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.

End of Addiction-specific Funding Program – TBS

~ Jason Schwartz

Michigan is on the cusp of eliminating independent regional "substance abuse coordinating agencies" and merging them into their region's mental health authority. There's also a big push for integration with primary care and other medical systems. Further, there's also a lot of discussion that primary care will become the first line setting for addiction treatment. … Continue reading End of Addiction-specific Funding Program – TBS

Addiction research funding focused on “abstinence only”?

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 2 Comments

DJ Mac picks up on a story that also caught my eye and catches a line moaning about research bias in favor of abstinence-based programs. He pulled this quote. The gorilla in the room around this question turns out to be the ideology of the decision makers. “There are ideological constraints tied to what gets … Continue reading Addiction research funding focused on “abstinence only”?

Drug Treatment Swept Up in Push for Medical-Records Sharing

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 2 Comments

Changes may be coming to confidentiality regulations for addiction treatment records: Federal officials are proposing to ease 40-year-old restrictions on the release of information about patients' drug- and alcohol-abuse treatment, so their electronic medical records can be more easily used and shared. . . . Officials at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, … Continue reading Drug Treatment Swept Up in Push for Medical-Records Sharing

Joe Camel all over again?

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 3 Comments

A new study finds big upticks in e-cig advertising targeting youth: In the last several years, advertising for e-cigarettes has spiked. And since the product is not yet regulated in the same way as conventional cigarettes, that means some particularly impressionable populations are being targeted: young people. Marketing has increased during programming that caters to … Continue reading Joe Camel all over again?

Definitely not a silver bullet

~ Jason Schwartz

The Christian Science Monitor recently published an article about the growing misuse of buprenorphine. Police reports of bupe-related seizures increased nationwide from 90 reports in 2003 to more than 10,500 by 2010, according to the DEA. Meanwhile, the number of emergency room visits involving bupe increased tenfold over a five-year period, reaching more than 30,000 … Continue reading Definitely not a silver bullet

Choice and Free Will: Beyond the Disease Model of Addiction – TBS

~ Jason Schwartz

This Throw Back Sunday (we'll settle on that name for these posts) post was originally posted in 2006. I appreciate the author's attempt to shift the conversation away from false dichotomies. ==============     Interesting commentary on choice and stigma: ...of course what's meant by personal weakness and bad choices, when stigmatizing addicts, is that … Continue reading Choice and Free Will: Beyond the Disease Model of Addiction – TBS