Does mutual aid work? If you are a member of a mutual aid group that you believe is keeping you sober or drug-free, then it's pretty much assured you will say ‘yes’. That’s understandably not good enough for researchers and some others. Nearly two decades ago, I asked a consultant addiction psychiatrist why he didn’t recommend … Continue reading Alcoholics Anonymous – the evidence

First things first. How we treat others says a lot about a us as people or organizations. Are our systems inclusive or persons in recovery at all levels of system design and implementation? How are we treated by these systems that govern care? As valued partners, window dressing or simply marginalized? We will not make … Continue reading The Golden Rule of SUD Treatment and Recovery Services

I have never failed to underestimate the depth of discrimination that surround addiction and those of us in recovery from addiction. It shows up in punitive policies, disparate funding, excessive barriers to care and the consistent discounting of our voices in policy matters that impact us. It is the last point I am writing about … Continue reading Discounting the Voices of Recovery

This is a political post; I hope readers give me a chance and hear me out. As I have said before, I am a student of history, and have spent some time learning about the history of addiction and recovery in America. History can teach us important and relevant lessons. Over the last sixty years … Continue reading I am a card-carrying member of the nonpartisan “Recovery Party”

In this blog, “we” refers broadly to society. In 2016 police officers posted photos on social media of two adults who were unconscious from a non-fatal opioid overdose in the front seat of their vehicle with the woman’s four-year-old grandson in the back seat (the four-year-old’s grandmother had been caring for him because of his … Continue reading Moving from the back seat to the front seat

An open paper published by the Journal of the American Medical Association this month berates residential treatment providers for not following guidance on the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). A study with impressive numbers (over quarter of a million admissions to residential treatment centres in the USA) seems to me to make some errors … Continue reading Residential Treatment and Medications for Opioid Use Disorder

After sitting through two days of CEU training, I began to think about my feelings regarding the space in which I have dedicated my time and energy. As a true practitioner-scholar, I am often on the intellectual boundaries between science and practice. There is a tension in that borderland between knowledge and praxis that, in … Continue reading The Comfort of Donna Haraway

I am sitting here in my office at the University of Michigan and reflecting and it seems like a good time to blog. This is going to be a free form ramble. Forgive me if it falls short in some ways.  Today marks 18 years and one day since the last time I used any … Continue reading 18 Chai. Life. 18 and life to go

I mentioned a few minutes ago in a text that I’m writing my first blog for Recovery Review.  The text back asked “what’s it about?” “It's about guilt,” I texted.  “Guilt because Jason started this blog in October.  He asked me to be a contributor and I have yet to contribute.” For a couple months … Continue reading What’s good for the goose isn’t always good for the gander