The mention of Philip Seymour Hoffman in Jason Schwartz's blog post yesterday provoked a memory. Thomas McLellan, a prominent US addiction researcher and policy advisor, lost his son to an overdose in 2008. He wrote a piece in the Huffington Post a few years ago which has stuck with me. A journalist who had interviewed him referred … Continue reading Scumbag: the stigma of overdose
Author: Dr David McCartney
Addiction Medicine Specialist
Drug Deaths: Scotland’s Shame
Graphic from European Drug Report 2020: Trends and Developments It's not often graphs elicit an emotional response, but this one did for me. It's from the EMCDDA's recent report on drugs in Europe. The map shows that the UK has high levels of drug-induced mortality compared to most of Europe. But look at the dotted … Continue reading Drug Deaths: Scotland’s Shame
Addiction stigma: the deep irony
Stigma is commanded by a deep irony: where peer pressure is what likely keeps us quiet, peer support is what enables us to speak up.Paul E Terry One of the ways to counter stigma is for people with lived experience of addiction and recovery to share their stories. Indeed, Pat Corrigan, a respected stigma researcher, says … Continue reading Addiction stigma: the deep irony
Gabapentin: too risky in addictions?
Gabapentin can be addictive. Search for gabapentin or pregabalin abuse on Google Scholar and you’ll turn up more than 26,000 results in a fraction of a second. Pubmed is a little more specific, finding 420 papers on the subject. Vaults of Erowid has hundreds of gabapentin and pregabalin experiences detailed by users. It seems gabapentinoids … Continue reading Gabapentin: too risky in addictions?
Pain management – cat among the pigeons
“Life is pain…anyone who tells you differently is selling something” William Goldman, The Princess Bride Pain and addiction are intertwined. Prescribed medication for pain can be a route into addiction. In practice I regularly see people on multiple medications for pain, making treatment of their addiction challenging. Last year Public Health England found that one in four … Continue reading Pain management – cat among the pigeons
Hooked: The Unexpected Addicts
I've been listening to a BBC podcast on my way to work this last couple of weeks which I've really enjoyed. Called Hooked, it’s about 'all things addiction and recovery' and is frank, funny, well-informed, upsetting, entertaining, resonant, authentic and powerful. Melissa and Jade share their lived experience but also interview experts and others who … Continue reading Hooked: The Unexpected Addicts
God and recovery
Churchill famously said that the US and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language. Arguably TV and movies may have bridged the divide a bit, but nuances of language and spelling are not the only things that differentiate us; something I was aware of when reading Marc Galanter & colleagues' paper on … Continue reading God and recovery
Medical Students and AA
Part of my job is teaching medical students about addiction and recovery, something I enjoy. Like others, I encourage future doctors to attend mutual aid meetings as part of their education. A couple of studies with this theme recently caught my eye. In the first, 138 medical students attended an AA meeting and then wrote … Continue reading Medical Students and AA
Alcohol Services in the Pandemic
All of us working in the field of alcohol and drug treatment will likely be facing the greatest challenges we have ever faced. Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP), a partnership of the medical Royal Colleges and Faculties, has issued some new guidance for services which is well worth a read. Points that caught … Continue reading Alcohol Services in the Pandemic
Alcoholics Anonymous – the evidence
Does mutual aid work? If you are a member of a mutual aid group that you believe is keeping you sober or drug-free, then it's pretty much assured you will say ‘yes’. That’s understandably not good enough for researchers and some others. Nearly two decades ago, I asked a consultant addiction psychiatrist why he didn’t recommend … Continue reading Alcoholics Anonymous – the evidence
