A legislator makes a plea for an end to the federal needle exchange ban. I don't oppose lifting the ban, but his argument would be more compelling if he acknowledged the problems with many needle exchanges and called for standards for programs and increased access to treatment.

We've known for some time that heroin addicts are at greatest risk for overdose when they reinitiate heroin use, including after detox or release from prison or jail. Some have argued that opiate maintenance is the answer to the problem. I would argue that it's a failure of acute care and that long term recovery … Continue reading Abstinence and risk of overdose

Marginal Revolution points out that New Zealand lowered their drinking age to 18 and experienced serious problems, though not serious enough to raise the drinking age again.

Part of me wishes I could be more enthusiastic about this. They all seem like good points to make and I'm sure that they carefully developed using research and focus groups, but there's something about them that rubs me the wrong way. It sounds like the voice of the victimized. It talks about the right … Continue reading Recovery Bill of Rights

I was fortunate to get a peek at this monograph a while back. It, as Loran Archer noted, is sure to be the seminal document on recovery management. Over the last several years Bill White has been churning out papers that, one piece at a time, added flesh to bones of this model.This document provides … Continue reading Recovery Management

"Recovery begins with hope, not abstinence..." - Michael Boyle

No wonder the rest of the world has such great difficulty understanding the power of addiction and craving. Addicts don't even appreciate craving's power when they're not in its grip.

Mental Floss provides a history of 21 year old drinking age.

Mark Kleiman, as usual, does a great job summarizing the drinking age quandary:Setting the minimum legal drinking age at 21 saves lives by reducing drunk driving, and not just among the 18-to-21's; if 18-year-old high school seniors can buy beer at the supermarket, then 16-year-old high school sophomores have access to it. Common sense and … Continue reading More on drinking ages

The drug war horror story I posted about two weeks ago just hit Newsweek. Let's hope it continues to get attention.