Stanford School of Medicine
Keith Humphreys is professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Stanford School of Medicine. From 2009-2010 he served as senior policy advisor to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. He also co-chaired a recent blue ribbon commission on marijuana policy.
President Trump does a 180 on drug addiction The President's special commission on opioid abuse has recommended he declare a national emergency. Tuesday, he sent word he would not. But, the number of overdose deaths in a year exceeds troop casualties in the entire Vietnam War. Yesterday, he said "yes," after all. A national emergency could mean federal resources for treatment — including for mental illness. It's a long way from Nancy Reagan's "Just Say, No," but she was talking about crack cocaine in the inner cities, while opioids are a scourge of white Americans in Republican enclaves.
Will Big Money Create "Big Pot?" Marijuana is a one-time symbol of America's counter-culture. Still illegal under federal law, its medical use has been approved in 23 states; four states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational use. And it's already a $2.7 billion business that's attracting Wall Street and Silicon Valley investors to a legalization movement originally devoted to medical needs and social justice. Activists warning about Big Pot — a corporate behemoth like Big Alcohol or Big Tobacco — with little concern for public health or the environment. In an economy based on the profit motive, will legalization have unintended consequences?
America: The Overdose Nation Fast-paced national/international news and issues program, from KCRW.
Heroin Makes a Comeback Heroin addiction wasn't just Philip Seymour Hoffman 's problem. It isn't just Hollywood's problem. It's America's problem. It's migrated from central cities to middle class suburbs to small towns in New England, the MidWest and other places where it's rarely been seen before. Cheaper, more potent supplies find a ready market of people already addicted to prescription pain pills that are harder to get than they used to be. Drug overdoses now kill more Americans than traffic accidents, gun homicides or suicides. How long has that been true? Why did it take a celebrity death to focus public attention? What needs to be done?
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.