"I had a doctor who I greatly respect who said, 'We thought the great problem with these drugs [opioids] is addiction. What we didn't realize [was] that the people who take them would opt out of life.' And you see it across the spectrum: One of the more startling things is in the area of … Continue reading Sentences to ponder
Category: Treatment
without someone like me!?!?!?
Keith Humphreys is pretty great in this interview: Harold Pollack: I should say you've also done some research on AA [Alcoholics Anonymous]. I think some folks would be interested to know that, at least according to your research, AA is actually a pretty impressive intervention in some ways. Keith: Yeah. I don't mind people who are skeptical … Continue reading without someone like me!?!?!?
“No” to rehab?
I was asked by a friend to comment on this article. Here's the response I sent him: Well, he's got a point. But he's also gotten a lot wrong, including the name of the NIAAA. It's National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol-ism. What he's right about is that not everyone who has an alcohol … Continue reading “No” to rehab?
Prescription drug overdose statistics visually
Popular Science has a chart with US overdose deaths by drug: ...the rate of reported overdoses the U.S. more than doubled between 1999 and 2010. About half of those additional deaths are in the pharmaceuticals category, which the CDC has written about before. Nearly three-quarters of the pharmaceuticals deaths are opioid analgesics—prescription painkillers like OxyContin and … Continue reading Prescription drug overdose statistics visually
The Game
Cabinet Magazine has an article on the bizarre history of Synanon from beginning to end: Soon the number of people wanting to join Dederich’s after-hours sessions grew too big for his living quarters. This was largely due to an influx of drug addicts who had heard of Dederich’s ability to keep people straight. For the … Continue reading The Game
In the doctor’s office
Anna David shares her personal experience with an all-too-common problem. Doctors who don't understand addiction and do more harm than good: I continued to see my pinkie-ring psychiatrist for the next year or so, because he told me I had to if he was to keep prescribing me Paxil and Ambien—drugs I was convinced I … Continue reading In the doctor’s office
24 month outcomes
Another study supports the effects of twelve step participation over 24 months. (I know the abstract says "self help", but the pay-walled article makes it clear that they were looking at twelve step participation.) Abstract The goal was to identify factors that predicted sustained cocaine abstinence and transitions from cocaine use to abstinence over … Continue reading 24 month outcomes
Sentences to Ponder
“The expectation that we can be immersed in suffering and loss daily and not be touched by it is as unrealistic as expecting to be able to walk through water without getting wet. This sort of denial is no small matter. The way we deal with loss shapes our capacity to be present to life … Continue reading Sentences to Ponder
Seeking Safety + 12 Step Facilitation = good outcomes
The Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment looks at Seeking Safety plus twelve step facilitation. Good news: Objective The Recovery Management paradigm provides a conceptual framework for the examination of joint impact of a focal treatment and post-treatment service utilization on substance abuse treatment outcomes. We test this framework by examining the interactive effects of a treatment for … Continue reading Seeking Safety + 12 Step Facilitation = good outcomes
Venture capital and methadone
There must be a lot of money available if private equity firms are willing to expose themselves to this much risk: At least five state legislatures are considering bills to tighten oversight of methadone clinics after allegations that take-home doses of the drug are contributing to illegal street sales, misuse and deaths. Measures in West … Continue reading Venture capital and methadone
Recovery Review 