The National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association is pleased to welcome nationally respected addiction medical specialist and Director of Drug Policy for the State of West Virginia, Dr. Stephen Loyd, as the keynote speaker at the association’s 2026 Conference & Trade Show (April 26-30, 2026, Orange County, CA).
The inspiration behind Michael Keaton’s character in the Emmy Award-winning series “Dopesick” on Hulu, Dr. Loyd has battled the opioid epidemic since beginning his own recovery journey from opioid and benzodiazepine addiction in 2004.
For more than 20 years, he has advocated for treatment and recovery initiatives, testified in the courts against opioid manufacturers and distributors, and supported effective drug policies both locally and nationally. In 2014, he was named an Advocate for Action by the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
Dr. Loyd’s personal story of overcoming a substance use disorder serves as a driving force, motivating him to continue making strides for positive change.
Currently, Dr. Loyd serves as director of West Virginia’s Office of Drug Control Policy, Chief Medical Officer at Cedar Recovery in Tennessee and as chair of the Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council. He was an original member (still active) of the Treatment of Chronic Pain Guidelines Committee, which defined pain treatment for providers in the state of Tennessee, and has worked as an addiction medicine physician in both the inpatient and outpatient settings, specializing in the treatment of opioid dependent pregnant women. Dr. Loyd has served on multiple drug courts in Tennessee and remains an active participant in drug court in the 4th Judicial District. He has worked with community-level anti-drug coalitions and with all levels of state law enforcement, mainly the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. He currently serves as the vice-president of the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners and previously served as the Assistant Commissioner (Opioid Czar) for Substance Abuse Services in the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Dr. Loyd has been an expert witness in more than twenty federal and state cases against physicians who were improperly prescribing controlled substances.
Dr. Loyd is a graduate of the James H. Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University. Since he began his journey of recovery, Dr. Loyd has delivered more than five hundred educational lectures on addiction and treatment of opioid use disorder and proper prescribing of controlled substances.
For details and to register for NDASA’s 2026 Conference & Trade Show, visit the conference website.