Tom Barlow Tackles Opioid Crisis with “The Wizard” Video
Tom Barlow, the JUNO-nominated artist behind the pop-rock band Barlow, today releases a new song and accompanying music video for “The Wizard,” which sheds light on the North American opioid crisis and Richard Sackler of Purdue Pharma, the man responsible for the unethical and harmful launch of legal opioids into our communities. Barlow will be donating 100% of his royalties from streams and downloads of the song directly to Mississauga-based charity Moms Stop The Harm, a network of Canadian families impacted by substance-use-related harms and death.
In addition to raising awareness for the opioid crisis through the song, Barlow is using his upcoming concerts – including his show at Toronto’s The Drake Underground on June 12 – to educate fans about naloxone. This life-saving treatment option can reverse the effects of opioids and is available for free at pharmacies across Canada. Over the past few years, Barlow has invited mental health and medical professionals to his shows to educate fans, including a live naloxone training demonstration in 2022. His goal is to continue driving awareness about mental health first aid and promoting available online training courses throughout his summer shows. This will serve to help reduce stigma and normalize conversations about the potential harms of this substance that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
“We need to end the stigma of addiction and make those who engineered and profited from this tragedy criminally accountable for their actions,” says Barlow.
Barlow writes about Sackler being “The Wizard” of the Opioid Crisis, using some of Sackler’s actual “on record” statements that show the intent to flood the market and then blame the people who become addicted. The song, co-written and produced by renowned bassist Tom Lewis, is as current as the topic itself and drives home the message with an infectious groove and a killer bass line.
The music video features appearances by actors Bryan Cranston and Michael Keaton. In 2019, HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” broadcast a segment about opioids, including clips in which they hired the actors to re-enact Sackler’s deposition transcript since videos from the deposition were never released publicly. Oliver offered up the videos for anyone to use, which helped amplify the intent of “The Wizard.” Barlow, watching the episode, was amazed that some of the quotes in the video were the same quotes he used in his song. While creating the video for the song, Barlow integrated the footage of the actors to help put the Sackler name on the Opioid Crisis.
Watch the video for “The Wizard” below and learn more via our mini-interview.
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hello, my name is Tom Barlow, I’m a singer-songwriter interested in musical storytelling. The stories I tell are sometimes inward-looking reflections on my life and sometimes outward observations of the society I inhabit. Musically, every album I’ve made over the past 25 years has been quite unique and driven by my varied collaborators and evolving musical tastes.
You have unveiled your single, “The Wizard,” in which you tackle the Opioid Crisis. Tell us a bit about the writing process behind the release.
“The Wizard” began with a feeling of outrage that Richard Sackler, the person who brought the opioid crisis to the world, was not only not in jail but was living freely as a billionaire philanthropist. I collected his emails and court-recorded statements in a folder called “Sackler’s Mind.” When Tom Lewis, my longtime bass player, sent me a ’60s-inspired bass riff, those Sackler quotes seemed to start speaking. I asked uber producer Bill Bell if he could combine outrage and defiance into a danceable modern rock and roll song and we ended up with “The Wizard.”
Alongside the single, you shared a music video with a powerful message. Tell us a bit about this.
On April 14, 2019, HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” broadcast a segment about opioids. It included clips in which they hired actors to read the deposition transcripts of Richard Sackler’s own words, including Michael Keaton and “Breaking Bad” drug lord Bryan Cranston. The video content at sacklergallery.com was released to the public for anyone to use. Many of these quotes had been previously saved in my “Sackler’s Mind” folder and formed the basis of “The Wizards” lyrics. I now had a visual foundation for the video and with an iPhone and some rudimentary editing skills video, production began.
You have announced you will be donating 100% of the royalties from streams and downloads of this track to the Mississauga-based charity, Moms Stop The Harm. What made you decide to do this?
Moms Stop the Harm is a network of Canadian families impacted by substance-use-related harms and deaths. They have a branch in Port Credit where I live and they asked me if I would perform “The Wizard” at their annual event. I was very moved by their activism in the face of immense loss and sadness. MSTH advocates for the change of failed drug policies, provides peer support to grieving families and assists those with loved ones who use or have used substances.
You will be playing Toronto on June 12, and you will be educating fans about naloxone, a lifesaving treatment option that can reverse the effects of opioids and is available for free at pharmacies across Canada. Care to give us a sneak peek into the information you will be sharing?
Opening our show at The Drake Underground on June 12 will be singer-songwriter-mental health activist Catherine Harrison. She will be providing information on mental health first aid (MHFA) as well as guidance on where and how to get online training in Naloxone use. The stigma and lack of information about mental health and addiction prevents people from getting the care they need. Mental Health First Aid is training that teaches people how to help a person developing a mental health problem, experiencing a mental health crisis, or worsening their mental health. Taking this course increases our mental health literacy and improves the likelihood of better well-being for all of us. Naloxone awareness and training is tied directly to the current opioid crisis. Everyone should add Naloxone to their first aid kit and know how to help someone in a state of overdose. There is a free online Naloxone Training program you can access to learn how to notice the signs of a toxic dose and administer Naloxone while waiting for help to arrive. The MHFA course does not teach people how to be therapists. It does teach people how to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health problems, provides initial help, and helps guide a person toward appropriate professional help. Just as CPR training helps individuals with no clinical training assist an individual following a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid training helps individuals assist someone experiencing a mental health crisis, such as suicidal behaviour. In both situations, the goal is to help support an individual until appropriate professional help is identified.
If someone needs more information on this topic, where would be a good starting point for them?
Register for a certified Mental Health First Aid course and take the free online Naloxone training program. Here are 2 important links:
Mental Health First Aid
Free Online Naloxone Training
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