Episode #44 High Truths with Dr. Andrew Kolodny and Opioid Lawsuits

Dr. Kolodny chats with Dr. Lev about the Opioid Lawsuits. They say people who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat history.  The history for tobacco, opioids, vaping and marijuana follows a pattern:

1. Health claims
2. Normalization of use
3. Disaster is finally recognized
4. Lawsuits

Andrew Kolodny, M D

Dr. Kolodny previously served as Chief Medical Officer for Phoenix House, a national non profit addiction treatment agency and Chair of Psychiatry at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Kolodny has a long-standing interest in public health. He began his career working for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in the Office of the Executive Deputy Commissioner. For New York City, he helped develop and implement multiple programs to improve the health of New Yorkers and save lives, including city-wide buprenorphine programs, naloxone overdose prevention programs and emergency room-based screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) programs for drug and alcohol misuse.

Dr. Kolodny’s testimony before for the United States Congress is available here.

Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. May 14, 2014
America’s Addiction to Opioids: Heroin and Prescription Drug Use

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. January 17, 2018
Unintended Consequences: Medicaid and the Opioid Epidemic

Committee on Energy & Commerce, Subcommittee on Health, U.S. House of Representatives. February 28, 2018
Combatting the Opioid Crisis

See the listing of Dr. Kolodny’s publications on PubMed
here.

Awards and Honors

• University of Chicago Leon I. Goldberg Award (2019)