Tag: Wes Thomsen

Remembering Wes Thomsen

News of Wes Thomsen’s sudden passing reached me Saturday afternoon at a wedding. I found myself struggling with the juxtaposition of beginnings and endings, joy and sadness — and, ultimately, future versus finality.

I’m going to remember Wes in innumerable ways: his ready smile; his unhurried manner; his palpable sense of contentment; his vision and creativity; his deft leadership skills; his deep desire to help those touched by addiction; his amazing portfolio of work at Hazelden Publishing (example here); and so forth.

Wes Thomsen (left) on set at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, Minn., on August 3rd, 2021.

But I will mainly remember Wes as a friend surrounded by lights and cameras who blessed me with amazing conversations. ✸

Kate Gillette created a GoFundMe campaign to benefit Andrea and Margot. Please give generously.

P.S. A lovely memorial service occurred on October 1st. I appreciated the photographs of Wes, hearing the various recollections and tributes, and the remarkable closing song by Pegtop. A recording of the livestream captures most of this. I’m currently trying to find a stream of “I Believe in You,” a track on Just Us.

Addictive Substances WYNTK

Way back in August, we filmed the tenth and final installment of Hazelden Publishing’s What You Need to Know (WYNTK) Series. Our set was at the beautiful Westminster Presbyterian Church in Downtown Minneapolis.

That installment, Addictive Substances, is now out — or, as my kids would say, it “dropped.” Wes Thomsen, the senior producer, generously gave me permission to post a segment here.

I appear at 1:50
Copyright © Hazelden Publishing. Used with permission

Many thanks to Wes Thomsen, Sylvia Jaurez, Brad Hadsall, Chris Dougherty and Jennilee Park for conceiving and producing the series. I’m looking forward to ongoing adventures! ✸

WYNTK Finale

We filmed the tenth and final installment of Hazelden Publishing’s What You Need to Know (WYNTK) Series today. Our set was at the beautiful Westminster Presbyterian Church in Downtown Minneapolis.

Many thanks to Wes Thomsen, Sylvia Jaurez, Brad Hadsall, Chris Dougherty and Jennilee Park for conceiving and producing the series. I’m looking forward to our next adventure! ✸

—
Postscript [08/03/2021]. “Where are you in the program overviews?” Please see Alcohol starting at 1:17 and Nicotine & Vaping starting at 2:20. And, there is much more in the full products.

Nicotine & Vaping WYNTK

I’m a longtime friend of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and have frequently collaborated with Hazelden Publishing on various educational offerings. What You Need to Know (WYNTK) is the latest series

We filmed the Nicotine & Vaping program in late February, which seems like years ago because of Covid-19. It’s now available for preview and purchase

Hazelden Publishing

Many thanks to Wes Thomsen and his crew at Hazelden Publishing for involving me in this project. My previous appearances can be found here and here. ✸

Nicotine & Vaping WYNTK

I was in medical school when the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement occurred. It was a major public health victory that was quickly eclipsed by the opioid epidemic.

But nicotine never really went away. If anything, it metastasized into more insidious social problems.

Teens have been trading traditional combustible cigarettes for “vaping.” Use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco declined between 2011 and 2015. This was basically offset by a sharp increase in the use of e-cigarettes (1.5% to 16%) and hookahs (4.1% to 7.2%). The net net was no change in overall tobacco use (24.2% vs. 25.3%).

Severe vaping-related lung injury is just the latest wrinkle.

Top Right: Wes Thomsen (red shirt), Brad Hadsall (far camera) and Sylvia Juarez (near camera).

With this context in mind, I was in studio yesterday to shoot the third installment of Hazelden’s What You Need to Know series. Opioids and Meth packages are already available for purchase. Nicotine & Vaping, Alcohol and Cannabis packages can be preordered.

Many thanks to Wes Thomsen and his crew at Hazelden Publishing for involving me in this project. My previous appearances can be found here and here. ✸