Topic: adolescent addiction

The public , including those in elected office, seem to assume that the expected prohibition on sales and use by underage persons will somehow be enough to limit the damage.

From a seller’s viewpoint, no customer is more desirable than someone who is actually dependent on their product.

Colleges know their students are drinking, often heavily.

…actually more of an issue now than in the 80’s, because of the presence of super-powerful opioids like fentanyl or carfentanil, and the growing risk of unintended overdose.

Our healthcare system supports more and in some cases better treatment based on the ability to pay for it.

Nobody knows exactly how extensive off label prescribing is, but estimates range from a fifth of all prescriptions written in the US, to a third if we just look at psychiatric meds.

Close to 20% reported being in recovery from one or more behavioral addictions – especially disordered eating, sex and love addiction, and self harm…

This is really about a continuous process of change. The unifying force is the addict’s subjective experience.

What underlies these defenses is anxiety. We’re afraid of what we might find out.

Many of us already have painkillers sitting on a shelf in the bathroom medicine cabinet, alongside the aspirin and the allergy meds. Sometimes they’re unused from prior medical or dental problems.