The recovery community is like a vast, hidden forest that is creative and innovative. It has a lot of resources that have never been fully recognized for their value in the broader world. The rise of peer services, a focus on shifting from acute care models of short term, fragmented care to the Recovery Model … Continue reading Valuing the Forest and Not Just the Individual Trees
Category: Uncategorized
A List of Things Worth Memorizing (for clinicians)
Disclaimer: nothing in this post should be taken or held as clinical instruction, clinical supervision, or advisory concerning patient care. Around 25 years ago the topic of a “list of things worth memorizing” was presented by a trainer who came to our agency. The trainer suggested a list of things worth memorizing could be helpful … Continue reading A List of Things Worth Memorizing (for clinicians)
Alcohol – Our Normalized Drug of Destruction
Figure: Age-adjusted rates of alcohol-induced deaths, by sex: United States, 2000–2020 (CDC 2022) In 2020, William White wrote Alcohol use as a hidden epidemic on discrepancies between public concern and problematic use of illegal drugs in the 70s. In the era, alcohol related problems increased, while “panic over (then) recent drug surges (e.g., methamphetamines and … Continue reading Alcohol – Our Normalized Drug of Destruction
From Fordrunken to SUD – A Reflection on Shifting Labels and Stigma
“Language is a virus from outer space” ― William S. Burroughs I was taken to task a few weeks ago by a reader, who took exception to my use of the word addiction in one of my writings. It got me to thinking about our shifting language over time. The historic use of terms around … Continue reading From Fordrunken to SUD – A Reflection on Shifting Labels and Stigma
Drug apartheid, pro-drug cultures, wellness boosters, and sober drug use
This week produced an interesting collection of articles about drugs, their place in society, and drug policy. I thought they were worth sharing because they paint a picture of the contradictions of the moment we're living in. Drug Apartheid On Tuesday, TalkingDrugs, an international drug policy advocacy news platform, published an article proposing apartheid as … Continue reading Drug apartheid, pro-drug cultures, wellness boosters, and sober drug use
Opioid use disorder, the acute care paradigm, and cause for alarm
[Historia Medica by W. van den Bossche, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons] I thought long and hard about whether to respond to the tone and this article [‘This is Cause for Alarm’: Abstinence-Only Opioid Treatment Is Deadlier Than None, Study Says] about a recently published study on mortality rates for people receiving treatment with Medication … Continue reading Opioid use disorder, the acute care paradigm, and cause for alarm
Parallels on Burnout & Buffering Across the Healthcare & SUD Care Systems
The entire US Labor force was devastated by the COVID Pandemic, which created new workforce challenges and exacerbated long standing concerns. Because of the nature of the pandemic, the healthcare sector faced some of the most profound challenges. It is important to understand the impact that these strains have had on the healthcare workforce. Negative … Continue reading Parallels on Burnout & Buffering Across the Healthcare & SUD Care Systems
BC safer supply associated with an increase in hospitalizations (but not deaths)
JAMA Internal Medicine just published a study on the impact of a safer supply program. First the background: In March 2020, British Columbia became the first jurisdiction globally to launch a provincewide Safer Opioid Supply policy that allows individuals at high risk of overdose to receive pharmaceutical-grade opioids free of charge prescribed by a physician … Continue reading BC safer supply associated with an increase in hospitalizations (but not deaths)
Successfully treated for OUD, but the patient died of addiction?
Can the surgery be considered a success if the patient dies? An article in Forbes responds to the coverage of Matthew Perry's death. Specifically, the references to buprenorphine (Suboxone) in his system. Several articles about Matthew Perry’s death have focused on ketamine, and justifiably so, as it was the ultimate cause of the actor’s death (drowning also … Continue reading Successfully treated for OUD, but the patient died of addiction?
Coopted and Colonized – Lessons from the Washingtonian Movement
History is not linear. Our movement, the New Recovery Advocacy Movement, like many social movements in the course of history develop and are then subject to decay. This history is important. The past is the pathway that has led to every door available to us in our current era. We can learn from history to … Continue reading Coopted and Colonized – Lessons from the Washingtonian Movement
Recovery Review 