The NY Times recently had a Room for Debate feature on addiction. They published opinions from 6 different people on addiction with one being a clear advocate for the disease model. This is a little like publishing a debate feature on climate change and having 1 of 6 experts believe that global climate change is … Continue reading The choice argument and pleasure cont’d
Category: Policy
Sentences to ponder
The more than 16,000 overdose deaths from prescription opioids each year disproves the idea that it's easy to regulate addictive drugs if they are produced and provided legally. We can reduce the violence in markets, but we’ve paid a real cost in public health harms and in safety failures from reckless corporate behavior. via 100 … Continue reading Sentences to ponder
Vancouver home to Canada’s first crackpipe vending machines
Vancouver is the home to Canada's first-ever crackpipe vending machines, which were installed in the city’s troubled Downtown Eastside in a bid to curb the spread of disease among drug users. Portland Hotel Society's Drug Users Resource Centre operates two of the machines. They dispense Pyrex crackpipes for just 25 cents. "For us, this was … Continue reading Vancouver home to Canada’s first crackpipe vending machines
Addiction Recurrence after Prolonged Recovery
While there have been a lot of calls for evidence-based responses to Philip Seymour Hoffman's relapse, Bill White points out that there is no evidence base for understanding long-term recovery and relapse after long-term recovery. Treatment outcome studies suggest a principle: recovery stability and permanence increase with duration of recovery, with the risk of future … Continue reading Addiction Recurrence after Prolonged Recovery
The choice argument and pleasure
I know a lot of this week's advocates of the choice argument are not, in any way, arguing that addicts are bad people. However, I can't help but wonder what role pleasure plays in their resistance to the disease model and insistence on a choice argument. Kevin McCauley addresses the role of pleasure in advocacy … Continue reading The choice argument and pleasure
Hoffman and Free Will
Some writers are using Phillip Seymour Hoffman's death as an opportunity to attack the disease model and getting a lot of support from treatment critics. Why would they pick an argument about the disease model and question the existence of loss of control after a man with everything to live for used heroin to his … Continue reading Hoffman and Free Will
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
Recovery MAINTENANCE
There's a lot of commentary out there on Philip Seymour Hoffman's death. Some of it's good, some is bad and there's a lot in between. Much of it has focused overdose prevention and some of it has focused on a need for evidence-based treatments. Anna David puts her finger on something very important. [emphasis mine] … Continue reading Recovery MAINTENANCE
Hell no, they ain’t doing that to me again
You may remember a few posts a while back about Dr. Carl Hart. He argues that addictive drug use is a rational choice by addicts and bases these arguments on his studies that involve giving crack to addicts and paying them for their participation in the study. Some of you raised the obvious ethical questions … Continue reading Hell no, they ain’t doing that to me again
Capitalism + Addictive Drugs = ?
When legalization advocates point to alcohol and tobacco, this kind of thing comes to mind. A report published last week in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research found that while the nicotine content of cigarettes has remained relatively stable for more than a decade, the amount of that nicotine delivered to the machines researchers use … Continue reading Capitalism + Addictive Drugs = ?
Recovery Review 