The Opioid Defense: What Alex Murdaugh's Case Reveals About Addiction and Accountability

Ep. 61: Joe Rogan on Ozempic: Getting the Facts Straight

Joe Rogan spent twenty minutes on Ozempic and GLP-1s recently. He said the drugs kill desire, that people fall out of love, that they treat addiction, that discipline alone would do the same job as the medication. Millions of listeners heard it as settled fact. Some of it holds up. Some of it doesn’t — and the gap between the two reveals a lot about how addiction, appetite, and reward actually work in the brain. In this episode, Dr. Suzette Glasner — clinical psychologist and addiction scientist — goes through Rogan’s biggest claims and checks them against the research. GLP-1s sit at the exact intersection of what she studies: appetite, reward, and behavior change. Watch the full episode here: In this episode:0:00 Intro — Why Look at Joe Rogan's Ozempic Claims1:20 Claim 1: "It Kills Your Desire" — GLP-1s, Mood, and Anhedonia6:21 Claim 2: Can GLP-1s Curb Addiction? (Alcohol, Smoking, Gambling)10:22 Claim 3: "Just Use Discipline" — Is Obesity a Willpower Problem?13:11 Claim 4: Why Weight Comes Back After Stopping GLP-1s14:48 Recap: What the Science Actually Shows GLP-1s are reshaping addiction treatment and the way we think about weight, willpower, and what it means to struggle with your body. This episode is about what the research actually shows. 📩 Questions or topic requests: AskDrGlasner@gmail.com 🧩 More about Dr. Glasner: https://drglasner.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drglasner.substack.com [https://drglasner.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Ep. 60: Daveigh Chase - Lost to Fentanyl at 35

In 2002, a twelve-year-old girl voiced one of the most beloved Disney characters of a generation. That same year, she terrified audiences in The Ring. Her name was Daveigh Chase, and for a moment, she was everywhere. Last month, she died in a Los Angeles hospital at 35 years old. The cause of death was sepsis — a bacterial infection that overwhelmed her body. She had been living near Skid Row, malnourished and without access to healthcare, after years of opioid dependence that began with a prescription after a back injury and eventually progressed to heroin and fentanyl. According to her family, she had been missing for nearly a decade. She was not a cautionary tale. She was a person with a treatable disease who didn’t receive adequate treatment. In Episode 60 of The Dr. Suzette Glasner Podcast, addiction scientist and clinical psychologist Dr. Suzette Glasner examines the forces that shaped Daveigh Chase’s story — and why it keeps repeating. From the specific psychological vulnerabilities that make child performers uniquely susceptible to addiction, to the way opioid dependence progresses from prescription use to fentanyl, to the homelessness-addiction spiral that claimed her life long before the infection did — Dr. Glasner walks through what the science actually tells us about how this happens and what it would take to intervene earlier. You can watch the full episode here: Daveigh Chase’s death wasn’t an overdose in the traditional sense. It was a body weakened by years of fentanyl use, malnutrition, and disconnection from care, exposed to an infection it couldn’t survive. That’s what dying from addiction often actually looks like — not a single moment, but a slow accumulation of harm that the healthcare system never found a way to interrupt. Dr. Glasner also addresses what families can do when someone they love seems unreachable — drawing on evidence-based approaches including CRAFT, harm reduction, and Housing First that don’t require waiting for rock bottom. Tylor Chase. Tyler Christopher. Daveigh Chase. The names change. The structure doesn’t. This episode is about why — and what we can do better. Resources mentioned in this episode: * CRAFT (Community Reinforcement and Family Training): smartrecovery.org * SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357 — free, confidential, 24/7 * Al-Anon: al-anon.org * Naloxone locator: nextdistro.org If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe to The Dr. Suzette Glasner Podcast so you never miss a new episode — and consider leaving a review. It makes a real difference in helping others find the show. Have a question, a topic you’d like Dr. Glasner to cover, or a story you think deserves attention? Reach out at AskDrGlasner@gmail.com — she reads every message. 🎧 Listen and subscribe: The Dr. Suzette Glasner Podcast / Dr. Suzette Glasner [https://substack.com/profile/197081893-dr-suzette-glasner] 🧩 Learn more: drglasner.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drglasner.substack.com [https://drglasner.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Cannabis, Anxiety & Depression: The Science Will Surprise You

Is Cannabis Good for Depression and Anxiety? What the Science Actually Says. Millions of Americans use cannabis to manage anxiety and depression. Perceived risk is at an all-time low. And yet — the clinical evidence tells a very different story than the cultural narrative. In this episode, clinical psychologist and addiction scientist Dr. Suzette Glasner breaks down three recent studies that every person using cannabis for mental health, every parent, and every clinician should know about. You can watch the full episode here: A 2026 study followed nearly half a million adolescents and found that individuals who used cannabis had more than double the risk of developing psychosis and bipolar disorder — with cannabis use preceding the diagnosis by almost two years. A Lancet Psychiatry review published the same year found no convincing evidence that cannabis effectively treats anxiety, depression, or PTSD — the conditions Americans most commonly say they use it for. And the potency problem: the cannabis on dispensary shelves today — flower at 15-20%+ THC, concentrates up to 90%. This matters because it directly impacts the risk of psychiatric and medical complications. Dr. Glasner also covers the conditions cannabis is FDA-approved to treat and why the answer surprises most people. In this episode: * Why perceived risk of cannabis has hit historic lows — and why that matters * What cannabis is actually FDA-approved to treat vs. what people use it for * The JAMA adolescent study: 463,000 teens followed over time * The Lancet review: examining evidence for cannabis as mental health treatment * Why potency matters 🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes on addiction science and mental health.📩 Questions or topic requests: AskDrGlasner@gmail.com [AskDrGlasner@gmail.com]🧩 drglasner.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drglasner.substack.com [https://drglasner.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Ep. 58 | Howie Mandel: OCD, Addiction, and the Nine-Year Gap

When Howie Mandel was a guest on the Howard Stern Show, he had a panic attack triggered by a door handle. He couldn’t bring himself to touch it. He tried to get someone else to open it — and when no one would, the OCD diagnosis he’d kept secret for decades slipped out on live radio, in front of millions of listeners. He thought he was off the air. He wasn’t. What happened next surprised him. A stranger stopped him on the street and said two words: I suffer from it too. That moment — realizing he wasn’t alone — changed his life. In this episode, clinical psychologist and addiction scientist Dr. Suzette Glasner use Mandel’s story as a window into what OCD actually is, why it takes an average of nine years to get the right help, and a connection that rarely gets named: the overlap between OCD and addiction. You can watch the full episode here: The OCD-Addiction Connection Alcohol. Cannabis. Whatever creates temporary relief from a brain that won’t stop. That is self-medication — and it is one of the most underrecognized consequences of untreated OCD. Mandel has spoken openly about his own use of alcohol and cannabis to cope, including during the COVID pandemic, when contamination-based OCD became almost unbearable. He is not an outlier. Twenty-five to forty percent of people with OCD misuse substances at some point in their lives — three to six times the general population’s risk. There’s one more piece of this that rarely makes it into the conversation: the role of family. Around 90 percent of families living with OCD accommodate it daily — repeating reassurances, spraying objects before they enter the house. Every act is driven by love. The research is consistent: the more accommodation, the more severe the OCD. Mandel’s wife Terry lived this for decades before drawing a clear, firm, loving line. The parallel to addiction enabling is direct — in both cases, absorbing the consequences of the condition delays the pressure that might otherwise drive someone toward help. The good news is that OCD is treatable. With ERP — Exposure and Response Prevention — 60 to 80 percent of people respond. People in recovery from OCD describe it the same way people in recovery from addiction do: not the absence of the thought, but the absence of its power. The nine-year gap doesn’t have to be your story. 🔍 Episode Breakdown 00:00 – Howie Mandel’s live-radio moment — and the stranger who changed everything 01:59 – Other public figures who’ve spoken out: Billy Bob Thornton, DiCaprio, Timberlake, Radcliffe 03:21 – What OCD actually is (and what it isn’t) 07:10 – The nine-year treatment gap - and why it exists 08:49 – The OCD-addiction connection: the self-medication loop 10:44 – Family accommodation and why love can prolong suffering 14:54 – What actually works: ERP, medication, and NOCD 18:10 – Three things to take with you 🧠 Key Takeaways * OCD is a neurobiological condition driven by intrusive thoughts and compulsive relief behaviors. * On average, nine years pass between onset and appropriate treatment, due to shame, misdiagnosis, and access barriers. * 25–40% of people with OCD misuse or are addicted to substances — self-medication that provides brief relief and worsens the cycle long-term. * Both conditions can and should be treated simultaneously — addressing one without the other significantly raises the risk of relapse. * ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) produces a 60–80% response rate. Combined with medication, it’s the gold standard. Listen to Episode 58 now to hear Howie Mandel’s story. 📩 Questions or topic suggestions? Email AskDrGlasner@gmail.com 🔗 Subscribe for evidence-based discussions on addiction, recovery, and mental health. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drglasner.substack.com [https://drglasner.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Ep. 57: Mental Illness Is Now The World's Leading Cause of Disability

In this episode, Dr. Suzette Glasner examines a striking new finding from one of the largest health studies ever conducted: for the first time in recorded history, mental illness has become the leading cause of disability worldwide. Drawing on a major analysis published in The Lancet that tracked mental disorders across 204 countries from 1990 to 2023, Dr. Glasner explains what researchers found, why anxiety and depression are driving much of the increase, and what this shift tells us about the state of global mental health today. You can watch or listen to the full episode of The Dr. Suzette Glasner Podcast here: The study found that approximately 1.17 billion people—roughly one in seven people worldwide—were living with a diagnosable mental disorder in 2023. Mental illness has now surpassed low back pain and other physical health conditions as the leading cause of years lived with disability, marking a profound change in the global burden of disease. Dr. Glasner explores why adolescents, particularly those between the ages of 15 and 19, are experiencing the sharpest increases in anxiety and depression. She reviews the evidence surrounding smartphones and social media, sleep deprivation, the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the complex relationship between mental health and substance use. She also discusses psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s widely debated book The Anxious Generation and what current research supports—and does not yet support—about the role of technology in the youth mental health crisis. Most importantly, Dr. Glasner highlights five evidence-based strategies that can help reduce the risk of anxiety and depression in young people, including improving sleep, increasing physical activity, strengthening in-person social connections, delaying substance use, and recognizing early warning signs before problems become more severe. If you’re a parent, educator, healthcare professional, or simply someone trying to better understand the growing mental health challenges facing young people today, this episode provides a clear, science-based overview of one of the most important public health findings of the decade. Thank you for being here and being part of this community. ⸻ Have a question about today’s episode? Or a question you’d like me to cover in a future episode? Email: askdrglasner@gmail.com [askdrglasner@gmail.com] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drglasner.substack.com [https://drglasner.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]