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In Case You Haven't Heard…
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
alcoholism and drug abuse weekly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1556-7591
pISSN - 1042-1394
DOI - 10.1002/adaw.32927
Subject(s) - mandate , agency (philosophy) , methadone , haven , law enforcement , political science , law , enforcement , medicine , sociology , psychiatry , social science , mathematics , combinatorics
If you are interested in the nomination process for Office of National Drug Control Policy director, there isn't a clear route for you to make your opinions known. Heading the transition team for this agency is Rahul Gupta, M.D., formerly of West Virginia, where he oversaw a moratorium on new opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and a requirement that all methadone patients come to the clinic on a daily basis, after a string of methadone overdoses about 15 years ago that were ultimately attributed to prescribing for pain and never linked to OTPs. Gupta is now at March of Dimes. H. Westley Clark, M.D., J.D., is a field favorite for the position, from both patient and provider groups, but former Representative Patrick Kennedy has asked President‐elect Joe Biden for the job, and it must be noted that Kennedy has some fans in the part of the field that want recovery, mental illness, peers and substance use all blended, with a veering away from law enforcement in the ONDCP mandate. In fact, the ONDCP, which provides drug prevention and enforcement grants, can not change its mandate simply by changing directors.