Category: Policy

Marijuana advocates target workplace policies

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 3 Comments

Since Jan. 1, it has been legal to buy and use marijuana in Colorado, but it's illegal for players under the NFL's collective bargaining agreement. In September, the Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization group, placed a billboard outside Denver's Sports Authority Field at Mile High, calling on the league to stop punishing players for using … Continue reading Marijuana advocates target workplace policies

What kind of corporate citizen is Reckitt Benckiser?

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 1 Comment

While the story has nothing directly to do with addiction, Marketplace provides a little background on the kind of corporation that Reckitt Benckiser (manufacturer of Suboxone) is: Here's the background: Many rodenticides act as anticoagulants, killing pests by making them bleed internally. They're great at killing rats, but they're also killing animals that eat rats. Stella … Continue reading What kind of corporate citizen is Reckitt Benckiser?

Krokodil Crock: How Rumors Of A ‘Flesh-Eating Zombie Drug’ Swept The Nation

~ Jason Schwartz

This is why you don't see sensational horror stories about new drugs on this blog: By now you probably have heard that krokodil, a nasty homemade version of the narcotic painkiller desomorphine, is starting to catch on in the United States. Having eaten its way through the flesh of myriad Russian opiate addicts, the caustic … Continue reading Krokodil Crock: How Rumors Of A ‘Flesh-Eating Zombie Drug’ Swept The Nation

Is Disease Management a Good Investment? We May Finally Have an Answer

~ Jason Schwartz

This doesn't focus on recovery management, but a new study supports the argument that disease management saves money. In 2003, Pepsi started an employee health program that included risk assessments, on-site wellness events, lifestyle management, disease management, complex care management, telephone nurse advice lines, and maternity management. By 2011, there were 5 telephonic lifestyle programs … Continue reading Is Disease Management a Good Investment? We May Finally Have an Answer

Jail methadone = 40 days longer out of jail

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 2 Comments

Is it possible to lower our expectations any further? County jail inmates who received methadone, an opiate substitute, took longer to return to jail than opiate addicts who were forced to quit cold turkey, a delay in re-incarceration that slows the revolving door of criminal justice, according to a study conducted by the University of … Continue reading Jail methadone = 40 days longer out of jail

Feds raid Reckitt Benckiser offices; criminal probe underway

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 1 Comment

Hmmm. All is not well with the manufacturer of Suboxone. Reckitt Benckiser’s offices in Richmond, Va., were raided by a team of IRS and Office of Inspector General (OIG) agents on December  3rd. No one is saying what the feds are investigating, but here is some legal analysis. The search warrant, which company officials say … Continue reading Feds raid Reckitt Benckiser offices; criminal probe underway

Stephanie Brown Interview on Addictions and Psychotherapy

~ Jason Schwartz

Stephanie Brown on object attachment in addiction and recovery: RW: Is this what people refer to as hitting bottom, or surrendering somehow? SB: That's the first experience - to hit bottom, to surrender, and to reach outside the self. So people seek help, they go to 12-steps. They then shift their object attachment from alcohol … Continue reading Stephanie Brown Interview on Addictions and Psychotherapy