Vancouver is the home to Canada's first-ever crackpipe vending machines, which were installed in the city’s troubled Downtown Eastside in a bid to curb the spread of disease among drug users. Portland Hotel Society's Drug Users Resource Centre operates two of the machines. They dispense Pyrex crackpipes for just 25 cents. "For us, this was … Continue reading Vancouver home to Canada’s first crackpipe vending machines
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.
Tribes of the recovering community
Narcotics Anonymous has gotten a lot of attention this week after Philip Seymour Hoffman's death, so it'll be this week's tribe: Narcotics Anonymous is a global, community-based organization with a multi-lingual and multicultural membership. NA was founded in 1953, and our membership growth was minimal during our initial twenty years as an organization. Since the … Continue reading Tribes of the recovering community
Addiction Recurrence after Prolonged Recovery
While there have been a lot of calls for evidence-based responses to Philip Seymour Hoffman's relapse, Bill White points out that there is no evidence base for understanding long-term recovery and relapse after long-term recovery. Treatment outcome studies suggest a principle: recovery stability and permanence increase with duration of recovery, with the risk of future … Continue reading Addiction Recurrence after Prolonged Recovery
The choice argument and pleasure
I know a lot of this week's advocates of the choice argument are not, in any way, arguing that addicts are bad people. However, I can't help but wonder what role pleasure plays in their resistance to the disease model and insistence on a choice argument. Kevin McCauley addresses the role of pleasure in advocacy … Continue reading The choice argument and pleasure
He died from heroin (addiction)
Phil Hoffman . . . did not die from an overdose of heroin — he died from heroin. We should stop implying that if he’d just taken the proper amount then everything would have been fine. via Aaron Sorkin: Philip Seymour Hoffman and Drug Addiction
Hoffman and Free Will
Some writers are using Phillip Seymour Hoffman's death as an opportunity to attack the disease model and getting a lot of support from treatment critics. Why would they pick an argument about the disease model and question the existence of loss of control after a man with everything to live for used heroin to his … Continue reading Hoffman and Free Will
On Listening Without Expectations
This is for all of you professional helpers out there. Thinking about this notion of listening and receptivity is a good reminder that when we hit roadblocks with clients, often, the problematic resistance is within us. Some great thoughts on listening well. [emphasis mine] When you’re really listening, you don’t expect anything and you don’t … Continue reading On Listening Without Expectations
“He’d still be alive”
Much has been said this week about the death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I've heard two recurring themes. First, that he might still be alive if he had been "treated with an evidence-based" treatment, like buprenorphine. Second, that he might still be alive if he hadn't been inculcated with the disease model, which purportedly fosters … Continue reading “He’d still be alive”
The Link Between Overcrowded Prisons and a Certain Drug
Keith Humphreys points out a common misconception about incarceration rates related to drugs. Over the past few months, I have given some talks about public policies that could reduce the extraordinary number of Americans who are in state or federal prison. The audiences in every case were blessedly bright and engaged. Yet they also had … Continue reading The Link Between Overcrowded Prisons and a Certain Drug
Recovery MAINTENANCE
There's a lot of commentary out there on Philip Seymour Hoffman's death. Some of it's good, some is bad and there's a lot in between. Much of it has focused overdose prevention and some of it has focused on a need for evidence-based treatments. Anna David puts her finger on something very important. [emphasis mine] … Continue reading Recovery MAINTENANCE
Recovery Review 