The Addiction Crisis and Our Mission
Addiction is a complex condition. Its nature, cause and resolution are not universally agreed upon and the science continues to evolve.
The Center’s mission is to help preserve multiple pathways to recovery. We do this in two ways: First, to educate by publishing original and curated content that illuminates our philosophy and purpose. Second, to advocate for policies that preserve multiple pathways to recovery such as choice in treatment, fully informed consent and the maintenance of a diverse and comprehensive addiction treatment ecosystem.
Current Posts
Despite critics, is AA effective?
In March 2020, Stanford Medicine News Center released a report addressing that question. A Stanford researcher and two collaborators conducted an extensive review of AA studies. Their findings stated that the AA fellowship helps more people achieve sobriety than therapy does.
SAMHSA Announces New Recovery Office Leadership and Personnel
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is launching an Office of Recovery, within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, to advance the agency’s commitment to, and support of, recovery for all Americans. September marks National Recovery Month, and in organizing this new office, SAMHSA will now have a dedicated team with a deep understanding of recovery to promote policies, programs and services to those in or seeking recovery.
Training people to become certified recovery peer advocates
LaShondra Jones went through years of mental illness and alcohol addiction, and in her late 40s she was living in a women’s shelter in Brooklyn. Finally stable and sober, she needed work — any type of work — for which her history wouldn’t count against her. Jones Googled “free training in NYC” and learned that several area community colleges offered training for people to become certified recovery peer advocates for those coping with alcohol or drug addiction. Her experience, in this case, would be a big plus.
Study finds marijuana with high THC levels linked to addiction, psychiatric illness
As the strength or potency of cannabis products has increased internationally over the years, so have rates of people being treated for cannabis addiction, say the authors of a new study. Researchers from the Addiction and Mental Health Group at the University of Bath (UK) systematically analysed the relationship between the types of cannabis people use and their addiction and mental health problems. Their work draws on 20 studies involving almost 120,000 people.
Should people with addiction disorders be forced by governments into treatment?
Governor Gavin Newsom of California has proposed a court program that would force unhoused people with severe mental illnesses and addiction disorders into treatment. The moves comes in response to a worsening humanitarian crisis concerning people living on the streets, but has raised concerns from disability rights and civil liberties advocates. According to the proposed plan, those who do not follow through with the treatment could be forced into conservatorships.
International Recovery Day is September 30th!
CSDAP supports Recovery Month and International Recovery Day, September 30th. These are annual observances dedicated to globally promoting all pathways to recovery from addiction and to educate the public about the value of recovery. We commend groups like Faces & Voices of Recovery (FAVOR) that put a lot of effort into promoting and celebrating these events.
Indivior must face states’ monopoly claim over opioid addiction drug Suboxone
(Reuters) - Drugmaker Indivior Inc must face a lawsuit by 42 state attorneys general accusing it of using illegal tactics to shield its opioid addiction treatment Suboxone from generic competition, a federal judge has ruled. States have said that the company's conduct forced consumers to pay inflated prices for the treatment amid an epidemic of opioid addiction. U.S. District Judge Mitchell Goldberg in Philadelphia found Monday that a reasonable jury could find that Indivior's switch from a pill to an oral film form of the drug in 2009 was intended to extend its monopoly just as generic manufacturers were poised to begin selling their own pills, a strategy known as product hopping.
Success with another road to sobriety: SMART
Dee MacLean first tried SMART Recovery when she was in the provincial addiction treatment centre in Mount Herbert in 2018. After three years of struggling with prescription opiate addiction, MacLean was ready to go to rehab. One of the programs she took part in was Self-Management and Recovery Training (SMART), an alternative to traditional groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA).