Addiction: End Stigma, More Biomedicine, Got Stem Cells?
Founder of Loving Mind Institute, Marion “Joe” Riggs, Ph.D., appears on BOLD Business TV advocating for a change in public perception to view addiction as a medical health challenge; and, the critical need for more biomedical research and clinical advance. He covers the promise and progress in patient-driven, stem cell based models for understanding mental illness and their potential application for addiction.
He initiates the interview discussing his connection to the cause, including the challenges in treating addiction. Furthermore, he details the historical example of Straight, Inc., an adolescent treatment facility that operated from 70-90’s known to use abusive, brainwashing tactics based on isolation, dehumanization, and continual guilt confessions. Joe concludes with the biopsychosocial model of addiction, the critical need to end the stigma, and the vital role of biomedicine to help break the addictive cycle in order to speed the path to recovery.
Watch this engaging and informative interview as Joe gets personal, speaking on addiction and how the Loving Mind Institute is designed to address the gap in public support for biomedical research and clinical advance in addiction treatment.