Cover 2 Resources

Cover 2 Resources

The Cover2 Podcast is an ongoing series of interviews with people who are making a difference in the fight against opioid addiction. The Cover2 Podcast seeks to raise awareness and to connect users and their families with resources that can literally save a life. Listen to our most recent episodes below, and please consider donating to support this cause.

Episodes

Ep. 276 - Strike Force Stops Flow of Illicit Opioids

November 30, 2020 • 28 mins
In October 2018, the Justice Department's Criminal Division created the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO), Strike Force. This team consists of federal agents, prosecutors, and specialists from different government departments. Together, they combine data analytics and law enforcement to spot dangerous prescription patterns and quickly remove bad actors from the Application Region. In its early operation, the ARPO Str...
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Ep. 284 - Sentencing The Mastermind

July 24, 2020 • 35 mins
Last February, I interviewed Evan Ratliff, author of The Mastermind. The book tells the story of how lone programmer Paul La Roux, built an online drug empire responsible for dumping millions of pain pills into the U.S. La Roux enticed hundreds of doctors to take part in his scheme and wasn’t caught until 2012. During my interview with Ratliff, he speculated on how La Roux’s cooperation with the government to bring down the peopl...
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Ep. 283 - Obscure Treatment Could be The Final Fix for Addiction

July 10, 2020 • 58 mins
For the last few months, I’ve been covering COVID-19’s impact on the opioid crisis. With overdoses up 42% in May alone, it’s projected 75,000 additional lives will be lost to alcohol and drug overdose because of the pandemic. One resource that could help prevent this is a methodology for addiction treatment that has existed for over 45 years but has been relentlessly shunned by the medical establishment. This unique, non-pharmaco...
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Ep. 282 - The Impact of COVID-19 on the Opioid Crisis

July 2, 2020 • 52 mins
Over the last 90 plus days, much has changed in our world. COVID19 has forced many of us to endure unfamiliar hardships and inconveniences. But our most vulnerable populations, such as those struggling with OUD, have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus. To better understand the impact of coronavirus on the opioid epidemic, we teamed up with some of the nation’s top opioid epidemic experts and former guests of the podcas...
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Ep. 205 Rerelease - American Fix: Inside the Opioid Addiction Crisis and How to End It.

June 18, 2020 • 30 mins
In 2018, bestselling author Ryan Hampton spoke with me about his struggles with heroin addiction while working as a White House aide and how he become a national advocate for those in recovery. We hope you can join us on June 25th for a special live webinar to discuss the pandemic’s impact on the opioid epidemic and the odds of recovery in America today.
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Ep. 220 Rerelease - Dopesick: The Drug Company that Addicted America

June 17, 2020 • 30 mins
Late in 2018, Beth Macy, best selling author of "Dopesick", shared the story of how Virginia became the canary in the coal mine for the opioid epidemic in her 5 part series with me. We hope you can join us on June 25th for a special event to discuss the pandemic’s impact on the opioid epidemic and the odds of recovery in America today.
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Ep. 281 - A Safer Supply Saves Lives

May 28, 2020 • 34 mins
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is considered the gold standard for treating opioid use disorder. But it doesn’t work for everyone, and for those unresponsive to MAT, the next use of illicit street drugs could be their last. This month, Staff Sergeant Conor King introduced us to SaferSupply, a program for those who are either not ready for recovery or just unsuccessful with MAT. As a drug investigation expert for the Victoria...
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Ep. 280 - When Keeping Secrets Costs Lives

May 21, 2020 • 29 mins
On May 14th Greg received an email from Elaine, a Montgomery County Maryland Resident. She shared the story of her brother Alan who had struggled with addiction, recovery, and relapse for much of his life. Less than a month ago, his unexpected death came as a shock to Elaine. But, she was more surprised to learn that Alan had overdosed many times before, and his history of close calls was well known by several friends. Hoping to ...
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Ep. 279 - Home Test Kits: DFCA's Innovative Response to a Pandemic

May 1, 2020 • 29 mins
In today’s episode of the Cover2, PPT podcast, we continue revisiting some of the People, Places, and Things we’ve profiled in earlier episodes. We’re touching base to see how the Coronavirus has changed the way they’re making a difference in the opioid epidemic. Today we’re joined by Angie Ferguson, the Executive Director of Drug-Free Clubs of America (DFCA). This student-lead, in-school, prevention program, rewards students who ...
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Ep. 278 - Adapting Peer Recovery for a Pandemic

April 23, 2020 • 22 mins
Three years ago, we profiled AnchorEd, an innovative initiative, developed in Rhode Island. This program enables peer recovery coaches to meet with overdose victims before their release from the hospital. In March, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic sent everyone into lockdown. To continue helping people with recovery, these programs had to adapt to the new normal of social distancing. As we pivot into a new phase of the pandemi...
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Ep. 277 - Rapid Changes to Opioid Treatment Driven by COVID-19

March 25, 2020 • 30 mins
Last week, a STAT News article titled “Covid-19 will worsen the opioid overdose crisis if we don’t prepare now,” stated that, “Missing from the national discussion on the coronavirus has been another vulnerable group: patients with opioid use disorder. Despite ongoing public health efforts, the opioid overdose crisis does not appear to be slowing down. The emergency of Covid-19 could worsen it if we do not preemptively develop and ...
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Ep. 275 - Drug Czar Unpacks Our National Opioid Epidemic Strategy

March 2, 2020 • 32 mins
In its latest Strategy Report, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) shared its strategy for building a stronger, healthier, drug-free society. To reach this goal, the ONDCP details three tactics for fighting the opioid epidemic. First, continue to prevent new substance abusers through education and evidence-based prevention programs. Second, improve access to long-term addiction recovery treatment services. Third, r...
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Ep. 274 - Treatment Breakthrough: The ER Addiction Stabilization Unit

February 28, 2020 • 37 mins
In June 2017, Dr. Belma Andric, Chief Medical Officer of the Health District of Palm Beach County, Florida, joined Greg on the Cover2 podcast. She shared a unique pilot program that started Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for overdose victims right in the emergency room (ER). Unlike previous MAT addiction programs, the pilot program included 8 days of house calls to deliver medication and monitor patient progress. The success ...
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Ep. 273 - The Mastermind Behind the World’s Largest Online Drug Cartel

February 14, 2020 • 44 mins
Since 1995, when the FDA approved OxyContin, igniting an opioid crisis, many bad actors have emerged willing to do almost anything to make a buck off the insatiable demand for opioids in our country. But none less known, and more destructive than Paul Le Roux. Born in Zimbabwe, Le Roux was a loner who became an expert software developer. Then, in 2004 he launched what would become the largest network of internet pharmacies in the ...
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Ep. 272 - MOMS Plus: New Program to Lower NAS Rates

February 6, 2020 • 27 mins
Between 2004 and 2011, opioid abuse and dependence among delivering mothers in Ohio grew by 491%. As a consequence, cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), where opioid exposed babies experience acute drug withdrawal following birth, became commonplace. Babies who begin their lives suffering from NAS experience slower than normal development, and can suffer adverse effects from it for years. The Maternal Opiate Medical Support...
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Ep. 271 - In Pain: When No One Knows How to Taper Pain Pills

February 4, 2020 • 44 mins
In 1996, pain became the 5th vital sign in medicine, prompting doctors to rely on opioids for pain treatment. As a result, opioid prescriptions spiked over the next 15 years, causing hundreds of thousands of opioid addictions. While many doctors were educated on opioid prescribing practices, what they didn’t know – and are still learning – were strategies for tapering patients off of these highly addictive drugs. Something Dr. Trav...
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Ep. 270 - Insys Therapeutic Execs Sentenced: Will Doctors Be Next?

January 24, 2020 • 31 mins
In February of 2019, we interviewed Palm Beach Post reporters Pat Beall and John Pacenti, about the trial of former executives from opioid manufacturer Insys Therapeutics. They’d been accused of racketeering, bribing doctors to prescribe their high-powered opioid fentanyl spray, Subsys, to patients who didn’t need it. A year later, the Insys executives have finally received sentences of 1 to 5 ½ years in prison. This is the first ...
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Ep 269 - New MLB Drug Testing Policy Could Be a Game Changer

January 16, 2020 • 30 mins
Last July, Major League Baseball fans were shocked when Tyler Skaggs, a rising star pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels, was found dead in his hotel room. The toxicology report indicated Skaggs had oxycodone, fentanyl and alcohol in his system, causing him to overdose. The tragic loss of Tyler Skaggs left many people wondering how his drug abuse went undetected by Major League Baseball. But it quickly became a compelling motivator ...
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Ep 268 - Rudy Giuliani & The Lost Opportunity to Make Them Pay

January 5, 2020 • 30 mins
In 2006, Purdue Pharma was under fire for falsely advertising the addictiveness of its opioid, OxyContin. Many families believed that handcuffs were the only justifiable punishment, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) seemed to agree. Yet, somehow Giuliani Partners LLC managed to reach a settlement for Purdue Pharma and it’s top three executives. Effectively telling all of Big Pharma that the deaths of thousands of Americans wer...
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Our Favorite Episode from 2019: FDA Missteps that Helped Fuel Our Nation’s Health Crisis

December 31, 2019 • 32 mins
In 2019 we released 45 new podcasts covering books from best-selling authors such as Dopesick from Beth Macy and American Overdose from Chris McGreal, to important developments such as the MDL and the J&J Oklahoma trial and people making headlines such as Joe Rannazzisi, former head of diversion control from the DEA. As I look back I realize how many amazing people, places and things we were lucky enough to profile on our series in...
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