Earlier this week, a friend shared a really interesting table from the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) 2023 annual report. I'm familiar with the TEDS, but I don't recall ever seeing this table of discharges by year of admission. What this table shows is that, of the 1.4 million discharges in 2023, 60 of them … Continue reading MOUD retention: 17 years, 212 days, 10 days
Author: Jason Schwartz
I have been an addiction professional and social worker since 1994. I started blogging in 2005 as the Clinical Director at Dawn Farm. I currently serve as the Director of Social Work and Spiritual Care for a healthcare system. I've also served as the Director of Behavioral Health at another hospital. I'm also a lecturer at Eastern Michigan University’s School of Social Work.
Views expressed here are my own.
Keep in mind that the field, the contexts in which the field operates, and my views have changed over time.
Lived experience and empirical knowledge: domination or integration?
I've been in and around professional addiction and recovery circles for more than 30 years. In that time, I've spent a lot of time in rooms where empirical knowledge was a suffocating force. It determined what and who was valued, heard, and respected in ways that did not lead us any closer to truth or … Continue reading Lived experience and empirical knowledge: domination or integration?
2025’s Top Posts – #1 – The AI Mirror: “take that small hit, and you’ll be fine”
Over the next several days, we’ll be sharing 2025’s posts with the most views. Today is #1. I published the post below last month, which resulted in an invitation to speak with DeAnn and Craig Knighton on their podcast, Recovery Discovery. It was a fun conversation and I thought I'd share that with you here. … Continue reading 2025’s Top Posts – #1 – The AI Mirror: “take that small hit, and you’ll be fine”
Drugs, synthetic analogs, and regulation
Earlier today, we posted the #2 post of 2025, which was about the emergence of a synthetic analog to nicotine. it’s interesting to me that we start with tobacco, move to nicotine vape, then on to the nicotine pouch, and eventually drift to synthetic nicotine analogs. And all along we see a consistent theme of: harmful … Continue reading Drugs, synthetic analogs, and regulation
2025’s Top Posts – #3 – Abolish SAMHSA? On advocacy and criticism
Over the next several days, we’ll be sharing 2025’s posts with the most views. Today is #3. I've seen this article shared several times recently. Here's the premise: The incoming Trump administration wants to improve public safety, push back on progressive cultural politics, and cut wasteful federal spending. One way to do all three? Abolish … Continue reading 2025’s Top Posts – #3 – Abolish SAMHSA? On advocacy and criticism
2025’s Top Posts – #7 – Relapse and burnout among recovering addiction professionals
Over the next several days, we’ll be sharing 2025’s posts with the most views. Today is #7. Some of us intend to do occasional reviews of some of William White's papers. Many of his most important papers are 25 years old, meaning a whole new generation of addiction professionals have entered the workforce since they … Continue reading 2025’s Top Posts – #7 – Relapse and burnout among recovering addiction professionals
Spread the cheer
2025 has been a very challenging year for many organizations serving people with addiction and other vulnerable people. If you're the kind of person looking to share your blessings this time of year, I'd like to offer some worthy organizations I'm connected to as options. National Association for Children of Addiction (NACoA) - Their mission … Continue reading Spread the cheer
“Who is missing from our meetings?”
Recently, I came across the 2026 Conference Agenda Report from the World Service Conference of Narcotics Anonymous. A recent post on Narcotics Anonymous sparked a lot of online discussion. It focused on professionals' lack of cognitive empathy and condescension toward NA. . . . they frame the ~250,000 Narcotics Anonymous members who are lay people, gathering in … Continue reading “Who is missing from our meetings?”
What does care for substance use problems look like?
What does care for substance use problems in the US look like? I don't really know. We hear a lot about substance use problem care dominated by an abstinence orientation. Is it? What form does most substance use care take? I don't really know. When these statements are made, they are often focused on specialty … Continue reading What does care for substance use problems look like?
The addiction must go; the person must stay.
I have no interest in commenting on the Reiner family tragedy. Nick Reiner has only been charged and is presumed innocent at this point. I know next to nothing about him. I don't know much about his addiction, whether he has had known mental health issues, or other problems that are likely to be discussed … Continue reading The addiction must go; the person must stay.
Recovery Review 