Not surprising:The 2009 Annual Report of the Office of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (OSATS), formerly the Division of Addiction and Recovery Services, includes return-to-custody data on offenders who paroled in Fiscal Year 2005-06 for a one-year and a two-year period. The return to custody rate after one year for offenders completing both in-prison and community-based … Continue reading Treatment reduces criminal recidivism

The Lighthouse Institute has compiled all the publications based on GAIN data (Dawn Farm uses the GAIN in adolescent services). They have full text articles for many of them.Very cool. Thanks Lighthouse!

Thanks Ivana. It's been needed for years.For many students, moving to Ann Arbor to begin their careers at the University of Michigan is a time of excitement, curiosity and maybe a little bit of fear. But for School of Social Work graduate student Ivana Grahovac, the emotions were different.As Grahovac prepared to start her time … Continue reading Students for Recovery @ University of Michigan

From the Honorary President of the International Harm Reduction Association (page 8) [via PeaPod]:I am completely in favour of helping people who use drugs to stop, if that is what they want. I assume that is what is meant by ‘recovery’. Working with anyone who has problems with drugs must start where the individual is … Continue reading A dishonest political agenda

Mark Kleiman being interviewed about his new book. This segment focuses on drug policy:http://static.bloggingheads.tv/maulik/offsite/offsite_flvplayer.swf

Powerful language from wired in to recovery:Many people would argue that the UK treatment system, in main, is simply managing symptoms and accepting long-term disability or discomfort of people with serious substance use problems. These same people would not argue against the value of treatment per se, rather it needs to be provided in a … Continue reading A civil rights movement

The finding from a study of the relationship between alcohol advertising and adolescent alcohol use:Based on the consistency of findings across the studies, the confounders controlled for, the dose response relationships, as well as the theoretical plausibility and experimental findings regarding the impact of media exposure and commercial communications, it can be concluded from the … Continue reading Alcohol marketing and teen drinking

Bill White interviews a medication assisted recovery advocate:The problem with the methadone community is we have too many people who think methadone is a magic bullet for that disease—that recovery involves nothing more than taking methadone.This view is reinforced by people who, with the best of intentions, proclaim, “Methadone is recovery.” Methadone is not recovery. … Continue reading “Recovery is recovery”

Should Burden of Disease Estimates Include Cannabis Use as a Risk Factor for Psychosis?Mental Health Indicator Interaction in Predicting Substance Abuse Treatment Outcomes in Nevada Addiction recovery as TV drama: A&E’s “The Cleaner”Military Families Targeted by New Prevention Campaign

From the Washington Post:In 16 states and counting, drugs now kill more people than auto accidents do, the government said Wednesday.  Experts said the startling shift reflects two opposite trends: Driving is becoming safer, and the legal and illegal use of powerful prescription painkillers is on the rise.  Read the rest here.