No matter where you turn, it’s hard to escape political news these days – who’s up, who’s down … who’s in, who’s out. It can feel like an exciting roller coaster, a drawn-out soap opera or, depending on your mood, a bit of a never-ending nightmare. In the midst of the noise, what should you […]
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You’re gonna miss this You’re gonna want this back You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast These are some good times So take a good look around You may not know it now But you’re gonna miss this Trace Adkins There was a jukebox in my room at the Gaylord Opryland and […]
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First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you. – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby Alcohol is a killer hiding in plain sight. While we demonize the use of other drugs, we celebrate with alcohol. It’s part of our weddings and graduations, our birthday parties and bar mitzvahs. […]
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Addiction is a chronic disease that changes the structure of the brain and how it works. This understanding helped fuel our fight for parity, promote evidence-based treatment and recovery services, and now supports a $35 billion drug treatment industry. But critics – including renowned addiction psychiatrist and NatCon18 speaker Sally Satel – believe that calling […]
Read More on If Addiction is a Disease, What kind of Disease is it? Join the Conversation! View Comments of If Addiction is a Disease, What kind of Disease is it? Join the Conversation!
In the game of “good idea, bad idea,” it seems no one is neutral about supervised consumption facilities, also called safe injection sites. Proponents say people can’t recover from a substance use problem if they’re dead, and supervised consumption facilities have been proven to keep them alive. Safe injection sites are facilities where people can […]
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The stories are heartbreaking. Drug treatment in this country has become a $35 billion industry, opening the floodgates for a host of unscrupulous operators who prey on vulnerable individuals and families. With glossy brochures and prepaid plane tickets, so called “body brokers” lure people desperate for help with the promise of spa-like surroundings where they […]
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This post first ran on Behavioral Healthcare Executive and can be accessed here. Tom Hill, vice president of addiction and recovery for the National Council, always reminds us, “You just have to do the next right thing.” For Tom, the first right thing was telling his own story of addiction and throwing off the yoke […]
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“Different people, in good faith, can look at the same fact and interpret it differently. But that’s where an interesting conversation begins.” Eric Schlosser, author of Reefer Madness No one, it seems, is neutral about marijuana. Perhaps you agree with Kathy, who emailed the National Council to say, “Cannabis (medical marijuana) is saving thousands, if […]
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“Treatment without prevention is simply unsustainable.” — Bill Gates Though the origin of the phrase “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is in doubt, no one who works in behavioral health has reason to question its meaning. As we prepare once again to observe National Prevention Week – May 14–20 […]
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I was saddened when I read the headline on April 21 that Vivek H. Murthy was stepping down as Surgeon General at the request of the Trump administration. His leadership in bringing addictions to the forefront of public health has done the country a great service. I am deeply sorry he won’t be able to […]
Read More on Loneliness is Killing Us, But Love and Compassion Can Heal: My Conversation with Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy View Comments of Loneliness is Killing Us, But Love and Compassion Can Heal: My Conversation with Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy
