I haven't said much about the 21st Century Cures Act because I haven't really known what to make of it. Addiction treatment is underfunded, so I'd never argue that funding is not needed. However, recent funding proposals have very heavily emphasized maintenance treatments for opioid addiction. This approach seems likely to reinforce a tiered system where health … Continue reading What’s in the 21st Century Cures Act?
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.
Harm reduction and recovery advocacy
If you have a couple of minutes, check out Chris Budnick's interview with Kevin McCauley. The whole conversation is great, but 24:15 to 25:50 really leapt out at me. Kevin shares his mom's reaction to learning of his addiction and harm reduction as a "deeply humane response" to what is often perceived as a "set of unsolvable … Continue reading Harm reduction and recovery advocacy
Methadone accounts for 19.7% of Minnesota’s opioid deaths
From the Star Tribune: As opioid overdose deaths have spiked in Minnesota — from 54 in 2000 to 355 last year — so has the number of methadone clinics and patients. Across the state, 16 clinics now treat some 6,700 addicts. But methadone deaths have risen in tandem. Minnesota is on pace for more than … Continue reading Methadone accounts for 19.7% of Minnesota’s opioid deaths
Amen.
The headline says it all: How We Got Here: Treating Addiction In 28 Days More: She says the late Daniel Anderson was one of the primary architects of the "Minnesota model," which became the prevailing treatment protocol for addiction specialists. At a state hospital in Minnesota in the 1950s, Anderson saw alcoholics living in locked … Continue reading Amen.
Don’t Run! Call 911!
Spread the word! Printable flyer available here.
“nothing was quite like Suboxone”
There have been a couple of news stories about buprenorphine over the last couple of days. The first article looks at the business of pain medication, medications to treat side effects of pain medication and medications to treat addiction to pain medication. Opioid prescriptions alone have skyrocketed from 112 million in 1992 to nearly 249 … Continue reading “nothing was quite like Suboxone”
Too expensive? (2016)
I frequently point to health professional recovery programs when discussing the effectiveness of drug-free treatment when it's delivered in the appropriate dose, frequency and duration. They have stellar outcomes. (More details here.) The programs were abstinence-based, requiring physicians to abstain from any use of alcohol or other drugs of abuse as assessed by frequent random … Continue reading Too expensive? (2016)
The gold standard and problem of coercion
I've written a lot on this blog about the gold standard model of treatment for addiction--health professional recovery programs. Whenever I discuss the model, I get a lot of responses that could be placed into the category of, "Yeah, but they're different. They're doctors. And, besides, they've got a lot to lose." I've addressed the … Continue reading The gold standard and problem of coercion
Gold standard addiction treatment
(This post was written by djmac and originally posted at Recovery Review. Re-posted with permission.) Addiction to alcohol or other drugs is not easy to recover from. However there are many pathways to recovery, including through treatment. One group of patients does far better than most other groups. In fact their results are so impressive … Continue reading Gold standard addiction treatment
A closer look at the evidence (Part 4)
This is the 4th post in a series taking a look at the evidence provided by advocates of medication-assisted treatment (MAT). If you haven't seen the other posts in the series, you can find them here. (part 1, part 2 and part 3) This post reviews some of the lessons from a closer look at the 19 studies … Continue reading A closer look at the evidence (Part 4)
Recovery Review 