Federal Grant Signals a Call for Greater Empathy to Inform Our Approach to Addiction A recent U.S. News & World Report article by Diana Krishnan of Rush University Medical Hospital in Chicago cited the first “harm reduction” grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) as an indication of U.S. efforts…
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In the latest data available from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health—conducted under the auspices of the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), over 20 million U.S. adults struggle each year with a substance use disorder (a.k.a., addiction to alcohol or drugs).[1] Unfortunately, it’s…
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2022 North American Commission Report Addresses the Opioid Epidemic The current COVID pandemic, by all measures, has had a devastating effect on countless lives around the world. However, another epidemic is continuing to wreak havoc here in the U.S. and Canada. According to the Stanford-Lancet Commission on the North American Opioid Crisis (“the Commission”), there…
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A just-published study drawing from multimodal imaging data on a large sample size—nearly 37,000 adults—concluded significant losses of both gray and white brain matter are attributable to light-to-moderate alcohol intake.[1] Prior to this study, decades of research on alcohol consumption has demonstrated heavy drinking and alcoholism are leading contributors to worldwide disease and deaths, as…
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While exacting statistics regarding addicted physicians are sometimes challenging to arrive at, one study by the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital—which surveyed over 2,000 doctors nationwide across multiple specialties—found that 17% of physicians have encountered a doctor who is impaired by substance abuse or has a substance use disorder, causing problems…
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Given the recent unprecedented spike in U.S. drug-related fatalities—statistics show in 2020 over 93,000 people died because of drug overdoses, with 75% of those deaths involving an opioid—a study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA, part of the National Institutes of Health/NIH), published by the Journal of the American Medical Association Open Network…
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Most of what we hear at recovery meetings (whether at a treatment center or 12 Steps meetings) is people sharing their “experience, strength and hope” about the recovery process, expressing it in their own words and from their own points of view. And generally speaking, there’s value that can be derived from the majority of…
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While enjoying a recent Zoom 12 Steps meeting, I was impressed with the insight a fellow shared when he said the following: “When I started my new job at a hospital on their maintenance crew, at first I felt sour about having to walk the perimeter of the hospital property early each morning checking for…
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According to research published online Feb. 14, 2022 in the British journal Evidence-Based Mental Health (EBMH)—which included a 10-year follow-up study—amphetamine abusers were six times more likely to have psychosis than non-users.[1] However, in addition, the study indicated of those amphetamine abusers who entered addiction treatment (during deferred prosecution), more than one fourth (26%) were…
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According to research published online Feb. 14, 2022 in the British journal Evidence-Based Mental Health (EBMH)—which included a 10-year follow-up study—amphetamine abusers were six times more likely to have psychosis than non-users.[1] However, in addition, the study indicated of those amphetamine abusers who entered addiction treatment (during deferred prosecution), more than one fourth (26%) were…
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