Generational addiction isn’t just a theory - it’s a reality in homes across America. But what does it take to truly break the cycle?

In this deeply personal episode of The Opioid Matrix, Michael Brown sits down with Chris Schultz, a father, a recovering addict, and a man who began using and trafficking drugs before his 15th birthday.

Chris shares how addiction took root in his family, what it cost him as a young man, and how years of therapy, faith, and community support helped him rebuild his life. Today, he runs an electrical contracting company that hires and mentors people in recovery - offering not just employment, but purpose.

Together, they explore:

• Why trauma in childhood leaves lasting scars
• How 30-day programs often fall short for long-term healing
• What accountability, structure, and second chances really look like
• Why trades and job skills may be the missing link in recovery
  
  

This is a raw and hopeful story - not just about addiction, but about what’s possible when recovery is backed by real resources, supportive communities, and lived experience.

Views expressed in this material are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rigaku Analytical Devices.

In this episode of The Opioid Matrix, host Michael Brown speaks with Chris Hudson, a Canadian security expert and CEO of CJE Hudson & Associates, to examine how the global fentanyl trade is evolving—and why public safety professionals must stay ahead of the threat.

Drawing from decades of experience in international security and counter-narcotics consulting, Hudson provides insight into the cross-border dynamics of fentanyl trafficking, the role of organized crime networks, and the challenges law enforcement faces in adapting to an increasingly complex threat environment.

They discuss:

• How synthetic opioids like fentanyl are impacting North America and beyond
• The connection between trafficking, financial networks, and cyber threats
• Global policy gaps that allow cartels and criminal groups to operate at scale
• Why law enforcement efforts must be supported by coordinated, non-political strategies

This episode also explores how cities can proactively address drug-related violence by empowering professionals and supporting long-term solutions rooted in public safety—not politics.

Views expressed in this material are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rigaku Analytical Devices.

Three hundred thousand American deaths in three years…and the chemistry is still evolving. If the cartels turned the lab into the battlefield, why haven’t we brought our own defenses?

In this investigation, host Michael Brown sits down with Collin Gage, CEO and co-founder of ARMR Sciences, to unpack a controversial but potentially game-changing idea: an immunotherapy “vaccine” designed to block fentanyl from reaching the brain. Gage explains the planned Phase I/II human trial, why military and first responders could be the first beneficiaries, and how a platform could expand to multivalent shields against carfentanil and emerging analogs.

We press the hard questions: pharmaceutical-grade versus “cartel” fentanyl, risk-compensation behavior, and whether the U.S. should treat this as biodefense.

Expect an unflinching discussion about creating anti-narco-chemistry that removes the “high” and, with it, the business model. It’s exactly the kind of debate a country losing hundreds of people each day must have, if we want a fentanyl-free future.

Views expressed in this material are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rigaku Analytical Devices.

Fentanyl isn’t just stealing lives—it’s exposing a broken system. Year after year, billions are spent on programs that barely move the needle, while families keep losing loved ones. But what if the solution has been sitting right in front of us all along?

In this episode of The Opioid Matrix, Michael Brown talks with Larry Kenemore a retired paramedic who’s seen addiction up close, and now leads the North American Rotarian Action Group on Addiction Prevention. Larry shares Project SMART, a practical, community-driven plan to shut down the “addiction pipeline” before it claims more lives. The problem? Politics, pride, and money are keeping proven ideas on the sidelines. Together, they break down why past efforts like “Just Say No” fell short, how fentanyl is showing up in vape pens, and why the real fix might come from neighbors helping neighbors.

Views expressed in this material are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rigaku Analytical Devices.

What if the people we locked away for drug crimes were running million-dollar trafficking empires—from behind bars?

In this explosive episode, we sit down with Benjamin Freedland—once a mid-level trafficker moving hundreds of pounds of marijuana and deeply embedded in a cartel’s East Coast operation.

After flipping and working undercover with the FBI, DEA, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Freedland now trains law enforcement on how to recruit and manage high-level informants.But this story isn't about redemption—it’s a chilling look at the new face of the fentanyl crisis. 
Freedland reveals how America’s correctional system has become a breeding ground for synthetic drugs and organized crime.

This episode will challenge everything you think you know about law enforcement, cooperation, and the systemic failures that keep the opioid epidemic alive.

We discuss:

• Prisons are ground zero for synthetic drug trafficking, especially K2 and fentanyl-laced substances.
• Old-school “tough cop” methods backfire when recruiting reliable informants—respect wins.
• The criminal justice system needs a radical overhaul to disrupt the fentanyl pipeline—starting with how we train officers.

Views expressed in this material are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rigaku Analytical Devices.

While overdose deaths climb and homelessness surges, billions in taxpayer dollars disappear into broken systems and half-hearted solutions. And beneath it all, an industrial-sized drug economy thrives: unseen, unchallenged, and politically inconvenient.

In this searing episode of The Opioid Matrix, Scott Silverman, CEO and Founder at Confidential Recovery, comes back to the show to dissect alongside Michael Brown the fentanyl-fueled collapse happening in plain sight.

We dive into:

• How fentanyl has turned homelessness into an economic loop no one’s breaking
• Implementing harm reduction strategies without treatment or housing infrastructure
• The cartel tactics reshaping distribution into thousands of small, undetectable channels

This episode doesn’t pull punches. It asks what too many refuse to: What if we’re letting fentanyl win because it’s just easier that way?

Views expressed in this material are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rigaku Analytical Devices.

The U.S. dismantled Colombia’s Cali Cartel with strategy, buy-in, and force. What are we doing wrong now that fentanyl is winning in the U.S.?

Former DEA agent Chris Feistl helped take down one of history’s most powerful cartels—but now he’s watching history repeat itself. 

In this episode, he and Michael Brown draw a straight line from Colombia’s bloody narco-wars to the synthetic opioid crisis destroying American communities. From political division and foreign inaction to fractured law enforcement strategy, the U.S. is reliving the past, without the resolve to win. 

We also discuss:

• How the U.S. let the fentanyl threat evolve into a Hydra
• Why Mexico and China are today’s Colombia
• What America lost when it stopped doing what worked
• How decriminalization and division cripple federal action
• What it would take to end the crisis—for real

Views expressed in this material are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rigaku Analytical Devices.

Sealing borders won’t resolve the fentanyl crisis unless we rethink how domestic trafficking can be disrupted. 

In this episode, we welcome back Margarito “Jay” Flores Jr.—a former Sinaloa cartel kingpin turned law enforcement educator—to dive deeper into the operations behind the illicit fentanyl trade that’s taken thousands of U.S. lives each year. With cartels now designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, the U.S. is taking a harder stance, but Jay and Michael explore if policy is enough if we don’t also confront the networks operating in our own neighborhoods. 

We also discuss:

• Why labeling cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations could shift the legal landscape of drug enforcement in America.
• How fentanyl reaches U.S. communities, and why most traffickers don’t look like the stereotype.
• The importance of treating domestic distribution networks with the same urgency as international ones.
• Why prevention, education, and empathy must be part of any long-term solution to the opioid crisis.

Views expressed in this material are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rigaku Analytical Devices.

In this episode, Michael Brown sits down with Dr. Gary Latson, a licensed anesthesiologist and father who lost his son to a fentanyl-laced substance. Dr. Latson brings over four decades of medical experience and shares the difference between medical fentanyl and the illicit version flooding American streets—and why this distinction can mean life or death.

We discuss:

• The dangers of illicit fentanyl from a medical perspective.
• The biology of opioid addiction and genetic vulnerability.
• The growing danger of fentanyl-stimulant combos.
• The role of physicians, policymakers, and parents in the opioid crisis.

Views expressed in this material are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rigaku Analytical Devices.

In this gripping episode, we sit down with former DEA Special Agent and author Leo Silva to discuss the evolving landscape of the illicit drug trade and the growing sophistication of cartel operations. Drawing from his experiences detailed in Reign of Terror, Silva provides a firsthand account of how organizations like Los Zetas have transformed from traditional drug traffickers into highly organized, militarized criminal enterprises.

We explore the new challenges law enforcement faces, including the cartels' use of advanced technology, encrypted communications, and financial networks that rival those of legitimate corporations. Silva also sheds light on the increasing dangers posed by synthetic drugs like fentanyl, the deep-rooted corruption that enables these networks to thrive, and the shifting alliances that make combating them even more complex.

Throughout the discussion, Silva shares powerful stories of resilience, the personal toll of fighting the war on drugs, and what steps must be taken to curb the growing influence of cartels.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How the Zetas cartel pioneered a new level of brutality and control
• Why Mexico’s war on drugs has failed—and how it impacts the U.S.
• The role China plays in fueling the fentanyl crisis
• How law enforcement can fight back using anti-terror tactics
• What every American should know about how fentanyl gets into our streets

You can learn more about Agent Leo Silva’s work in his book “Reign of Terror.”

Views expressed in this material are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rigaku Analytical Devices.