Anna David has an interview with Earl Hightower that really gets at the informed consent issues I've been talking about here. AD: Should the parents just accept the first recommendation or should they ask for more? EH: I think the first question they should ask should be one they ask themselves, which is how they … Continue reading how do you want your loved one to return?
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.
Smoke Screens
Bill White recently posted on tobacco use in recovery. He's been way ahead of the field on this and challenges not only treatment providers, but recovering people as well: People in recovery are dying from smoking-related diseases in large numbers, but they are also dying from conceptual blindness: the failure to see the … Continue reading Smoke Screens
Suboxone diversion?
A recent study looking at diversion of buprenorphine finds that: While 9% reported recent street-obtained buprenorphine use, only a small minority reported using buprenorphine to get high, with the majority reporting use to manage withdrawal symptoms. The use of street-obtained buprenorphine primarily to avoid withdrawal fits with Dawn Farm's experience, though the percentage would be … Continue reading Suboxone diversion?
Top Five Jam Band Jams to Get Clean and Sober To
"I f***ing hate drugs. I really do"
Nonmedical opiate users more likely to use heroin
NIH reports on a new study finds that people who engage in nonmedical use of opioids are more likely to use heroin: A new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that people aged 12 to 49 who had used prescription pain relievers nonmedically were 19 times more likely to … Continue reading Nonmedical opiate users more likely to use heroin
Quality of life and death
A study out of Australia looks at death rates among opioid addicts receiving opioid substitution treatment (OST, for short. It's methadone.) in New South Wales between 1985-2005. It's a HUGE sample--43,789 people. If fact, the paper says: This cohort is likely to represent the majority of opioid dependent people in that State during this period, … Continue reading Quality of life and death
Hope begins in the dark
Sentences to Ponder
...conducting an RCT (randomized controlled trial) comparing two medical treatments (depot naltrexone and methadone.) misses the critical issue—that cure of addiction is not through medical interventions. People need social roles that provide identity other than being an addict and provide alternative rewards to drug use, in order to recover from addiction. Medical treatment cannot provide … Continue reading Sentences to Ponder
Known unknowns and unknown unknowns
John Horgan challenges scientism embraced by Stephen Pinker. He explains what Pinker said and where they agree: Pinker faults Humists for accusing scientists of “scientism,” which could be defined as excessive trust in science. Attempting rhetorical jujitsu, Pinker suggests that science, because it is such a uniquely self-critical and successful generator of knowledge, deserves all … Continue reading Known unknowns and unknown unknowns
Sentences to Ponder
Perhaps the cult label is a reaction to the fact that AA and the 12 steps have become the de-facto standard prescription for addicts and alcoholics at many institutions and medically oriented treatment centers and rehabs. Fair enough. The steps certainly are often put forward as “the way” to get sober. And, of course, it’s … Continue reading Sentences to Ponder
Recovery Review 