He received a BA cum laude at Pomona College and then attended the University Of New Mexico School Of Medicine for his M.D. He received his MPH from the Medical College of Wisconsin and is Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine. His medical practice experiences includes 19 years of solo Internal Medicine in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 5 years as the staff physician at Turquoise Lodge ( a New Mexico Department of Health drug and alcohol detox and rehab facility), 6 years as the medical director of a methadone maintenance clinic, and presently over 10 years as faculty at the University of New Mexico medical school. He has been an instructor for the NMSU Masters of Psychopharmacology course since its inception.