Former drug czar to speak at NYC fentanyl walk, publish new policy plan

Richard J. Baum, the former acting head of the White House drug office, will speak Saturday at the DEA and United Against Fentanyl Walk for Lives in New York City. He is also releasing his full set of 12 Hard Lessons and 32 policy recommendations online as part of a push to modernize the U.S. response to opioids and synthetic drugs.

Why it matters: - Richard J. Baum is using a high-profile public event to push a new policy agenda on fentanyl, overdose and synthetic drugs. - The release adds a free online resource aimed at drug policy, treatment, public safety and international enforcement. - The event is also part of a larger national awareness campaign with walk events in more than 100 communities.

What happened: - Baum will speak Saturday, July 11, at the United Against Fentanyl / DEA Walk for Lives in New York City. - The walk starts at Korean War Veterans Plaza at the Brooklyn entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge and ends at City Hall Park in Manhattan. - Baum is a featured speaker alongside DEA leadership, bereaved family members, treatment and recovery leaders, and Paul Martin, CEO of United Against Fentanyl. - Baum is publicly releasing the complete 12 Hard Lessons and 32 Recommendations from his 2026 book, Inside America's Opioid Crisis: 12 Hard Lessons for Today's Drug War. - The recommendations are now available on his website for broader public discussion.

The details: - The walk begins at 9:30 a.m. - Featured speakers begin at about 10:30 a.m. - Baum's remarks are scheduled for about 11:00 a.m. - Media interviews will follow the program. - The Brooklyn Bridge event serves as the national kickoff for Walk for Lives events in more than 100 communities. - Participants will include bereaved families, advocates, people in recovery, law enforcement, prevention leaders, treatment providers, public health professionals, educators and community organizations. - Baum says the new online resource lays out a national strategy to modernize the response to addiction, overdose, drug trafficking, treatment, recovery, prevention and emerging synthetic drug threats. - The recommendations are organized into five policy pillars: governance and accountability, treatment and recovery, criminal justice and public safety, enforcement and international strategy, and prevention and future readiness. - The resource is available at Hard Lessons and Recommendations. - Baum served 28 years at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy across six presidential administrations. - Baum was Acting Director of ONDCP from 2017 to 2018. - Baum also serves on the advisory board of United Against Fentanyl and is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy.

Between the lines: - The timing ties a policy rollout to a memorial-style public march, which is meant to link remembrance with concrete action. - Baum's message centers on a broad response, not just enforcement, with treatment access and public health partnerships placed alongside law enforcement. - The inclusion of international strategy signals that the fentanyl crisis is being framed as a supply-chain and precursor-chemicals problem as well as a domestic public health emergency.

What's next: - United Against Fentanyl and DEA are planning a national walk in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 26. - A policy summit at Georgetown University's Capitol Campus is expected to follow that D.C. event. - Additional information on the upcoming initiatives will be available from United Against Fentanyl after the Brooklyn Bridge event.