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New ONDCP Director is in Long Term Recovery

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has a new Director that recently celebrated 26 years in recovery. Michael P. Botticelli was confirmed by the US Senate on Monday with a 92-0 vote. His personal and professional experience makes for a promising road ahead on how the US deals with drug control policy.

Leave alone that Mr. Botticelli was unanimously confirmed by a Senate that regularly votes along widely-divided ideological lines these days. It’s a feather in the cap of any nominee or issue that doesn’t receive a single Nay vote. Maybe the reason is his experience and leadership in agencies that focus on substance use, prevention, and treatment. According to a press release from the ONDCP:

“Prior to joining ONDCP, Acting Director Botticelli served as Director of the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health… Mr. Botticelli also served in a variety of leadership roles for the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors; and was a member of the Advisory Committee for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention.”

Director Botticelli’s professional success has been driven by his personal experience in recovery. Having “been there” enables him to better communicate how drug use is a health issue and therefor doesn’t need to be stigmatized. His openness about being in recovery helps to cut through stigma, as well, which will hopefully open up more public dialog. His statement on the night of his confirmation makes that wish clear:

“Tonight, the United States Senate voted to confirm my nomination as Director of National Drug Control Policy. This is an honor I never dreamed of 26 years ago, when my substance use disorder had become so acute that I was handcuffed to a hospital bed. I accept this challenge with the humility and tenacity of someone in long term recovery.

I am open about my recovery not to be self-congratulatory, I am open about my recovery to change public policy. I have dedicated my life to treating drug use as a public health issue, and that’s how I approach this new role, as well. I hope that many more of the millions of Americans in recovery like me will also choose to “come out” and to fight to be treated like anyone else with a chronic disease. By putting faces and voices to the disease of addiction and the promise of recovery, we can lift the curtain of conventional wisdom that continues to keep too many of us hidden and without access to lifesaving treatment.”

Your humble author of this post relates to the new Director’s hope, having been in recovery for some time, and I join him in his call for recovering Americans to “come out”. I rarely run into someone who treats me with pity or scorn when I tell them why I don’t drink. Some of you will feel uncomfortable about it, and possibly for good reason. But if you can, then showing gratitude for life is a wonderful trait that should be shared.