Post written by : Stephen
Less than a Third of OD Patients Receive MAT
Many doctors, politicians and even patients overlook or resist one of the most effective treatments for drug abuse: medication-assisted treatment (MAT) with Suboxone (a tamper-resistant form of buprenorphine) or methadone. … Continue reading
Need to Treat, Not Just Prevent, Heroin Addiction
Last month the US House of Representatives, cognizant that all 435 members are up for re-election in November – with very little to show for it legislatively – passed more … Continue reading
Sober Fun for the Fourth of July
It’s Independence Day, and even though it has the temerity and bad timing to arrive mid-week – demolishing any hope of squeezing a three-day or even a four-day weekend out … Continue reading
Drug Smugglers, Addiction More of a Threat than Undocumented Workers
What’s the greater threat facing the United States from over the Mexican border: illicit drugs or undocumented immigrants? To the US executive branch, the answer seems to be both, because … Continue reading
Learning from Opioid Epidemic Missteps
The existentialist philosopher Soren Kierkegaard wrote, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” Or maybe, as William James remembered it, “We live forwards but we … Continue reading
Punishing Drub Abuse Relapses Doesn’t Improve Outcomes
One of the many things hindering drug abuse treatment is that drug addiction isn’t considered just an involuntary mental condition, akin to a disease, but also a crime. If the … Continue reading
Addicts Need MAT, Harm Reduction to Beat Opioid Epidemic
One problem driving the opioid epidemic—aside from the carelessness or actual avarice of the pharmaceutical companies —is that it can be easier and cheaper (not safer) to continue to take opioids … Continue reading
Rehab Addiction Treatment Industry Hurt by Bad Players
There are a series of television ads currently running in which a man in doctor’s scrubs urges you to call a number for addiction services. Lately, the ads have … Continue reading
CBD is Real Medical Marijuana
While medical marijuana may not always be used for strictly health-related reasons, it is not an oxymoron. Scientifically rigorous proof of the benefits of cannabis is not always available due … Continue reading
Is Smoking Tobacco a Mental Illness as Well as an Addiction?
It cannot be repeated too often that about half the people with a substance use disorder also have a mental illness or, more correctly, another mental illness. According to the … Continue reading