This video addresses two important questions: Can evidence be trusted if it's not from a randomized controlled trial? Does Alcoholics Anonymous involvement really help alcoholics stay sober? Or, do AA attenders just stay sober because they are more motivated than non-attenders to stay sober? https://youtu.be/IIsYoiljrjQ

“What’s called for in this metaphor is treating the soil — creating a Healing Forest within which the health of the individual, family, neighborhood, community, and beyond are simultaneously elevated. The Healing Forest is a community in recovery.” Derek Wolfe, a recent University of Michigan grad (soon to be a medical student), just posted an ambitous series … Continue reading “Growing a Healing Forest is a mentality”

A provocative interrogation of stigma reduction campaigns: Once we declared a war on stigma, I knew we were screwed. Like poverty, racism, drugs, terror and obesity before it—fighting stigma ensures that we will likely make little progress. Instead of doing anything about the things actually killing drug addicts and alcoholics, we focus on something vague … Continue reading Does “stigma reduction” miss the point?

“Rehab kills people,” Willenbring said Dr. Willenbring is right that bad and/or inadequate rehab is dangerous. HOWEVER, this is true of a lot of treatments. For example, an inadequate course of antibiotics is dangerous. So, what does good treatment look like? He suggests it comes in the form of medication. Another way to identify what … Continue reading Does rehab kill?

Great news!! Both 911 Good Samaritan Bills have made it out of the Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee. Now is the time to contact your State Senator and ask her/him to vote yes on these bills. Find the contact info for your State Senator here. ============================== (The rest of this post was originally posted 5/12/2016. It … Continue reading Update 7/26/2016. FULL 911 Good Samaritan Legislation in Michigan

I've had a lot lot requests to respond to this recent piece in the NY Times. A Personal Narrative or Universal Model? The piece is interesting and well written, but it focuses on the experience of one person. I get the impression that she's frustrated that most people would say that her experience with heroin … Continue reading Addiction is disordered learning AND much more.

The Senate Finance Committee has buried an investigative report on financial ties between drug manufacturers and medical organizations that were setting guidelines for opioid use. In 2012, the chair and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), launched an investigation into financial ties between drug manufacturers and medical organizations that … Continue reading Senate sits on opioid investigation report

Harvard Business Review examines the ways in which Pharma's employee and business unit incentives contributes to the opioid crisis. It's not as piercing as one might home, but it's interesting food for thought. Here's one portion: It isn’t news that rewarding sales volume rather than public health outcomes is a problem in the pharmaceutical industry. … Continue reading Pharma’s incentive problem

Senator Ron Wyden, with a focus on seniors, examines the problems Americans face with medical management of chronic diseases. The struggles that people with chronic illness face are manifold. One problem is coordinating care. It’s hard enough for somebody who’s perfectly healthy to assemble medical records for a new doctor; consider how difficult it must … Continue reading Medical management of chronic disease is a mess