183 State of Recovery: The opioid crisis and what we can do with Dr. Ricky Bluthenthal

The Do Gooders Podcast

It’s 2024, and the opioid crisis is showing no signs of slowing down.

Overdose deaths from opioids, including prescription painkillers and synthetics like fentanyl, continue to rise.

The statistics paint a chilling picture.

According to the CDC, an estimated 187 people in the U.S. die every day of opioid overdoses, most involving illicit and dangerous versions of fentanyl.

What’s perhaps more alarming, is this crisis is now affecting every age group. In fact, overdose is now the third leading cause of death in American children. From 2019 to 2021, adolescent overdose deaths more than doubled.

To help us better understand the crisis, Dr. Ricky Bluthenthal is on the show today. At the University of Southern California, Dr. Bluthenthal is a Professor and Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Department of Populations and Public Health Sciences, and Associate Dean for Social Justice in the Keck School of Medicine.

He’s well versed on the opioid crisis and its devastating effects on families and communities. He’s been published more than 190 times in peer-reviewed scientific journals and is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Drug Policy. Dr. Bluthenthal has received numerous awards including the John P. McGovern Award for Excellence in Medical Education from the Association for Multidisciplinary Education & Research in Substance Use & Addiction.

On this episode, he joins to give us more insight on the opioid crisis and what he believes needs to happen to make change.

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