While there are some people who still argue about whether drug addiction is a disease or a condition that results from the moral failing of an individual, most of the scientific community has long agreed that there are at least some influences on it that are far beyond a person’s control.

I’ve mentioned the genetic influences that have been shown to be associated with a risk for addiction before (look here). However, most of the research I’ve been involved in myself recently has more to do with the way that trying drugs changes your brain in ways that make it more likely that you’ll try them again.

Along these lines, a recently published study has shown that very specific molecular targets can have a huge impact on the probability that addicts will keep going after drugs. The molecules studied were common targets of cocaine that are altered long-term when a person uses coke. Read the rest of this entry >>

I used to always say, back in my using days, that speed (methamphetamine) was The American Drug. Why? Meth makes its users sharper, more alert, and more focused, and it allowed me to spend entire nights up studying like I’d never been able to study before.

Unfortunately, like many other aspects of The American Dream, speed will also leave you spent before you know it, leaving the memories of those productive, focused days far behind with little hope of coming back.

We live in a society that celebrates excess, be it in celebration or dedication to work, success, and achievement. Is it any wonder then that so many Americans turn whichever way they can to gain the edge that they feel they’re lacking when they compare themselves to those around them? Read the rest of this entry >>

* Over 80% of adolescents engage in some form of deviant behavior
* Over 50% of high-school seniors admit to having used drugs
* Only 10%-15% of the population develop drug addiction problems related to their drug use.

If the majority of teens experiment with drug use, and so few eventually develop drug addiction problems, should we be focusing on something other than stopping kids from trying drugs?

The anti-drug action campaign focused on “just saying no,” but that failed to be effective.

Most of the costs associated with drug use for the “non-problem” kids come not from long-term use (or addiction), but instead from unforeseen consequences like arrest, pregnancy, and health-trauma in the short term often driven by uneducated, uninformed choices. Read the rest of this entry >>

I’ve been aware of the unjust nature of our prison system for a while, but a recent NPR story I heard in the car brought the issue front and center again. This piece is a combination summary and extension of that story.

Did you know that the US makes up 5% of the world’s population but houses 50% of the world’s prisoners? This significantly trumps even China and Russia, those evil countries whose human rights violations we keep hearing about so much.

The California prison system is a perfect example. Though it held steady throughout the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, its prison population today is 8 times larger than it was 30 years ago. The reason? California’s passage of a slew of “get tough on crime” laws including:

-Increased parole sanctions
-Minimum sentencing laws
-Tough prison sentences for non-violent drug offenders (now 32% of the prison population)
-The famous “three strikes” law Read the rest of this entry >>

The debate about health care reform is raging with democrats and republicans seemingly entrenched in their positions on different sides. The overall question is simple: How do we reduce the cost of health care in this country without negatively affecting the quality of it?

US health care can be some of the most advanced and innovative in the world. Unfortunately, it can also leave nearly 46 million Americans with too little, or even no coverage. With insurance companies caring more about the bottom line than about people’s health and well being (that is, along with safety, after all the stated job of the government, isn’t it?) individuals lose, or are not granted, coverage when they become unprofitable.

If you’ve seen Sicko, or a number of other programs dedicated to this problem, you know where this story leads: Bankruptcies, homelessness, and the destruction of families, due to cancers, genetically acquired maladies, and other chronic illnesses. This might be okay with some Americans, but it’s not okay with many of us.

Those who oppose reform are using the same scare tactics and generalities they normally resort too, warning us of the loss of our health coverage by this government takeover. If you’re told that regular checkups at the doctor will save you thousands in overall medical costs (and we all are), it would be silly to consider the co pay for the regular doctor visits an additional cost burden. In fact, those smaller payments are allowing you to avoid more expensive, and painful, procedures down the line.

The constant barrage of republican scare messages seems to ignore that simple fact. Spend more now to save money later has worked with thermostats, energy efficient appliances, consumer conveniences like AAA, and will work with a health care reform overhaul.

Read the rest of this entry >>

A recent paper put out by an initiative called Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap (CATG) talks about some of the cost savings benefits that go along with alcohol and drug abuse treatment. The numbers refer to current treatment methods, success rates, etc., so the savings should only go up as we become more successful and introduce longer, more chronic treatment methods (as I discussed here).

* 2.3 Million hospital stays in 2004 we directly related to substance disorders costing 2 billion dollars nationally.
* Total medical costs were reduced 26% among patients that received addiction treatment.
* Brief counseling alone allowed for a reduction of 20% in emergency department visits and 37 percent in days of hospitalization among a group of high-risk alcoholics.
* Addiction contributes directly to many of our most pressing health issues: heart disease, cancer and stroke.
* In one study, outpatient addiction treatment reduced total medical costs by 26%, inpatient health-care costs by 35%, and emergency room by 36% !!!

You can find the rest of the report on CATG’s website, but I think you’ll agree that alcohol and drug abuse treatment needs to be part of the discussion in our ongoing health-care debate. We can save billions of dollars and millions of life every year by making appropriate, effective, addiction treatment part of the reality of ongoing health care in America.

It’s the responsible thing to do. It’s the right thing to do.

Originally posted on AllAboutAddiction.com

Physician Health Programs (PHP) are reporting an astonishing success rate when it comes to solving the drug use, abuse, and addiction problems of doctors:

* Only about 20% of doctors ever test positive after being admitted to the program within a 5 year period.
* More than 70% maintain their license and continue working within the same 5 year period.

These are the kind of results we want!

I’ve been saying for a long time that I believe in the theory promoted by Dr. McLellan, who is now the deputy-director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Doctor McLellan promotes a long-term view of addiction treatment, more like a chronic disease than anything that can be cured in a few months.

I’ve also known for a while that the American Medical Association is supposed to be having great success at treating addicted doctors. I’ve been meaning to contact someone at the AMA to find out how they did it. Now I don’t need to.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Editor’s note: We’re excited to introduce addiction expert Adi Jaffe, who will be blogging for us on the latest in neuroscience, treatment, and policy-issues related to addictions. We hope that, through providing quality information, we can change the dialogue about addiction in the US for the better.

We’ve all been touched by addiction one way or another. Addictions are a global problem affecting more than 30 million Americans. Drug addictions, including alcoholism, make up the lion’s share of the problem, but other addictions such as sex addiction, gambling, and food addictions are only recently getting the attention they’ve long deserved.

For those dependent on drugs, food, sex, or gambling, addiction means a lifetime of struggle to regain control over their fragile lives. For their loved ones, addiction is the sword, hanging by a thread, threatening their all.

The collateral damage of addiction is immense: Homelessness, terrorism, money-driven territory wars, the international sex-trade, and sky-rocketing prison populations are but a few of the ways in which addictions drag down our potential. The total annual cost of addiction in the US is more than $500 Billion, and with rising healthcare costs, those estimates are going nowhere but up.

Addiction treatment in the US is improving, but is still ages behind where it needs to be to provide the all important missing piece in the fight. Political wrangling has been keeping some of the most promising advances in addiction treatment out of the public’s reach, denying so many the help they need and deserve. Read the rest of this entry >>