Former Acting US Drug Czar Richard J. Baum to Speak at NYC DEA/UAF Fentanyl Awareness Walk and Release Recommendations

Baum at the Office of National Drug Control Policy in Washington, D.C.

Acting Director Baum visiting drug treatment center in Vermont in 2017 and posing with office dog

Baum's Hard Lesson #12 - There is no Easy Button to address the opioid crisis

Drawing on 28 years at ONDCP and his 2026 book, Baum publicly releases 12 "Hard Lessons" and 32 Policy Recommendations for the opioid and synthetic drug crisis.

Remembrance and awareness must be matched by action. Insights from the 12 hard lessons and the proposals in the 32 recommendations offer a national strategy equal to the severe threat we face.”

— Richard J. Baum

NEW YORK CITY, NY, UNITED STATES, July 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Richard J. Baum, former Acting Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and Advisory Board Member of

United Against Fentanyl (UAF), will participate as a featured speaker in the United Against Fentanyl / DEA Walk for Lives event on Saturday, July 11, beginning at the Brooklyn Bridge and concluding with remarks at City Hall Park.

Baum will join DEA leadership, bereaved family members, treatment and recovery leaders, and Paul Martin, CEO of United Against Fentanyl, in calling for a stronger national response to the fentanyl crisis. Following the walk, Baum will discuss the evolving synthetic drug supply, expanding access to treatment and recovery, strengthening public health and law enforcement partnerships, and modernizing international efforts to reduce the flow of fentanyl, synthetic drugs, and the chemicals used to manufacture them.

In conjunction with the event, Baum is also making publicly available for the first time 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. Previously available only to readers of the book, these recommendations are now freely accessible on his website to encourage broader public discussion about the actions needed to better address America's evolving opioid and synthetic drug crisis.

The new online resource presents what Baum describes as a national strategy to modernize America's response to addiction, overdose, drug trafficking, treatment, recovery, prevention, and emerging synthetic drug threats. Organized into five policy pillars, the recommendations address governance and accountability, treatment and recovery, criminal justice and public safety, enforcement and international strategy, and prevention and future readiness.

The Brooklyn Bridge event is the national kickoff for Walk for Lives events taking place in more than 100 communities across the country. Participants will include bereaved families, advocates, people in recovery, law enforcement, prevention leaders, treatment providers, public health professionals, educators, and community organizations united in raising awareness and calling for action.

Baum's remarks will emphasize that remembrance and awareness must be matched by action.