scope of his latest initiative and his sense of urgency in getting it done.

David Siegel is the founder and CEO of West Gate Resorts, the largest timeshare business in the world. He and his family were featured in a reality show as they began building a 90,000 square foot home in Orlando Florida, just as the real estate market crashed. But nothing could prepare him for the impact it would have on his family, and oldest daughter Victoria.

After losing Victoria to a drug overdose, David gave up running the day-to-day operations of his company, to dedicate his life to fighting the opioid crisis. He quickly learned that some of our leaders responsible for addressing this epidemic weren’t close enough to the issue to make any real change.

David took to traveling the country, meeting with those struggling with addiction and people in recovery, to learn about the opioid epidemic from the front lines. He quickly became an expert in the field, ready to take the fight to Congress and make rapid, meaningful change.

Join us for part one of our two-part series for David Siegel’s story and how his impact on the opioid epidemic can be felt throughout our country.

This Summer there’s been a great deal of news on the opioid lawsuit in Oklahoma and the MDL here in Cleveland.

We’ve heard how communities and native tribes thought the country have suffered at the hands of the pharmaceutical industry, and now with the ruling against J&J in the Oklahoma trial for $572M and Purdue Pharma offering to settle for $12 Billion giving up their company, it appears it’s time to pay the piper.

How that money will be spent is still unclear. We’ve been extremely fortunate to have met with many different voices in the opioid epidemic community. Thanks to their insight we thought we’d weigh-in on the debate for the best use of the settlement money.

We didn’t just stake out claim on opinion, however. We made sure to do the research and calculations necessary for the best result. Of course, we couldn’t accomplish this on our own so we reached out to some of our featured guests for help.

Together, with addiction treatment specialist Dr. Stephen Loyd, of Mountain Home Veterans Administration Medical Center, recovery expert Tom Stuber, President and CEO of Lorain County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services, along with feedback from Center on Addiction Director of Health Law and Policy, Lindsey Vuolo, we collaborated on an op-ed published in USA Today, this September.

Join us, as we cover our op-ed, the inspiration behind it, the creative process behind it, and our take on the best use for the 12 billion won in the Oklahoma settlement.

First Responders have 6 minutes to make it to an overdose victim and begin administering life-saving Narcan. Sadly, that’s not always possible. The Community of First Responders Initiative is about making Narcan available in public spaces and linking Narcan Carriers with overdose victims while they wait for emergency responders to arrive.

Each year on August 31st International Overdose Awareness Day is held to remember those lost to overdose deaths.

Today, on the eve of the 2019 Overdose Awareness day, we’re delighted to release our CFR introduction video.

A special thanks to our International visitors from Morocco, Mustafa and Samia and their entire team at Artcoustic Creative Studios.

They generously donated their time and expertise to produce an exceptional explainer video to help promote CFR in communities across the country, saving lives with this innovative non-profit program.

The following 3-minute track is the CFR video in its entirety. To watch it, go to www.CRF.HELP/INTRO.

This summer, City of Green Mayor Gerard Neugebauer partnered with the Summit County Department of Health and Cover2 Resources to implement the country’s first CFR program.

Implementation is a three-step process.

Step 1. Installing stationary NaloxBox units in hotels along the Interstate High way and the Akron Canton Airport.

Step 2. Training volunteers to administer Narcan to overdose victims, registering trained volunteers as Narcan Carriers, and distributing the life-saving drug to CFR members for free.

Step 3. Registering Narcan Carriers and NaloxBoxes in the NaloxoFind app to create a network of Narcan and first responders equipped to administer aid within a two-mile radius of an overdose.

To celebrate our progress, I invite you to share this podcast and video on social media, introduce as many people as you can to this program, and join us for the Barberton Ohio Labor Day Parade Monday, September 2nd. We’ll be there driving an enormous army truck with the Teamsters Local 21 and Travis Bornstein. Come out and Join Us at 16th Street Southwest, Barberton, OH. at 9:30 AM.

Everyone has a role to play, so please, join the fight today and together we can save lives.

On July 15th, DEA data covering 2006 to 2012 American opioid sales, was released to the public. The ARCOS data revealed the distribution path of every oxycodone and hydrocodone pill sold in America. A trail of opioids from manufacturers to distributors, to pharmacies, to patients. Undeniable evidence for their responsibility for the opioid crisis.

Big Pharma didn’t hand this “smoking gun” for the opioid epidemic over easily. It wasn’t until the Charleston Gazette-Mail, and Washington Post prevailed in a fierce legal battle that ARCOS data was released. However, this was just one fight in a struggle that began long before knowledge of this crucial evidence existed.

In part one of this two-part series covering the history of the ARCOS data, you’ll learn how an underdog journalist’s relentless pursuit of the truth succeeded, despite insurmountable odds.

Our story begins with Patrick McGinley, and Suzanne Weise, lawyers and Professors of Law at West Virginia College of Law. Hired to help investigative journalist Eric Eyre gain access to DEA and Big Pharma court records, they’ve joined us to share their role in the fight against the opioid epidemic.

Listen to today’s podcast for part one of our journey into the history of the ARCOS data. You'll learn how it was finally released, and why the DEA, Justice Department, and Big Pharma tried to hide this information from the public.

Remember to tune in next week for part two, where we interview Washington Post Investigative Journalist Scott Higham. He shares his account of the battle over the ARCOS data and what we have learned from their analysis of a 380 million record database.

Today’s guest, Dr. Andrew Kolodny, is an authority on the opioid epidemic.

As a Senior Scientist and, Co-Director of Opioid Policy Research at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Dr. Kolodny has a deep-rooted interest in public health.

He began his career working for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, helping develop and implement multiple programs to improve health and save the lives of New York City citizens.

These initiatives included: city-wide buprenorphine programs, life-saving naloxone overdose prevention programs and emergency room-based screenings, and brief interventions and referrals to treatment (SBIRT) programs for alcohol and drug misuse.

Using his expert knowledge and vast experience fighting the opioid epidemic, Dr. Kolodny guides us through the FDA’s missteps that helped fuel our nation’s worst health crisis in history.

Join us on today’s podcast as we uncover the mistakes that helped perpetuate a growing opioid crisis and the missed opportunities to keep it in check.

While many people in power ignored the mounting evidence of the Opioid Crisis, one leader refused to turn a blind eye.

In 2009, fresh from seven years as NYC’s health commissioner, Dr. Tom Frieden was appointed a director of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) by president Obama.

Dr. Frieden immediately got to work and started by wading through eight-hundred-pages of Health Statistics Us.

To say he was stunned by what he found is an understatement.

The number of lives lost at the hands of opioids was comparable to that of AIDS in Africa, the 1918 influenza pandemic, or a war.

Fifteen thousand people died from prescription painkiller overdoses in 2010 alone, and enough narcotics were prescribed to give every adult in America over a month’s worth of pills.

One thing was clear. There weren’t just a few careless people dying of overdoses. America was facing an epidemic, and big pharma was pulling the strings.

Today, Dr. Frieden joins us to share his insights from his watch as Director of the CDC and his perspective on the state of the opioid epidemic today.

For the full story of America’s first real stand against the opioid epidemic, from the first leader to get it right, listen to today’s podcast.

About 21 million Americans struggle with addiction every day, yet only 10 percent receive treatment. While that percentage is unbelievably low, the reality is that traditional methods of aid are inaccessible for many people, even if addicts are ready for treatment.

Fortunately, many organizations recognize this issue and are creating paths to make treatment more accessible. Two innovative programs that are literally taking treatment to the streets are Boston Massachusetts’ Care ZONE, an on-wheels overdose treatment facility, and New Jersey’s Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU), paramedics equipped with lifesaving Suboxone.

To guide us through these innovative programs is returning guest Dr. Jessie Gaeta, the Chief Medical Officer for the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program, and Dr. Shereef Elnahal, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health.

We first met Dr. Gaeta 3 years ago, when we discussed her Supportive Place for Observation and Treatment (SPOT) program. Today, she shares her insight into her latest project, Care ZONE, a mobile treatment facility helping to bring addiction treatment to those unable to visit treatment centers.

Furthermore, Dr. Shereef Elnahal discusses the progress the MICU has made by adding of the gold-standard of opioid addiction treatment drugs, Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone), to their overdose recovery arsenal.

Given these success stories, many people have argued that it’s time to relax our tight regulations on Suboxone prescriptions, and remove obstacles for recovery. In the meantime, programs like Boston’s Care ZONE and the New Jersey MICU paramedics, prove that outside-the-box solutions are crucial to progressing against the .

For the full details of these revolutionary addiction treatment programs, listen to today’s podcast, and be sure to let us know what programs are making a difference in your home town, down in the comments.

As negative press continued to increase for Purdue Pharma and the opioid epidemic, their market in the US began to dwindle. Prescriptions for OxyContin fell more than 40% since 2010, equating to billions lost revenue.

The company’s owners, the Sackler Family, started pursuing a new strategy. Go global through their international company Mundipharma, and put the pain killer that set off the US opioid crisis into medicine cabinets around the world.”

On May 22 of this year, Congresswoman Katherine Clark and Congressman Hal Rodgers released a report titled, Corrupting Influence – Purdue and the World Health Organization. This report exposed the dangerous opioid manufacturer’s influence on the WHO, and the potential jeopardy they present to foreign nations and developing countries.

Today, we’re joined by Guardian reporter and bestselling author of American Overdose, Chris McGreal, and Daily Caller Journalist, Evie Fordham. Together we discuss this report, its impact on the World Health Organization, and Purdue Pharma’s strategy to breach international markets at the cost of making opioid crisis a global epidemic.

We’ll frame today’s episode by revisiting an interview from 2 years ago with LA Times Journalist, Harriett Ryan on an article she wrote titled “OxyContin goes global – We’re only just getting started”.

Join us on today’s podcast for an in depth look at Purdue Pharma’s influence over the WHO and its attempts to spread OxyContin worldwide