CDC chief says fentanyl almost killed his son
The new CDC director, Dr. Robert Redfield, says his son almost died of an opioid overdose when he took cocaine contaminated with fentanyl.
The head of the nation’s top public health agency says the opioid epidemic will be one of his priorities, and he revealed a personal reason for it: His son almost died from taking cocaine contaminated with the powerful painkiller fentanyl.
“For me, it’s personal. I almost lost one of my children from it,” Dr. Robert Redfield Jr. told the annual conference of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
The AP viewed a video of his speech, which he delivered Thursday in New Orleans. Redfield declined to speak about it Monday, except to say in a statement: “It’s important for society to embrace and support families who are fighting to win the battle of addiction — because stigma is the enemy of public health.”
Redfield mentioned his younger son while talking about his priorities for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he started as director in March. He listed the opioid crisis first, calling it “the public health crisis of our time.”
Public records show that the son, a 37-year-old musician, was charged with drug possession in 2016 in Maryland. The outcome of the case is not available in public records.
Dr. Umair Shah, the head of Houston’s county health department, applauded the CDC director’s moment of candor.
“It was definitely an intimate moment that grabbed the audience of public health professionals,” said Shah, who just finished a term as president of the association.
About 70,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, according to preliminary CDC numbers released last week. That’s a 10 percent increase from the year before.
Most of the deaths involved opioids, which are driving the deadliest drug overdose epidemic in U.S. history. Growing numbers of recent deaths have been attributed to fentanyl and fentanyl-like drugs, which are relatively cheap and are sometimes cut by suppliers into heroin, cocaine or other drugs without buyers’ knowledge.
Can you imagine that.. using the two NOUNS in the same sentence MUSICIAN and COCAINE and anyone being surprised? This “adult kid” was charged with possession in 2016… so it was apparently known to his Father/parents that he had a substance abuse problem.. But his “Doctor”/Father now becomes concerned when his “kid” got a hold some of his “drug of choice” mixed with an illegal Fentanyl analog and almost died.
Was his known addiction/substance abuse of ILLEGAL SUBSTANCES history “no big deal” to his Father prior to his son’s brush with death ?
Now his Father has become a CRUSADER for those suffering from the mental health issues of addictive personalities… I guess that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention … the last and newest part of this federal agencies title… PREVENTION… there is apparently NO CONCERN about addressing the treatment/prevention of chronic pain and unrelenting pain of 100 + million of our citizens.
Poor Dr Redfield, he is having to deal with the stigma that his family’s gene pool is “defective” and his son’s mental health disease of addictive personality is a personal embarrassment to him and the family.
Maybe we need to expand the “covert genocide” that our bureaucracy is doing to those suffering from chronic pain and start sterilizing addicts and any off springs before they can spread their “defective gene pool” to the next generation. We can’t legislate morality, we can legislate the legal supply of opiates and other substances that are abused, so is it time to start legislating what will less the DEMAND part of the equation ?
Filed under: General Problems
Screw him…and all the others who cannot keep hold of their so-called “loved” adult children doing drugs of THEIR choice. WE are not “doing” drugs, we are “taking our meds responsibly” CAN’T PEOPLE SEE THAT???? I am so sick and tired and pained by hearing this same old crapola. Maybe he should have taught his kid better, huh?
Hi,Robert Redfield.This article says your 37 yr.old “kid”almost O.D.That is always a fair gamble with street drugs.So now you’re on a mission to stop the hospice from giving grandma pain meds.for her end stage cancer.Because ultimately,that is who will pay for your “kid’s”stupidity.Article says about 50,000 die annually that way.I got news!!One American dies every 14 seconds every year from second hand smoke.That adds up to somewhere in the 6 figures.Yet somehow,THIS is not an epidemic.Say what?Tell me what practical use tobacco has medicinally.Usually a trip to the cardio-pulmonary unit.At around 6 or 7 dollars a pack?Your son almost O.D.Yet every day,a half-formed human life is torn out of their mother.Planned Parenthood.What an elite name for murder.Why dont you take your dirty laundry to the right laundromat.You digust me w/your double standard.Go piss up a rope!
Well all I can say is we thought we were in trouble before we’re really screwed now. This guy is so warped in the head that he can’t see beyond his son’s inability to live his life with some type of productivity. He wants to go after anybody who is an addict. Problem is his anger is blinding him to the fact that he’s going about it backwards. You need to help the people out there that I have the problem not hurt over 100 million of chronic pain patients. Why can they not understand that it’s not prescription medications that are killing people . Prescription medication didn’t try to kill his son. His son was trying to basically kill him self so maybe he should be more concerned about suicide!
EXACTLY…he is too blinded by his rage and misguided determination. Scary combination, when coupled with a position of power!
Yep, eugenics to get rid of all those with addictive tendencies is the way to go. Considering the number of people addicted to tobacco & alcohol, that’d sure go a helluva long way toward slowing down environmental problems attributable to excess human population, as well as cutting down on opioid demand.
Of course, Redfield & all his kids should be among the first to go since the son proves that addictive tendencies run in his family. And obviously they should immediately stop producing or distributing Narcan.
And since they’re so convinced that any bit of pain medicine can be addictive, not only should they eliminate all pain meds. Moreover, we should stop all practice of any kind of medicine, since anyone who needs medical care of any kind is clearly unfit.
To back off from bitter sarcasm…ya know, they’ve found prehistoric, Stone Age skeletons of old & maimed people, people who couldn’t have survived without other members of their group taking care of them. Proof that they had empathy, that they cared about their “non-productive” members. How in God’s name have we gotten to the point where Neanderthals & Cro-Magnons were demonstrably more “civilized” and better people than those in power in the US?
archaic Neanderthals politician,some doctors ,,,etc,,,and who could forget the psychopathic opiatephobia disorder poster child,,kolodny,,,jmo,,,maryw
AMEN MR.AREINS,,,, nailed your analogy,,,SO LETS SEE,,,,,we have a surgeon general whos kid o.d.,,,,adult kid mind u,,,here in wisco,,we have a senator who’s mommy she claimed was an addict,,,but no mention if she was also medically ill and needed medicine,,we have a attorney general who’s daughter is a heroin addict,,got charged w/the death of a infant because she sold a pregnant women heroin,she is now in jail for murder,,,all holding public office and using there PERSONAL FAMILY HISTORY to make new laws to deny us access to our medicines,,,,,does anyone else see thee unlawfulness of this??Back in the days of some assemblance of humanity w/ our government,,,,their personal issues would of denied them the right to make any news laws about the subject matter,,soooo why not now??why are soo many politicians who obviously put their career ahead of raising their children,,,why now,,,do we allow them to torture the medically ill to death,,for revenge of their inability as parents to be a parent or their adult child simply choosing unlawfully to do drugs???wth,,,it use to be called,,a bias opinion,,,,now a days a bias opinion is called fact…These inhuman killers,,,do not know the word moderation at all,,,either your an addict or not,,,,No truth is allowed in-between,,,that we are medically ill in physical pain,,,thats the truth,,U know,,people would ask me,,,if the glass was 1/2 full or empty,,,and ALWAYS,,,ALWAYS,, I would answer them,,,,filled to the middle,.What these opiatephobs are doing is extremism,,there is no midde ground for these psychopathic opiatephobs,,and they should all be dismiss from serving any political position that is about the MEDICine opiates,,maryw
Bias & conflict of interest. Little does he understand mostly us have already dropped to our knees…many of us in prayer & all of us in shattering pain or fear.
Amen