Keith Humphreys points out the harm/waste of drug testing welfare recipients: ...welfare recipients, haven’t done anything wrong and have a low rate of drug use. ... Further, while there is no evidence that drug testing welfare recipients protects the public in any significant way, regular testing of felony probationers coupled with modest sanctions reduces crime, including violent crime. ...Given … Continue reading The Opportunity Cost of Drug Testing Welfare Recipients
Category: Controversies
Some would never qualify for release
Someone tweeted this drug policy proposal the other day: We need to do something effective to rid them of the addiction, and protect the public from drug-related crime so long as they are addicted. That means addicts should be segregated from society until they are no longer addicted. Put them in jail for long terms? … Continue reading Some would never qualify for release
Harm reduction as beta?
I saw this on "beta-think" and wondered if it offered something helpful for the harm reduction/recovery divide: Voltaire was half right. “Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien,” he said: The best is the enemy of the good. The best is also the enemy of the better. Striving for perfection complicates and delays getting things done. … Continue reading Harm reduction as beta?
A disorder of choice
This blog post expressing skepticism about addiction as a brain disease was recently brought to my attention. He lays out A pro-disease argument as THE pro-disease argument: What do gambling, sex, heroin and cocaine — and the other things that can addict us — have in common? One strategy is to look not to the … Continue reading A disorder of choice
Unintended consequences
This is not an argument against the use of pills but a pair of studies point to an unintended consequence: Have you ever had that feeling, after an energetic gym session, or perhaps a long walk, that you've earned the right to a mountainous slice of cake, or to lounge lazily in front of the … Continue reading Unintended consequences
Drug free means tobacco free? cont’d
That post on defining recovery and tobacco ruffled some feathers. Here's a little more on the decision-making process: The Special Problem of Tobacco Abstinence The original Panel did NOT require tobacco abstinence as part of the conditions for being “in recovery.” Frankly, this was a purely political decision—not wanting to offend or ostracize the many individuals who smoke … Continue reading Drug free means tobacco free? cont’d
Drug free means tobacco free?
PeaPod steps into a little controversy: A professor of psychiatry, Tom McLellan is well respected and has had a distinguished career including as an advisor to the White House. When it comes to addiction, he tends to know what he’s talking about. At a conference in New Zealand last week, he said; “The consensus definition now used for … Continue reading Drug free means tobacco free?
Tolerance and Celebration
There's a lot of discussion online about multiple pathways to recovery within and outside of 12 step groups. It's prompted me to reread this great paper by Ernie Kurtz and Bill White. I tend to think that the prevalence of one-wayism is overstated by critics of twelve-step groups and treatment. This paper makes it very clear that … Continue reading Tolerance and Celebration
why economics and addiction do not mix
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. —H. L. Mencken Here, here. Focusing on “how addicts make decisions” is hammering the proverbial nail in sideways.... And so, I kindly ask economics to stop trying to figure out what sort of logic addicts use. It acts as though thoughtful, tailored decision-making … Continue reading why economics and addiction do not mix
Surprisingly high 12-Step attendance?
More evidence that women (Young women, in this case.) affiliate with and benefit from AA at rates at least as high as men. (More here.) It has been assumed that young women often don’t engage in 12-Step meeting environments, because they see them as a male-dominated atmosphere. Yet that notion has rarely been subjected to critical analysis, … Continue reading Surprisingly high 12-Step attendance?
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