Alison Knopf

How Did We Come to Abandon America’s Pain Patients?

Overdoses—not those involving prescription opioids, but of heroin and illicit fentanyl, often combined with benzodiazepines—continue to go up. But opioid…

July 15, 2019

Denial of Methadone Devastates Incarcerated People: What Hope?

When people who are dependent on opioids are incarcerated and denied access, they go into withdrawal—an often-painful condition with symptoms…

June 4, 2019

Why We Fail to Maximize the Benefits of Methadone and Buprenorphine

Medication for anything only works if the patient takes enough. This is emphatically true for people taking medications for opioid…

May 7, 2019

Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome, Without the Hype

Cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) is nothing new, but nonetheless lacks a diagnosis code. This means that nobody—including the Centers for…

April 25, 2019

Indivior Case: Don’t Throw Out the Buprenorphine With the Bathwater

In the lucrative but hit-and-miss opioid use disorder treatment field, buprenorphine is one medication that has demonstrated outstanding efficacy.  It’s…

April 16, 2019

Why Are Methadone Patients Still Being Punished for Marijuana Use?

Marijuana, which is now legal for medical use in 33 states and counting, can help treat pain—something which opioids also…

March 31, 2019

Dietary Supplement? Or Drug? The Kratom Regulation Debate

Is kratom a plant (Mitragyna speciosa)—originating in Southeast Asia and long used in traditional medicines for the mild opioid-like and…

March 12, 2019

The Tricky Connection Between MAT and Low Sex Drive

Imagine going through opioid use disorder treatment with methadone or buprenorphine, perhaps getting a job and family and everything in your life back—except for one…

February 26, 2019

Should I Drug Test My Kids? Why the Experts Say No

Does anyone still want to do drug tests on their children? Apparently so, because there are plenty of kits for…

February 5, 2019

Fifteen Examples of Discrimination Against People With Substance Use Disorders

In light of the imminent threats to the confidentiality of substance use disorder patients, Legal Action Center, along with Faces…

January 17, 2019