Category: News

Bassist Flea “recovered” from heroin “addiction” without treatment or 12 steps

Flea, the legendary bassist for The Red Hot Chili Peppers, wrote an interesting essay on addiction for Time Magazine. It tells both his own experience of getting over his drug problems without professional help, and his own ideas about addiction. He has a lot of great things to say, but like so much of what… Continue reading Bassist Flea “recovered” from heroin “addiction” without treatment or 12 steps

Harvard Addiction Science Professor Admits Treatment is a Form of Coercion

Julie Eldred is a heroin user who violated probation by testing positive for an opioid. She’s contesting the probation violation ruling all the way up to Massachusetts’ State Supreme Court on the grounds that relapse is a symptom of the disease of addiction, and it’s therefore a cruel and unusual punishment to put her in… Continue reading Harvard Addiction Science Professor Admits Treatment is a Form of Coercion

Euthanasia for Addiction? A logical choice built on a false premise.

Is Dr Kevorkian the new role model for addiction counselors?

This is a truly sad and disturbing story that sums up why I fight against the myth that addiction is a chronic disease, and that addicts/alcoholics are helplessly out of control. A 41 year old man in the Netherlands decided to euthanize himself after 8 years of a painful alcohol use problem. ‘My parents especially have… Continue reading Euthanasia for Addiction? A logical choice built on a false premise.

Deflection in the addiction treatment industry over ethics

Source: CASA

Addiction treatment workers complain about unethical behavior in the addiction treatment industry, in a recent New York Times article titled “How Staten Island’s Drug Problem Made It a Target for Poaching Patients.” Their target is rehab recruiters who offer backdoor referral payments for patients with private insurance. This is against the law in some states, but… Continue reading Deflection in the addiction treatment industry over ethics

21 Things Obama and Macklemore got wrong about addiction

I almost died of a misinformation overdose watching President Obama and rapper Macklemore talk about addiction yesterday. Luckily though, I had some Narcan-for-myths handy: the knowledge I gained from studying drugs and addiction for over a decade now. President Obama’s Weekly Address was filled with misinformation. I counted 21 false statements in all. In fact the myths only… Continue reading 21 Things Obama and Macklemore got wrong about addiction

The Truth is sooooooo Tasteless – The case of Gabrielle Glaser and the dueling Cochrane Reviews

Gabrielle Glaser released a big story in The Atlantic this week dissecting AA, and obviously, dissing it as well. The article was well researched and presented a lot of hard facts. As usual, this was portrayed as insensitive and malicious by the recovery culture. How dare you attack a program “that has helped millions” (it hasn’t… Continue reading The Truth is sooooooo Tasteless – The case of Gabrielle Glaser and the dueling Cochrane Reviews

A few ways society can reduce opiate overdoses

With the recent overdose death of beloved actor Philip Seymour Hoffman in the news, this is a good time to discuss the causes of such tragedies. First and foremost, overdoses happen because people use drugs. People use drugs because they like the way the drugs make them feel. These facts will never change, so there… Continue reading A few ways society can reduce opiate overdoses