Prevention | Intervention
Dear President-Elect Trump – Because Addiction Is Above Politics
Dear President-Elect Trump, We are writing as Americans who, regardless of political affiliation, are deeply concerned by the addiction crisis ravaging our country. You shared openly how alcoholism devastated your brother Fred’s life. In fact, addiction to alcohol and other drugs impacts 45 million Americans and their families. As you heard during the campaign, 21…
Read MoreHolidays Filled With Secondhand Drinking – What to Do
For some, the holidays are warm, fun, happy gatherings with friends and family. But for those whose holidays are filled with secondhand drinking, lurking behind that hope for those kinds of gatherings runs a current of angst, fear, and worry. Angst, fear, and worry about: how to keep him from drinking too much and picking a…
Read MoreTreating Addiction Like Other Chronic Diseases – We Don’t Make People Wait to Treat their Heart Disease
Requiring a person with heart disease to wait for treatment is impossible to imagine. It just wouldn’t happen. And, yet, people with a different chronic disease – the brain disease of addiction (aka substance use disorder) – experience this situation ALL THE TIME. Not only that, trying to figure out where to go or take a loved one…
Read MoreFacing Addiction – Surgeon General’s Report on Addiction – a Treatable Brain Disease
I’m still in awe of what happened November 17, 2016, at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles – a National Summit: Facing Addiction in America. It was at this summit that U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek H. Murthy, unveiled his office’s long-awaited, groundbreaking report addressing the country’s leading public health crisis. And why is this such a groundbreaking…
Read MoreWorried About a Young Person’s Alcohol | Drug Use
Underage or college age drinking | drug use – when should you be worried? I often get questions about this from parents, school counselors, teachers, therapists, and even the young person’s friends, who are trying to determine whether there “really is a problem” or “it’s just a phase.” This is such a common concern that I’ve created…
Read MoreAdolescent Cannabis Abuse – Guest Author Dr. Jennifer Golick
Adolescent cannabis abuse is a hot topic given the recent and upcoming state elections to legalize marijuana. There is the perception it is safer than alcohol or other drugs and thus safer for teens to use marijuana than alcohol. Today’s guest author, Dr. Jennifer Golick, explains why this is not true. Dr. Golick is the Clinical…
Read MorePrescription Opioid Pain Medication Misuse
Understanding how the brain maps chronic pain helps explain how a person can develop an opioid use disorder. In other words, abuse or become dependent on opioid pain medications. Scope of the Problem The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shares the following facts in their March 18, 2016, report, “CDC Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for…
Read MoreStudy Drugs | Guest Author Allison Kreiger Walsh, J.D.
Parents may have heard their teens and college students mumbling about the power of “study drugs,” but what are they and what do they do? Today’s guest author, Allison Kreiger Walsh, J.D., of Advanced Recovery Systems (ARS), separates fact from fiction in today’s post. ARS is a network of addiction recovery programs, including online educational…
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