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.

Revisiting recovery-oriented harm reduction (part 3)

~ Jason Schwartz

So . . . we've dusted off and reviewed my history with recovery-oriented harm reduction. We've also explored why I believe recovery and harm reduction should remain distinct constructs. This sets the stage to revisit and update the concept. What is recovery-oriented harm reduction? Recovery-oriented harm reduction (ROHR) seeks to address the historical failings of … Continue reading Revisiting recovery-oriented harm reduction (part 3)

Revisiting recovery-oriented harm reduction (part 2)

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 3 Comments

Yesterday, we began to revisit the concept of recovery-oriented harm reduction. Why recovery-oriented harm reduction and not just recovery? 13 years ago, recovery-oriented harm reduction was thought of as a bridge between harm reduction and treatment or recovery. Today, in some circles, it might invite questions about why one would want to maintain a distinction … Continue reading Revisiting recovery-oriented harm reduction (part 2)

Revisiting recovery-oriented harm reduction (part 1)

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 5 Comments

The opioid crisis, for good reason, has elevated the role and visibility of harm reduction over the last decade. This seems like a good time to revisit a concept I've discussed here several times over the years—recovery-oriented harm reduction. In 2003, we wrote an article about harm reduction that articulated 6 values that guide our … Continue reading Revisiting recovery-oriented harm reduction (part 1)

Follow up – Responses to charges against Invidior

~ Jason Schwartz

So . . . a week and a half ago, Indivior, the manufacturer of Suboxone, was charged with conspiracy, health care fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud. Prosecutors said: Indivior misled doctors and government health programs into believing that the drug, Suboxone Film, was safer and less likely to be abused than rivals, the Justice … Continue reading Follow up – Responses to charges against Invidior

Recovery Celebrities?

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 3 Comments

Bill White has a great post on anonymity and advocacy. He examines the changing cultural context for anonymity and the different functions of anonymity. On anonymity as a spiritual principle: When AA literature speaks of anonymity as a “spiritual principle,” it does so out of a profound understanding of the importance of self-transcendence as the […]

“full recovery or amplified recovery” — toward typologies of recovery?

~ Jason Schwartz

Recently proposed definitions of recovery could be characterized as defining it downward (or expanding the boundaries outward). I've expressed concern that these proposed boundaries are so broad that most people who currently self-identify as in recovery will not feel a shared identity with the people that advocates are trying to expand the boundaries to include. … Continue reading “full recovery or amplified recovery” — toward typologies of recovery?

Comments on SAMHSA recovery housing guidelines

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 4 Comments

Below are my comments for SAMHSA in response to their request for comments on your proposed recovery housing guidelines. The deadline is 5pm today. Send your comments, whatever they are. To whom it may concern: I am writing in response to your request for comments on your proposed recovery housing guidelines. I commend your efforts … Continue reading Comments on SAMHSA recovery housing guidelines

billions from deceptions that “Suboxone Film was safer, less divertible, and less abusable”

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 2 Comments

From Bloomberg: Indivior misled doctors and government health programs into believing that the drug, Suboxone Film, was safer and less likely to be abused than rivals, the Justice Department said in a statement Tuesday. . . . Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Virginia said Indivior’s deceptions had contributed to an epidemic that has … Continue reading billions from deceptions that “Suboxone Film was safer, less divertible, and less abusable”