Tag: Drugs

The AI Mirror: “take that small hit, and you’ll be fine”

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 1 Comment

I published the post below last month, which resulted in an invitation to speak with DeAnn and Craig Knighton on their podcast, Recovery Discovery. It was a fun conversation and I thought I'd share that with you here. https://open.spotify.com/episode/5YYECT2NeBogNVSehvQm6w?si=auerM5dAQfenEQ6Xn_zN5w I also want to share a couple of things that have come up since the interview. … Continue reading The AI Mirror: “take that small hit, and you’ll be fine”

“further research is needed to improve treatment retention”

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 4 Comments

Kleinman RA, Kurdyak P. Duration of Methadone and Buprenorphine-Naloxone Treatment. JAMA Network Open. 2025;8(7):e2518389. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.18389 An eye-popping article was just published in JAMA about trends in the duration of methadone and buprenorphine treatment in Ontario, Canada, including more than 72,000 new recipients of opioid agonist treatments. The median duration of buprenorphine treatment declined by 25%, … Continue reading “further research is needed to improve treatment retention”

The Tragic & Predictable Known Unknown Challenges of Medetomidine and Xylazine – William Stauffer

~ billstaufferpa ~ 3 Comments

Medetomidine and Xylazine have been in our drug supply for years, but their use is becoming increasingly prevalent on streets across America. They are typically being mixed with short acting opioids, primarily Fentanyl in order to enhance the synergistic effects. For readers, this is two plus two equals eight as anyone who ever had a … Continue reading The Tragic & Predictable Known Unknown Challenges of Medetomidine and Xylazine – William Stauffer

Revisiting William White: A History of Contempt: Countertransference and the Dangers of Service Integration

~ billstaufferpa ~ 2 Comments

“The look which the doctor gave me simply set me back on my heels. My hand remained untaken...Then I realized with a shock that this was not a meeting of two gentlemen on a plane of equality. In the eyes of the man before me, I was just another insane patient” - Marle Woodson 1933 … Continue reading Revisiting William White: A History of Contempt: Countertransference and the Dangers of Service Integration

Low Expectations Yield Low Rates of Recovery from Addiction

~ billstaufferpa ~ 3 Comments

The primary limitation in life is our low expectations for ourselves and others. When we expect minimum results, that's usually what we get.” - John C. Maxwell How are we measuring our war against addiction in the United States? We have one single metric in the arena of public discourse on our progress. The increase … Continue reading Low Expectations Yield Low Rates of Recovery from Addiction

2024’s Top Posts – #9 – A War on Recovery?

~ Jason Schwartz ~ 1 Comment

STAT just ran another article in its "War on Recovery" series and continues its narrative of casting recovering people in Narcotics Anonymous and non-agonist recovery pathways as the villains. There's an important story undergirding this article (and the previous article attacking recovering people in NA) -- that there are important gaps in social support for … Continue reading 2024’s Top Posts – #9 – A War on Recovery?

Occam’s Razor and the Industries of Addiction

~ billstaufferpa ~ 1 Comment

Addiction is immensely profitable for purveyors of drugs and their related businesses, both in the illicit and legitimate markets. As I wrote about last year, in  Portraying Abstinence Recovery as Puritanical Is in the Interest of Those Who Sell Addictive Drugs, industries selling addictive drugs have long targeted high-risk groups including youth and people in … Continue reading Occam’s Razor and the Industries of Addiction

The Risks of Public Recovery Storytelling (Bill White, Bill Stauffer, and Danielle Tarino)

~ billstaufferpa

The first blog in this series explored the value and limitations of recovery storytelling as an anti-stigma strategy. We suggested that public storytelling is best wedded to larger recovery community inclusive strategies that move beyond the goal of changing personal attitudes to the larger goal of dismantling the institutional machinery that perpetuates stigma and discrimination. … Continue reading The Risks of Public Recovery Storytelling (Bill White, Bill Stauffer, and Danielle Tarino)