Michael Botticelli, who served as director of National Drug Control Policy at the White House during the Obama Administration, will now be running Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine.
“Boston Medical Center has a very long history of dealing with addiction issues," said Botticelli Monday on Boston Public Radio. The new Grayken Center, he added, has "really become a national leader in some of the models that they’ve developed ... particularly with opioid addiction.”
One of Botticelli’s goals for the center, he said, will be to destigmatize addiction. As a former addict himself, Botticelli sees the stigma of addiction as a major hurdle for recovery.
“I’m one of the estimated 20 million people who are in recovery," he said. "I don’t know a family that hasn’t been touched by this issue, yet we remain silent. There is still a stigma because we haven’t talked about it in an open and honest way.”
Botticelli praised Mayor Marty Walsh for his candor while talking about his own history with addiction and recovery. Walsh’s opening line while speaking at the Democratic National Convention last summer was, “My name is Marty Walsh, and I’m an alcoholic.”
“I can’t ask for a better person to champion recovery than elected officials and high-profile people,” Botticelli said. “This has happened with other diseases like cancer, HIV, and AIDS, where if you know someone, it really diminishes the stigma and quite honestly contributes to better public policy. I think we are beginning to see a change,” he said.
Michael Botticelli was the director of National Drug Control Policy at the White House during the Obama Administration. He will now be running Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center. To hear his interview in its entirety, click on the audio player above.
