Jim Contopulos writes about the beauty in brokenness he witnessed when his (now deceased) son took him to an NA meeting. Years before we lost Nick to the diseases of addiction and mental illness, he invited me into a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. I had never attended one, but of course, I said “yes” to his invitation. I … Continue reading A culture of communion
Month: July 2013
Recovery for life?
Our friend Bill White has been blogging. This is great news! To my mind, he's been the most important voice in addiction treatment, recovery and research of both. His writing is very accessible and he bridges experiential knowledge and empirical knowledge. He's also been amazingly prolific. The downside of this is that his body of work … Continue reading Recovery for life?
Am I enabling?
Loved ones often struggle with the question of whether they are enabling. Drugfree.org offers a good post on the subject. By way of quick review, “enabling” actually means doing positive things that will end up supporting continued negative behavior, such as providing your child with money so they won’t “go hungry” during the day, knowing they use it to … Continue reading Am I enabling?
What happened to the “crack babies”?
Dirk Hansen reports the good news about "crack babies": In a paper authored by Hurt, Laura M Betancourt, and others, the investigators write: “It is now well established that gestational cocaine exposure has not produced the profound deficits anticipated in the 1980s and 1990s, with children described variably as joyless, microcephalic, or unmanageable.” The authors do … Continue reading What happened to the “crack babies”?
Cash, sexual favors and drugs
Cash, sexual favors and drugs. We're not talking about a dope house. Some people (and companies) never learn: ...last week, UK pharma firm GlaxoSmithKline admitted that Chinese doctors were bribed by its execs with cash and sexual favours in return for prescribing the company's drugs. That coincided with rival AstraZeneca having its Shanghai office raided … Continue reading Cash, sexual favors and drugs
Buprenorphine + therapy = ?
Ian McLoone directs us to another study (the 4th in a row) finding that buprenorphine patients receive no benefit from added behavioral treatments. Where does this leave us? We've seen criticism of the devolution of methadone maintenance (MMT) into dosing clinics with calls for a new recovery orientation to MMT and a return to methadone being … Continue reading Buprenorphine + therapy = ?
Sentences to ponder
As a result of this research, AA as an organization has experienced an "empirical awakening," evolving from its peripheral status as a "nuisance variable" and perceived obstacle to progress to playing a more central role in a scientifically informed recovery oriented system of care. Also, professionally delivered interventions designed to facilitate the use of AA … Continue reading Sentences to ponder
Buprenorphine and emotional reactivity
The following article was shared with me by a reader. Not surprisingly, the emphasized portion below caught my eye. [emphasis mine] Abstract Addictions to illicit drugs are among the nation’s most critical public health and societal problems. The current opioid prescription epidemic and the need for buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone®; SUBX) as an opioid maintenance substance, and its … Continue reading Buprenorphine and emotional reactivity
What makes treatment effective?
I've been catching a lot of heat recently for posts about Suboxone and methadone. (For the sake of this post, lets refer to them as opioid replacement therapy, or ORT, for the rest of this post. One commenter who blogs for an ORT provider challenged my arguments that we should offer everyone the same kind … Continue reading What makes treatment effective?
Regulating the marijuana market
The Partnership at Drugfree.org reports the results of a recent survey: There is strong support for a wide array of stringent post-legalization marijuana regulations to protect minors and the community wellbeing. The research shows intense support (above or near 90 percent) for: Setting a legal age of 21 Prohibiting marijuana smoking in public places Severe … Continue reading Regulating the marijuana market
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