Topic: Communities
Every community in America has been affected by the opioid crisis. Yet, it is not the only drug problem we face. Amphetamines, alcohol and prescription drugs also pose significant problems. Addressing addiction requires a multifaceted approach, despite any statements to the contrary. By working together and activating existing resources, progress can made.
Does ASAM oppose “drug-free” and “abstinence-based” paths to recovery?
The posts answered a message from a practitioner who said "I work as the Medical Director at an "abstinent based" facility. I am Board Certified in Psych and ASAM certified... I am struggling to accept the abstinence based treatment philosophy." In responding to this message, ASAM said (among other statements) that, "Patients appropriately taking a physician prescribed medication are abstinent from their substance of misuse."
British Columbia to decriminalize small amounts of cocaine, heroin, meth and ecstasy
TORONTO — The possession of small amounts of several illicit drugs, including cocaine and opioids such as fentanyl or heroin, will be temporarily decriminalized in British Columbia, the federal government said Tuesday, in what it cast as a “bold” step to “turn the tide” in the province’s overdose crisis.
‘I was scared to get sober’: He dealt heroin, now he’s been clean six years
SUBSCRIBE DONATE NOW Search Posts and/or Pages DONATE NOW Date: | Contributor: Source: ( ) | Category: Summary and Analysis... This is a story in the Courier-Journal chronicling the drug addiction and road to recovery for Erik Gunn. He was helped by a drug rehabilitation program and the support of the community. Mr. Gunn has been drug-free for six years, a success that
A Western U.S. Multiple Pathways of Recovery Conference
The Multiple Pathways of Recovery Conference was established in 2017 by the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR), who continue as the primary sponsor and host for the annual event. The conference has always been held in Punta Gorda, FL, in part to allow William White, who lives in the area, to attend--which he has every year. This year a second conference has been added in Colorado to serve the western U.S. For more information see: ccarconference.org.
Dark Genies, Dark Horizons: The Riddle of Addiction
This is an article by Dr. Sally Satel (bio), practicing psychiatrist and lecturer at the Yale University School of Medicine, published in Culture and Politics Liberties journal. She references the story of the late Anthony Bourdain (celebrity chef and TV host) and his lifetime struggle with addiction. The title for her article was inspired by this story from Bourdain as she recounts in the article: By the time of his (Bourdain’s) visit to Provincetown in 2014, a wave of painkillers had already washed over parts of Massachusetts and a new tide of heroin was rolling in. Bourdain wanted to see it for himself and traveled northwest to Greenfield, a gutted mill town that was a hub of opioid addiction. In a barebones meeting room, he joined a weekly recovery support group. Everyone sat in a circle sharing war stories, and when Bourdain’s turn came he searched for words to describe his attraction to heroin. “It’s like something was missing in me,” he said, “whether it was a self-image situation, whether it was a character flaw. There was some dark genie inside me that I very much hesitate to call a disease that led me to dope.”
New Bay Area Program Emphasizes Abstinence Only Drug Policy
An uprising is taking place in San Francisco. In a city now known as much for its humanitarian crisis and social breakdown as for its steep hills and beautiful bridges, formerly incarcerated people, mostly black men, are refusing to be homeless, addicted, and unprepared for life and success. On September 7, the Positive Directions Treatment, Recovery, and Prevention Academy, an alternative-sentencing program that serves up to 84 formerly incarcerated men, opened its doors. Program participants receive up to 30 months of transformational support in a structured residential setting, at no cost to them. Spearheaded by Steve Adami, director of the Adult Probation Department’s Reentry Division, and in partnership with Westside Community Services and Positive Direction Equals Change, the Academy works to help former prisoners live honorably and independently.
U.S. judge tosses $4.5 billion deal shielding Sacklers from opioid lawsuits
NEW YORK, Dec 16 (Reuters) - A federal judge overturned a roughly $4.5 billion settlement that legally shielded members of the Sackler family who stand accused of helping fuel the U.S. opioid epidemic, a decision that threatened to upend the bankruptcy reorganization of their company, OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP.
U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon said in a written opinion on Thursday the New York bankruptcy court that approved the settlement did not have authority to grant the Sacklers the legal protection from future opioid litigation that formed the linchpin of Purdue’s reorganization.
WHO and U.N.: Life Skills Essential to Prevent and Recover From Addiction
The United Nations and the World Health Organization have agreed that certain life skills are vital to prevent the loss of productive citizens to drugs, crime and violence. Anyone trying to help the addicted recover a lasting sobriety can easily see the way extended addiction destroys these same skills. If we only provide medication-assisted treatment to a person seeking to reclaim sobriety and we don't ensure they get the help they need to rebuild these life skills, are we selling them short?