High Truths on Drugs and Addiction

They devil is in the details, or lack of details when in comes to Amendment 3, Florida's ballot initiative on legalizing marijuana. When California and other states legalized weed without including regulations and consumer protections, babies were poisoned, people were exposed to pesticides and contaminants, high potency products proliferated, emergency visits for cannabis poisoning skyrocketed, and people experience second hand smoke on a regular basis. We hope Florida learns from the mistakes of California.

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.

In a study of 11,363 individuals with no psychotic disorder, cannabis use increased the risk of psychosis by 11 fold for ages 12 – 19.  I spoke with master behind the research.

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.

There is a lot to learn from the history of Big Tobacco, and we can get that history from Professor Richard Daynard, the man who went after Big Tobacco.

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.

What are the ethics in public health and addiction treatment? Is it for the better good of the public or the individual? Does the definition change when it comes to drugs?

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.

What happens if you take prescribed medications and are worried about doing an employee drug test?  The drug test is just one aspect of drug testing.  A physician will review a persons medical history and prescription when considering drug tests.  Dr. Kamer is such a physician.  Listen to our conver

Russell Kamer, MD

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.

Brooke Briggance comes from a multi-sector background in health, direct impact programming for children, youth and families, and non-profit work. She comes from lived experience, began her career in healthcare in the Department of Neurology at SUNY Stony Brook in New York, and has experience in administrative leadership and public education advocacy and reform. She served as the Executive Director of an education foundation and has worked as a consultant assisting in projects ranging from school district redesign, community engagement and best practices for non-profits. She currently serves as the Director for the Cypress Resilience Project and the Co-Director of FACES for the Future – both programs at Public Health Institute in Oakland, CA. She is a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist, a Certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor (Adult, Youth and teen), a Certified Trainer and Specialist in Trauma Informed Systems and Practice. She regularly supports organizations through training, technical assistance and policy design – all with a focus on trauma responsive practices including support for the workforce as they manage toxic stress, cumulative grief and burn-out.

What is compassion in drugs and addiction?

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.

Paul Martin

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.

LA County California

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.