523 - Methadone Prevents Overdose, So Why Is It So Hard to Access?
Public Health On Call
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
4.6 • 644 Ratings
🗓️ 28 September 2022
⏱️ 17 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A 2019 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine lays out irrefutable evidence that medications like methadone can save lives when used for opioid use disorder, but decades of policy rooted in racism and stigma keeps methadone largely out of reach for those who need it. Alan Leshner, CEO emeritus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and chair of the planning committee for the report talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about these policies and why this is a moment of opportunity to enact major reform in the methadone system and address the opioid epidemic. Read the full report here.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Public Health On Call, a podcast from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. |
| 0:12.0 | I'm Joshua Sharfstein, Vice Dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement, |
| 0:17.1 | and a former health commissioner here in Baltimore. |
| 0:19.7 | Our goal is to bring evidence and experience |
| 0:22.4 | to illuminate critical public health issues. |
| 0:25.5 | If you have questions or ideas for us, |
| 0:27.4 | please send an email to public health question |
| 0:29.6 | at jhhu.edu. |
| 0:31.6 | That's public health question at jhu.edu |
| 0:35.0 | for future podcast episodes. |
| 0:41.1 | Hi, I'm Lindsay Smith-Rogers, producer of Public Health on Call. |
| 0:46.7 | Today, I speak with Dr. Alan Leshner, CEO Emeritus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. |
| 0:48.3 | Dr. Leshner is chair of the planning committee for a recent National Academy of Sciences |
| 0:52.7 | study about the importance of changing |
| 0:55.1 | methadone regulations to make the life-saving treatment more accessible to those who need it. |
| 1:00.7 | We talk about why methadone is hampered by stigma and outdated policy, how COVID-19 impacted |
| 1:06.7 | access, and why this is such an important moment for opioid use disorder treatment programs. |
| 1:12.6 | Let's listen. |
| 1:14.6 | Alan Leshner, thank you so much for joining us on Public Health On Call. |
| 1:18.8 | You are the chair of the planning committee on a report about methadone treatment for |
| 1:24.3 | opioid use disorder, examining federal regulations and laws. |
| 1:28.7 | So first, let's talk about what was the background for this report. |
... |
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