The last couple of days' posts, a recent conversation and some recent news (I'll let you guess which story.) reminded me of this post. It's from a couple of years ago and has a couple of minor updates. "If you have come here to help me, then you are wasting your time… But if … Continue reading …let us work together
Category: Harm Reduction
The adjacent possible and hope
I heard a radio show this morning about where ideas come from. They interviewed a guy who wrote a book and gave a TED talk on the topic. During the interview he discussed the concept of the adjacent possible and it's importance in forming new ideas. During the interview, he described it as the building … Continue reading The adjacent possible and hope
2014’s top posts: #5
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
Top posts of 2014: #12
Abstinence—The Only Way to Beat Addiction? What killed Philip Seymour Hoffman? According to Anne Fletcher, it wasn't the doctor who prescribed him the pain medication that began his relapse, it wasn't the prescribers of the combination of meds found in his body, it wasn't his discontinuing the behaviors that maintained his recovery for 23 years, … Continue reading Top posts of 2014: #12
The Emperor of All Maladies
Throwback Sunday - I thought this old post on parallels between cancer, oncology, addiction, addiction treatment and recovery would be a good pairing with yesterday's post on professional attitudes toward difficult to treat illnesses. ================== I've been reading The Emperor of All Maladies and I've been very struck by the parallels between the is philosophical and practical … Continue reading The Emperor of All Maladies
Hope, empowerment, capability, connection and purpose
Hopeworks Community recently listed his core beliefs related to his recovery from mental illness: The idea was simple. There are a few core beliefs about recovery that make a difference. To the extent you are able to live them your recovery will be positively impacted. My list of core beliefs was simple: Life can get better. … Continue reading Hope, empowerment, capability, connection and purpose
How Dangerous are e-cigarettes?
A lot of cities and organizations are sorting through how to respond to the rise of e-cigarettes. Many are beginning to treat them like cigarettes, extending smoking policies to e-cigarettes. Mark Kleiman thinks this is nuts. The Los Angeles City Council just voted for a complete ban on e-cigarettes wherever real cigarettes are banned, including … Continue reading How Dangerous are e-cigarettes?
Abstinence—The Only Way to Beat Addiction?
What killed Philip Seymour Hoffman? According to Anne Fletcher, it wasn't the doctor who prescribed him the pain medication that began his relapse, it wasn't the prescribers of the combination of meds found in his body, it wasn't his discontinuing the behaviors that maintained his recovery for 23 years, it wasn't a drug dealer, and … Continue reading Abstinence—The Only Way to Beat Addiction?
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
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