The NY Times has an article on the debate between characterizing drug deaths, fentanyl deaths in particular, as poisonings or overdoses. Much of the argument focuses on destigmatizing drug-related deaths. “If I tell someone that my child overdosed, they assume he was a junkie strung out on drugs,” said Stefanie Turner, a co-founder of Texas Against … Continue reading Drug “poisoning” or “overdose”?
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.
A War on Recovery?
STAT ran an article this week that seemed to conflate treatment, recovery, and mutual aid groups: The recovery group Narcotics Anonymous — perhaps the country’s largest provider of addiction treatment Lev Facher. (2024, March 5). How the U.S. is sabotaging its best tools to prevent deaths in the opioid epidemic. Retrieved March 7, 2024, from … Continue reading A War on Recovery?
The pendulum swings again. We can do better.
Oregon's legislature voted, by large margins, to roll back its move toward full decriminalization of drug possession, public consumption, and selling drugs. Now, San Francisco voters approve a ballot measure allowing drug testing recipients of public assistance and making assistance contingent on participation in treatment. And, it wasn't close. One way to think about responses … Continue reading The pendulum swings again. We can do better.
Better than well recovery, attraction, coercion, and the elephant in the room
The elephant in the room Nicholas Kristof shares his experience attending a graduation ceremony for Women in Recovery, a program for court-involved women in Oklahoma. As I watched the graduation, my imagination soared: What if everyone with a drug problem who was caught up in the criminal justice system had access to a comprehensive and … Continue reading Better than well recovery, attraction, coercion, and the elephant in the room
Drug apartheid, pro-drug cultures, wellness boosters, and sober drug use
This week produced an interesting collection of articles about drugs, their place in society, and drug policy. I thought they were worth sharing because they paint a picture of the contradictions of the moment we're living in. Drug Apartheid On Tuesday, TalkingDrugs, an international drug policy advocacy news platform, published an article proposing apartheid as … Continue reading Drug apartheid, pro-drug cultures, wellness boosters, and sober drug use
Opioid use disorder, the acute care paradigm, and cause for alarm
[Historia Medica by W. van den Bossche, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons] I thought long and hard about whether to respond to the tone and this article [‘This is Cause for Alarm’: Abstinence-Only Opioid Treatment Is Deadlier Than None, Study Says] about a recently published study on mortality rates for people receiving treatment with Medication … Continue reading Opioid use disorder, the acute care paradigm, and cause for alarm
BC safer supply associated with an increase in hospitalizations (but not deaths)
JAMA Internal Medicine just published a study on the impact of a safer supply program. First the background: In March 2020, British Columbia became the first jurisdiction globally to launch a provincewide Safer Opioid Supply policy that allows individuals at high risk of overdose to receive pharmaceutical-grade opioids free of charge prescribed by a physician … Continue reading BC safer supply associated with an increase in hospitalizations (but not deaths)
Successfully treated for OUD, but the patient died of addiction?
Can the surgery be considered a success if the patient dies? An article in Forbes responds to the coverage of Matthew Perry's death. Specifically, the references to buprenorphine (Suboxone) in his system. Several articles about Matthew Perry’s death have focused on ketamine, and justifiably so, as it was the ultimate cause of the actor’s death (drowning also … Continue reading Successfully treated for OUD, but the patient died of addiction?
2023’s #4 Post: Zero Sum, Destructive Treatment Marketing
(Screen captured from https://ophelia.com/rehab-relapse on 01/21/2023) Ok... let's talk. A company called Ophelia Health has launched a new marketing campaign focusing on the message "F*CK REHAB". On the one hand, there's A LOT to criticize in the addiction treatment world. At the provider level, there is a long history of really bad, predatory, poor quality, … Continue reading 2023’s #4 Post: Zero Sum, Destructive Treatment Marketing
2023’s #8 Post: Every response is incomplete
Over the last decade, as faith in the effectiveness of drug policy, addiction treatment, and drug enforcement diminished, interest and hope in harm reduction grew. Harm reduction was once a last resort response to drug problems and in recent years has become the first line response to drug problems. Harm reduction is now receiving the … Continue reading 2023’s #8 Post: Every response is incomplete
Recovery Review 