In this digital short we hear from two different specialists about how they are addressing the opioid crisis:...
What’s Next?
The final episode of this series focuses on potential solutions to this crisis. Just as law enforcement has a 360 plan to combat the epidemic, we must tackle it as a community. We also hear from Dr. Rahul Gupta, who, as West Virginia’s state health commissioner, implemented a social autopsy to assess the opioid overdose deaths in West Virginia, which was the state with the highest levels of opioid deaths in the country.
List of interviewees:
- Dr. Rahul Gupta, now with March of Dimes
- Ken Solek, DEA Special Agent
- Representative Liz Olson (D), Minnesota House of Representatives, 7-B
- Stephan Witherspoon, Duluth NAACP President
- Mark Rubin, St. Louis County Attorney
- Dr. Elizabeth Bilden, Essentia Health Toxicologist
- Jessica McCarthy, DPD Opioid Program Technician
- Gary Olson, OARS
- Greg Anderson, OARS
- Sue Purchase, Harm Reduction Specialist
- Lynn Hall
- Duluth Police Lt. Jeff Kazel, Commander of the Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crime Task Force
- Dr. Nicholas Van Deelan, St. Luke's Emergency Dept.
- U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, (D) Minnesota
- Representative David Baker, (R) Minnesota House of Representatives, 17-B
- Dr. Joseph Bianco, Essentia Health
- Kellen Davis, Addiction Councilor
