Justin Bell's recent post on the scientific dilemma of whether to drop or keep recovery sparked a lot of discussion. One takeaway from the discussion is the confirmation that people really struggle to hold space for one definition in scientific spaces while holding space for other definitions in personal, community, and professional service spaces. There … Continue reading Can science give up on defining recovery and maintain a recovery orientation?

A recently published study examines the experience of family members affected by addiction. A recently published study examines the experience of family members affected by addiction. [boundaries by joiseyshawaa] Why study family members affected by addiction? Because they experience many harms1: AUD harms the physical, emotional, and mental health of people and their affected family … Continue reading Ambiguous loss, boundary ambiguity, and psychological flexibility in families affected by addiction

I came across an interesting story from San Francisco. I think it's important to note that sharing this doesn't imply that San Francisco's drug problem is representative or that the positions espoused by members of their recovering community are representative of other communities. However, it's an interesting story and, while it may not be representative … Continue reading “We need to just enforce the law” or “high-impact interventions”?

ANKORS Manual: Drug Checking at Music Festivals The NY Times published an article about the Shambhala music festival's approach to harm reduction 1: Shambhala’s harm reduction efforts go well beyond testing. It has a 12-bed field hospital, run by an emergency room doctor and staffed by 30 physicians; roaming teams of harm reduction counselors; and … Continue reading “Their drugs all tested as expected.”

Keith Humphreys recently published a reflection on the social roles of public health professionals. in response to a recently published memoir by Griffith Edwards, the former editor of the journal Addiction for 25 years. The contract to which I refer, roughly speaking, ran as follows. Researchers’ fundamental duty was to systematically and accurately describe the … Continue reading Science, policy, and the public trust

Yesterday’s post about confrontation as a goal versus confrontation as a style reminded me of a paper I’ve been meaning to blog. The paper reports on the findings from a study of men currently participating in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) seeking to understand their motivators for seeking help with their OUD. The researchers, … Continue reading Transformation grounded in the reconciliation of identity, values, and belonging

STAT recently posted a series on the public health costs associated with alcohol. It's a welcome subject of focus. Opioids have overwhelmed media and professional attention, despite far greater death tolls from alcohol and tobacco. ...the number of alcohol deaths occurring in the U.S. each year exceeds the number of opioid deaths at any point in that … Continue reading AA: Poisoned at the root?

Sis Wenger, a pioneering advocate for children affected by addiction and former leader of the National Association for Children of Addiction (formerly National Association for Children of Alcoholics), recently passed away. She also worked tirelessly to reach children living with addiction directly, spreading the message that they were not alone. Under a partnership between Maplegrove … Continue reading Remembering Sis Wenger: a tireless voice for children impacted by addiction

Addiction Research & Theory recently published an interesting article entitled "The unseen burden: exploring the lived experiences of mothers caring for individuals with substance use disorder." It focuses on the lived experiences of Indian mothers caring for sons with severe Substance Use Disorders. The authors set the focus of the paper as follows: This growing … Continue reading Moms, SUDs, & “emotional disintegration within the family”

I recently had the opportunity to see John Kelly present some of his research on recovery. Kelly is doing some of the most important work in the addiction and recovery space. I say this because he's one of the few researchers publishing on long-term outcomes and quality-of-life. Most contemporary research gives us little more than … Continue reading Quality of life in the first five years of recovery