Some people have responded to the information in this weekend's post with reactions approximating, "Okay, Purdue played a role in the crisis. Purdue is bad. But, what good does your attention to them do us? This hasn't been a prescription crisis for years now. We're in a fentanyl crisis now and focusing on pharma does … Continue reading Follow up: Origins of the Opioid Crisis

Earlier today Jason Schwartz provided an interesting post about the origins of the opioid crisis. It brought to mind some related thoughts I decided to share. I remember in the early 2000's, in the city where I was working at that time, we began to see 18 year olds presenting for treatment (especially methadone maintenance) … Continue reading Origins of the Opioid Crisis: A little more

David Juurlink posted a tweetstorm based on a new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research entitled Origins of the Opioid Crisis and Its Enduring Impacts. It's important because it challenges a few common claims about the opioid crisis: That rx opioids were not an especially important driver of the crisis.That regulatory reform would … Continue reading Origins of the Opioid Crisis

Earlier this week, the Washington Post published an article on how affordable treatment for mental health and substance use is getting harder to find.  The article, published December 1st can be found here.  It does not paint a pretty picture of our care system and shows that the main law, intended to protect persons seeking … Continue reading Disparate Care Reinforces Low Expectations of Recovery

Tufts University announced Thursday it will strip the Sackler name from a graduate school, buildings, and health programs . . . amid allegations the family and company sought to generate goodwill and gain influence at Tufts — particularly its pain research and education program — through philanthropy . . . No longer will programs and facilities … Continue reading Sentences to ponder