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Jeffrey B. Simon an attorney from Park Cities with an office in Downtown Dallas, hosts Outside Counsel a podcast for which he draws on his 30-plus years of experience to discuss the scope and impact of the opioid crisis, as well as the tactics his firm and other legal teams are deploying in the “fight against Big Pharma,” according to a press release from Outside Counsel Media.
The first ten episodes “spearheaded an incredibly important conversation about America’s opioid crisis and what is really happening in our country,” according to the media company.
According to Simon, the opioid epidemic is “the largest drug-related public health crisis in American history” and it is worsening.
“More Americans died in 2021 from accidental drug overdoses than died from the AIDS virus during the years 1981-1990,” he says. “Efforts to stem both public health crises were hindered by policy makers who unfairly blamed the victims of grave diseases rather than treating them as precious human beings deserving of care and compassion.”
The final four episodes of Outside Counsel‘s premiere season are set to release bi-weekly starting on today. This block features a two-part piece in which Simon and journalist Chris McGreal (The Guardian), discuss McGreal’s intense experience reporting from the front lines of this epidemic and researching and writing his book: American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts. Chris dives deep into the importance of destigmatizing the disease of opioid addiction, and how, in Chris’ assessment, corporate misconduct was aided and abetted by powerful Congressional allies.
Simon also sits down with a former multi-national technology executive who developed a raging addiction to opioids and nearly lost his life, and that of his wife, to the disease. Discussions include how addiction to OxyContin leads some people to heroin use, and why a pugilistic “War on Drugs” policy approach to harm reduction has failed.
On the season finale, Jeffrey is joined by Major Patricia Cole, a Lee County, Kentucky, EMT who has dedicated her career to opioid harm reduction following the tragic loss of her son to an accidental opioid overdose. In this episode, Cole describes how she has sought to turn her family’s tragedy into life-saving triumphs for others.
Outside Counsel is produced by Shannon McDeez of Revel & Convey and Larry Chavana. An overview and episode guide can be found at jeffreybsimon.com.
Listen at Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, YouTube
