When the NY Times picked a focus for their most recent story on addiction policy and research, they couldn’t have asked for a better representative than Dr. McLellan who after decades of addiction research is now helping to form U.S. drug policy.

The man is one of my personal idols and believes, like I do, that addiction is a mental health issue and not a moral one. He is married to a cocaine addict and has recently lost one of his sons to a suicide by pills and alcohol.

Please check out the rest of this story for a glimpse into the man who is now our #2 Drug Czar! Finally there is someone at the helm that truly understands the nature of addiction.