Listen on Spotify

There’s no question that over-prescribing of opioids kick-started the opioid crisis - the data is so overwhelming that nearly two dozen major companies have settled lawsuits to the tune of tens of billions of dollars because of that evidence.

We’ve since dramatically cut the supply of prescription opioids, so problem solved, right?

My guest this month is Dr. Clay Jackson, a chronic pain specialist and member of the Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council, which is tasked with overseeing the majority of the state’s share of the opioid settlement dollars. In this conversation, we discuss how while tightening regulations and oversight of opioid prescribing have had many positive impacts, they have had unexpected consequences for chronic pain patients as well.

For Dr. Jackson, the ongoing demand for fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and a host of other substances is evidence of the need to reduce demand for all illicit substances altogether, and that clamping down on prescription opioids is not the only policy worth considering.

We also discuss successes from the opioid settlement funding, how pharmacies face new challenges, economic realities for modern patients, breaking down treatment silos, and we even dive into a little bit of relevant American history. To say I enjoyed this conversation is a massive understatement.

Learn more:

• Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council
• Tennessee Opioid and SUD Data Dashboard
• Johns Hopkins Principles for the Use of Funds from the Opioid Litigation

Books mentioned in this episode:

• Democracy in America by Alexis de Toqueville
• Dreamland by Sam Quinones
• Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism by Angus Deaton and Anne Case

Hosted and produced by Jeremy Kourvelas. Original music by Blind House.