A War with No Ending
At present, the emphasis is on interdiction, the supply side. Meanwhile, we struggle with cuts in resources for treatment and prevention – the demand side.
The Dilemma of Reactance
Psychological reactance is a common issue in addiction treatment wherever it’s been mandated as a consequence of an offense, or as an alternative to punishment.
Last spring, I stumbled across a news item about the anniversary of the official declaration of America’s War on Drugs, on June 17, 1971, by order of President Richard Nixon. That was only a few weeks after I had graduated from college, gotten married, and taken off from Ohio for the San Francisco Bay Area, where I planned to look for a job.
Any job, really. I was an English major. No real career path.
The first real job I found was in a newly- launched alcohol and drug treatment program in Marin County, a few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Being a new graduate with no discernible credentials, I was assigned the least desirable tasks, including observing detox patients as they gave urine samples. Basically that involved standing in the doorway behind the fellow as he peed into the little bottle, to ensure he didn’t interfere with the sample to avoid detection.
I did a pretty good job of that. I could say with some assurance that the detox patients weren’t...
Any job, really. I was an English major. No real career path.
The first real job I found was in a newly- launched alcohol and drug treatment program in Marin County, a few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Being a new graduate with no discernible credentials, I was assigned the least desirable tasks, including observing detox patients as they gave urine samples. Basically that involved standing in the doorway behind the fellow as he peed into the little bottle, to ensure he didn’t interfere with the sample to avoid detection.
I did a pretty good job of that. I could say with some assurance that the detox patients weren’t...
- Thinking About Addiction
- In the News
- Public Health
- Public Policy
Bupe or Bust
It wasn’t long, however, before we realized that the relapse rates from detoxification using Suboxone were quite high, with drug use often resuming on the day of discharge.
AI for Mental Health? Not So Fast
An increasing number of people rely on AI as their *primary resource for mental health concerns. That includes truly vulnerable populations, such as adolescents.
A War with No Ending
At present, the emphasis is on interdiction, the supply side. Meanwhile, we struggle with cuts in resources for treatment and prevention – the demand side.
- Resources About
- Addiction
- Addictive Substances
- Prevention
- Recovery
- Treatment
A Treatment Program in a Corrections Setting
...it seems an awful waste to miss out on an opportunity to address their alcohol and drug problems while they’re literally a ‘captive’ audience.
A Massive Growth Spurt for Gambling
...a 24-fold increase in six short years. Almost all of it in the form of bets placed online. No casino, no off-track betting parlor required.
Shatter and Dab
Because of its extraordinary strength, shatter and its brother concentrates tend to attract more experienced users, in search of additional impact from drug use.
Life in a Hot Spot
Make it a continuing effort, using strategies based in evidence, and harnessing the power of human interaction-- instead of relying on a burst of anti-drug education, however intense.
Anonymity — Out of Date?
...isn’t TikTok and influencer culture undeniably afflicted with far too much of,that same “ambition and illegitimate pride” that AA’s founders felt they must avoid?
A Treatment Program in a Corrections Setting
...it seems an awful waste to miss out on an opportunity to address their alcohol and drug problems while they’re literally a ‘captive’ audience.
- Resources For
- Addiction Clinicians
- Families
- People in Recovery
- Programs
Is This Recovery?
...there are other folks out there like these— pretending to sobriety yet still secretly using, and hoping to avoid the sort of trouble that haunted them in the past.
Overstimulated?
I was nonetheless surprised to learn that one of the areas where use increased the most was among people in their 70s.
Parenting Under The Influence
Children raised in such families are more likely to be exposed to violence, to initiate their own substance use at an earlier age, and to have mental health problems in childhood.
Is This Recovery?
...there are other folks out there like these— pretending to sobriety yet still secretly using, and hoping to avoid the sort of trouble that haunted them in the past.
Officers in the House
...with law enforcement agencies taking on vastly different roles, planning and practicing our response appears more important than in the past.
- Library
- Bookshelf
- PDF Articles
- Videos
A Novel Approach
...the author, who grew up in and around the region, chose to use its earnings to found Higher Ground, a home for recovering women.
A Novel Approach
...the author, who grew up in and around the region, chose to use its earnings to found Higher Ground, a home for recovering women.
Diagnosing Cannabis Use Disorder: Updated
It certainly makes sense that if you suffer from a major mental illness, you should stay away from pot.
Video: Practical Advice on Prescription Painkiller Problems
People have abused opiates for 5,000 years. As much as medicine depends on them, they've always created problems for a percentage of users.
