Roneet Lev, MD is honored to return to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) as Chief Medical Officer and Assistant Director in the Office of Public Health. She brings decades of front-line medical expertise to drug policy as an emergency and addiction physician in San Diego.
Dr. Lev served as Chief of the emergency department at Scripps Mercy Hospital, President of the California Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, and Executive Director of Independent Emergency Physicians Consortium (IEPC). She helped establish the International Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis (IASIC), advocating on the risks associated with marijuana.
A dedicated public health advocate, Dr. Lev founded and chaired the San Diego County Prescription Drug Abuse Medical Task Force in 2012 - the first of its kind in California – uniting medical professionals, law enforcement officials, hospitals, public health agencies, and treatment programs to implement safe prescribing practices that successfully decreased mortality in San Diego County. Her “Death Diaries” publications analyzed the prescribing patterns of those who died from overdoses, providing vital insight to inform policy and overdose prevention.
Dr. Lev created and hosted the High Truths on Drugs and Addiction podcast, offering a 360-degree view of drug related issues, featuring experts and individuals with lived experience. She founded and chaired the San Diego County Community Response to Drug Overdoses (CReDO) in 2020, a committee that integrated public health, public safety, and prevention leaders to analyze emerging drug trends and coordinated real time interventions.
Dr. Lev is the drafter of Tyler’s Law, landmark legislation in California that requires fentanyl to be included in all drug tests ordered in California hospitals. This law has been adopted by several other states, is being considered federally, and has been credited with saving lives nationwide. She continues to support parent advocates and community prevention programs across the country,
A graduate of the University of Texas Medical School in San Antonio, Dr. Lev completed her emergency medicine residency at the University of California San Diego, and is dually board certified in addiction medicine. As a mother of four, she brings a deeply personal commitment to supporting families affected by addiction. With a passion for helping others, she channels her clinical experience into impactful public health leadership.