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
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.
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
The Politicization of Harm Reduction
(Credit: Fred Murphy) A friend shared this interview with Susan Stellin and Graham MacIndoe with me yesterday. Susan and Graham do a lot of public education about addiction and drug problems, including their traveling exhibition Reframing Recovery. It's rare to hear a lengthy discussion that communicates such sincere respect for both recovery and harm reduction. … Continue reading The Politicization of Harm Reduction
Beyond the Drinker: Alcohol’s Hidden Costs
This considers only the economic burden to others associated with the legal, regulated drug -- alcohol: Our cost estimates suggest that the burden to others from drinking is of the same general magnitude as the burden that drinkers impose on themselves and on response agencies serving them. This distinguishes alcohol from tobacco, where the burden … Continue reading Beyond the Drinker: Alcohol’s Hidden Costs
Jekyll or Hyde? What’s the nature of the person with addiction?
The following describes the divergent approaches of Dr. J. Edward Turner and Dr. Albert Day, both one-time leaders of the New York State Inebriate Asylum that operated from 1864 to 1879. The fundamental point at issue between Turner and Day was whether the inebriate was at his core Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde. Although both … Continue reading Jekyll or Hyde? What’s the nature of the person with addiction?
In search of synthesis for positive and negative liberty and addiction
In a recent post, I highlighted a schism in advocacy efforts related to addiction. On one end we see advocacy focused on non-interference in drug use, and various levels of facilitation of less risky drug use. These efforts largely emphasize negative liberty, or "freedom from" interference in living one's life as one chooses. On the … Continue reading In search of synthesis for positive and negative liberty and addiction
Recovery Review 