Credit: LarimdaME NAMI recently shared this profile of a woman living with schizoaffective disorder. They did a really nice job and it reminds me of addiction recovery advocacy and stigma reduction messaging circa 2000. It got me wondering which elements reminded me of that older brand of recovery advocacy. First, it frames Ashley as a … Continue reading Elements of recovery advocacy messaging

“Drug abuse ceased to seem the preserve of a few eccentric or pathetic people and became a problem of national scope, with implications that touched American ideals.  However imperfect, the new statistics indicated that many new drug abusers came from the ‘best elements’ of society.  This discovery had important long-term results.  It broke the stereotype … Continue reading Sentences to ponder

One of the problems with an aspirational and non-prescriptive definition of recovery is that it is hard to measure. The definitions most commonly featured in the literature share some elements including wellbeing or health, abstinence and citizenship.  Clearly if you can’t define it precisely, then it’s hard to commission services to deliver on it. In … Continue reading You’re all going to hate the word ‘recovery’.

A friend shared this REALLY good post. It's a must-read for anyone working in the helping professions. I've written before about the importance of guarding against stealing pleasure through vicarious nonconformity and transgression. I've always struggled with conceptualizing and articulating this clearly, but Joe Wright, MD very clearly captures a very important dynamic for anyone … Continue reading Useless, yet full of urgency and importance

Yesterday, I shared a couple of highlights from this Brookings event. Here's another interesting portion. Portugal's Lessons for the US https://youtu.be/mb1ftlQiJEI?t=2348 Keith Humphreys on Portugal's lessons for the US. I'm based in California and many people who are in west coast cities often call me about their their concerns about drugs. Sometimes they're elected officials, … Continue reading More Highlights from The Biden Administrations Drug Policy Strategy and Lessons from Portugal

“The public was unconcerned while addiction seemed confined to Chinese, prostitutes, tramps, or intellectuals and artists, all easily quarantined from society.” H. Wayne Morgan (1974) Yesterday’s Addicts: American Society and Drug Abuse, 1865 - 1920

Portugal's drug policy gets a lot of attention as a model policy, but details get considerably less attention. I watched this Brookings seminar a few weeks ago. It was a great opportunity to hear about it straight from the source. I decided to pull together some highlights for all of you. The role of harm … Continue reading Highlights from The Biden Administrations Drug Policy Strategy and Lessons from Portugal

“Every generation assumes that it discovers or endures problems for the first time.” H. Wayne Morgan (1974) Yesterday’s Addicts: American Society and Drug Abuse, 1865 - 1920

Earlier today Jason Schwartz posted about the active ingredients and basic framework of a multi-year clinical and recovery support model.  The information he shared included elements from Robert DuPont, MD and William White, MA.  Jason included a statement Dr. DuPont made about the short length of even our longest treatments (such as outpatient methadone or … Continue reading What should be the gold standard for addiction treatment: A little more.

This was originally published in a 2019 National Association of Social Workers’ Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drug specialty section newsletter. The most striking thing about substance abuse treatment is the mismatch between the duration of treatment and the duration of the illness.—Robert DuPont, MD DuPont R. (March, 2018) Interview with Brian Coon. Interview presented at the NC … Continue reading What should be the gold standard for addiction treatment?