New report: Addiction Treatment in America
The Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) released a major study recently entitled “Addiction Treatment in America – Not Based in Science Not Truly Medical” … critiques include that there are no national standards of practice for addiction counselors, and 14 states dont require any education or licensing at all
Heroin seen replacing Rx drugs across all ages and classes
Heroin has become more popular recently, because the most sought-after prescription drugs are … much more expensive, and inexpensive heroin, especially from Mexico is filling the gap. We look at the “War on Drugs” started by Nixon, inreaction to the grwoing use of heroin in the 60s, and the current changes in demographics, with the realization that heroin is not just the drug of the inner city, the poor and disenfranchised, but rather crosses all levels of society.
Bath Salts responsible for zombie-like attack
Bath salt – stimulants similar to ecstasy, are street-chemist versions of the middle eastern Khat plant, and are being associated with a new wave of extremely violent behavior, and fatal overdoses. The recent zombie-like attack in Miami, where a homeless man had literally 3/4 of his face chewed off by someone high on bath salts, has galvanized public attention to the dangers of these fairly new designer drugs.
OxyContin pulled in Canada
Canada has ordered OxyContin removed from pharmacies, in response to the continuing abuse of this powerful opioid. Many groups, including First Nations members with high numbers of addicted persons among them, are warning that the move will push people to more dangerous drugs such as heroin. We look at the OxyNeo replacement drug, what its implications are, and related aspects, including whether doctors are under- or over- prescribing powerful and highly addictive pain medications.
DSM-5 Stirs Controversy
The new DSM-5 could classify many more people as addicts … among the questions and criticisms being being raised in articles and blogs, including a recently in the Sunday New York Times story. The 5th edition DSM … adds addiction and related disorders as a new category, replacing substance abuse and dependence …. and behavioral addictions such as gambling.
Addiction and Personality
The rum-soaked writer … the coke-snorting money-manager … the heroin-zoned musician … stereotypes we all know. The idea that personality types correspond to certain drugs seems logical. In the 1920s the psychologist Hans Eysenck worked to move psychology beyond Freuds behavior-based theories to individualized psychology which included the science of personality. He considered this pursuit of matching personalities with drugs a pet project, believing that people are inclined to seek out things that make them feel better. And drugs are often the easiest way to change mood. But connecting different personality types to the various drugs is not at all straightforward.