Position Paper: Centre for Addiction Recovery Research (by David Best) Rationale and background: The inclusive cities model was originally conceptualised by Best and Colman (2018) based on the idea that recovery is an achievement that should be celebrated in order to: Challenge stigma and exclusion Increase visibility of recovery and access to community resources In … Continue reading The allegory of the lake: The implications of an Inclusive Recovery Cities model for prevention and early intervention
Drug Use, Human Freedom, and the Question of Harm to Society
“The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins.” ― Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. The quote above has been attributed to historical figures including Oliver Wendell Holmes and Abraham Lincoln. While its origins are uncertain, it has links to prohibition. While in a contemporary lens, prohibition is viewed as an infringement … Continue reading Drug Use, Human Freedom, and the Question of Harm to Society
“these things take courage, and they encourage each other”
Read Spotted Newt book shop, Hazard, KY When Bill White called for an overhaul of our treatment models (Recovery Management) and our treatment systems (Recovery Oriented Systems of Care), there was an emphasis on community organization and "hope-based interventions" to reduce stigma by making recovery more visible and voluntarily attract more people into treatment and … Continue reading “these things take courage, and they encourage each other”
Drug “poisoning” or “overdose”?
The NY Times has an article on the debate between characterizing drug deaths, fentanyl deaths in particular, as poisonings or overdoses. Much of the argument focuses on destigmatizing drug-related deaths. “If I tell someone that my child overdosed, they assume he was a junkie strung out on drugs,” said Stefanie Turner, a co-founder of Texas Against … Continue reading Drug “poisoning” or “overdose”?
A War on Recovery?
STAT ran an article this week that seemed to conflate treatment, recovery, and mutual aid groups: The recovery group Narcotics Anonymous — perhaps the country’s largest provider of addiction treatment Lev Facher. (2024, March 5). How the U.S. is sabotaging its best tools to prevent deaths in the opioid epidemic. Retrieved March 7, 2024, from … Continue reading A War on Recovery?
The pendulum swings again. We can do better.
Oregon's legislature voted, by large margins, to roll back its move toward full decriminalization of drug possession, public consumption, and selling drugs. Now, San Francisco voters approve a ballot measure allowing drug testing recipients of public assistance and making assistance contingent on participation in treatment. And, it wasn't close. One way to think about responses … Continue reading The pendulum swings again. We can do better.
Better than well recovery, attraction, coercion, and the elephant in the room
The elephant in the room Nicholas Kristof shares his experience attending a graduation ceremony for Women in Recovery, a program for court-involved women in Oklahoma. As I watched the graduation, my imagination soared: What if everyone with a drug problem who was caught up in the criminal justice system had access to a comprehensive and … Continue reading Better than well recovery, attraction, coercion, and the elephant in the room
Valuing the Forest and Not Just the Individual Trees
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
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
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