Description: A brutal opioid epidemic continues to bring death and despair to communities across the country despite government efforts to stem the tide. This book, by a former top U.S. anti-drug official, offers a brief history, lessons learned, and concrete recommendations from inside the war on drugs.
Brief description: Richard J. Baum is Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, and he previously served as Acting Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and Executive Director of the President's Opioid Commission. Prior to his distinguished, almost three decades-long career at ONDCP, Baum was a Congressional staffer, NGO executive, and journalist. Baum's expertise has been sought after by policymakers and professionals alike. He has testified before Congress and served as a keynote speaker at national and international conferences focused on drugs, crime, and health. Raised in New York City, Baum currently lives in Falls Church, Virginia.
Review Quotes:
"Few experts see the opioid crisis as clearly as Richard, who brings decades of experience inside the halls of power and in the communities where the crisis is lived daily. Inside America's Opioid Crisis: 12 Hard Lessons for Today's Drug War distills those insights into a practical roadmap for prevention, treatment, recovery, enforcement, and local response. I urge every policymaker, practitioner, and community leader to read it, and act on it." --Patrick J. Kennedy, former U.S. Representative, author of Profiles in Mental Health Courage and A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction
"A crisp, strategic, and uncompromising account, Inside America's Opioid Crisis offers practical lessons, clear guidance and actionable information for leaders in government, law enforcement, public health, and community organizations charged with building safer and healthier communities through evidence-based initiatives." --General (Ret.) Barry McCaffrey, former Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President Clinton, 1996-2001 "Richard Baum brings a passion for leadership on drug policy with his long, bipartisan experience in the White House drug office to create a powerful, and comprehensive new approach to this unique new epidemic. His book will delight. It informs both the novice and the experienced reader. Rooted in his remarkable and long federal service he provides a blueprint for tomorrow's better national drug policy." --Dr. Robert Dupont, first Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the second White House Drug Czar from 1973-1977 and author of Chemical Slavery: Understanding Addiction and Stopping the Drug Epidemic, and The Selfish Brain: Learning from Addiction