So...does this mean we should legalize drugs AND keep taxes low? A recent wave of state tobacco tax increases, designed to pump revenue into cash-strapped local governments, is inspiring an increasingly dangerous cigarette smuggling industry where big profits lure violent criminal gangs and drug traffickers into the booming illegal market, according to law enforcement officials … Continue reading Violent criminals expand into cigarettes
Category: Policy
Recovery for me but not for thee?
PeaPod puts his finger on a very important question: Why is it that doctors turn away from an evidence-based intervention – one they are happy to prescribe to patients – and go for a route where the evidence base appears less robust? Why are they afforded access to residential treatment of reasonable duration and intensity … Continue reading Recovery for me but not for thee?
Follow up on recent posts
The Best We Can Do? - The more I think about this kind of stuff the angrier I get. It's the equivalent of finding someone collapsing with a heart attack in the middle of a street, helping them get to a sidewalk, leaving them there and then congratulating yourself with statements like, "They'd never survive that heart … Continue reading Follow up on recent posts
The best we can do?
“If you want to treat an illness that has no easy cure, first of all, treat them with hope.”—George Vaillant This is so heartbreaking. Communities should distribute naloxone to inmates as they leave prison? Really? I've grown so weary of the trite responses like, "You can't recover if you are dead." Of course it's true, … Continue reading The best we can do?
Drug Courts – There ARE Practice Guidelines
Recently, there has been a flurry of drug court criticism. This post points out that there is a model for drug courts and that much of what's been criticized are deviations from the model. Calling for the end of drug courts or dramatic reductions in their use is a little like calling for the end … Continue reading Drug Courts – There ARE Practice Guidelines
Drug Courts Are Not the Answer?
The Drug Policy Alliance has a new paper that characterizes drug courts as a failure and advocates abandoning them for all but the most serious cases. I often disagree with the DPA, but this time I feel a little disappointed. Basically, they poke holes in the arguments that drug courts are an effective alternative to … Continue reading Drug Courts Are Not the Answer?
Treatment-oriented harm reduction
It's good to see a harm reduction message that also encourages seeking treatment. It's too bad that the treatment that is likely to be available will not be recovery-oriented.
Where’s your evidence?
PeaPod has a great post challenging evidence-based practices as a basis for harm reduction Now I’m pretty convinced by the wealth of evidence on methadone prescribing. It saves lives. But I’m always asking compared to what? No treatment? Of course. Stand alone detox? I shudder at the thought. But has anyone designed a study comparing … Continue reading Where’s your evidence?
Recovery-oriented Methadone Maintenance, part 2
Here Bill describes the devolution that troubled early advocates of MM: The regulation and mass diffusion of MM in the 1970s and 1980s was accompanied by changes in treatment philosophy and clinical protocols. The most significant of these changes in terms of recovery orientation included a shift in emphasis from personal recovery to reduction of social harm; increased … Continue reading Recovery-oriented Methadone Maintenance, part 2
Heroin for dummies
Responses to this will be interesting to watch. I'm certain that people who object will be accused of moral panic or something like it. I'm open to non-judgmental outreach harm reduction for the purpose of building relationships and gradually engaging people into recovery. I'd like to know how these materials are being used. Are they … Continue reading Heroin for dummies
Recovery Review 