Alison Knopf

Alison has written about substance use for more than 30 years. She has also written for many years about medical coding. A freelance writer, she is also the editor of Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, and managing editor of Child & Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update and Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter—all published by WILEY. She also writes for Addiction Treatment Forum.

Methadone Patients’ Data Poised to Be Entered Into PDMPs

Starting August 14, methadone patients face the very real possibility that their long-protected privacy will be gone. The Substance Abuse…

August 12, 2020

SAMHSA Rule-Change Strips SUD Patients’ Privacy, Invites Police Intrusion

The long-awaited final rule revising 42 CFR Part 2—the confidentiality regulation applying to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment records—is out. …

July 16, 2020

Why an OASAS License for a Low-Threshold Bupe Provider Is So Significant

REACH—a harm reduction-oriented health center in Ithaca, New York that prescribes buprenorphine, among many other services—is about to get a…

July 7, 2020

NYC Begins Home Methadone Deliveries. Will It Have Lasting Impact on the Rules?

On April 29, New York City started delivering methadone to patients isolated at home due to the coronavirus. The courier…

April 30, 2020

NYC Rolls Out Courier System to Deliver Methadone to Isolated Patients

For the 30,000 patients who take methadone every day for opioid use disorder in New York City, one big worry…

April 23, 2020

SUD Patients’ Confidentiality a Quiet Victim of the CARES Act

It took COVID-19 to do what the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the American Society of Addiction…

April 2, 2020

Estimated 15,000 NYC Methadone Patients to Be Isolated. How Will They Get Meds?

There are about 30,000 methadone patients in New York City, all taking methadone on a daily basis for opioid use…

March 26, 2020

Second Woman Reports Sexual Assault by TSA in Orlando

A Transport Security Administration (TSA) officer sexually assaulted me during a “search” at Orlando International Airport on October 23, 2019.…

February 19, 2020

How the TSA Has Stonewalled My Follow-Up to Being Sexually Assaulted

Last fall, a Transportation Security Administration agent sexually assaulted me at Orlando International Airport. She used all ten fingers to…

February 13, 2020

The Formidable Challenge of Understanding Pain

Whether you consider opioids to be the gold standard for treating pain or a last resort, they do the job…

January 28, 2020