addiction

Can Harm Reduction and Abstinence-Based Models Constructively Co-Exist?

What does it mean to be "in recovery" from a substance use disorder? In theory, it seems a straightforward enough…

October 23, 2019

What Harm Reductionists Think About Sesame Street’s Addiction Representation

Sesame Street, the long-running children’s television show, has taken on issues ranging from exercise to incarceration. On October 9, Sesame…

October 17, 2019

Almodóvar and Portman’s New Films Illuminate Love, Heroin and Addiction

Two current films wonder about the nature of addiction—one involving obsessive love, the other heroin use without the usual addictive…

October 10, 2019

Why the Curious Story of William S. Burroughs’ Heroin “Cure” Still Matters

At the time I took the apomorphine cure I had no claims to call myself a writer and my creativity…

October 8, 2019

Alcohol Must Be Part of the Harm Reduction Conversation

Alcohol is our favorite recreational drug besides caffeine. According to SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 179 million…

October 1, 2019

ACLU Sues Bureau of Prisons for Denying a Federal Prisoner Buprenorphine

In a key moment for the rights of incarcerated people with substance use disorders, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)…

September 11, 2019

“I Am Not an Addict”⁠—What Should “Recovery” Mean in 2019?

My name is Adi, and despite my years of struggling with meth addiction, I am not an “addict.” I’m a…

September 4, 2019

The Optimism Gap: Class-Tailored Addiction Messaging Fuels Inequality

When people speak of inequality in America, they miss one of its powerful drivers: addiction treatment. The concepts that dominate…

August 15, 2019

Drew Barrymore and the Case Against Labeling Children as “Addicts”

Drew Barrymore appeared on the cover of People in 1989 under the banner “America's Youngest Addict.” She had been consuming…

August 8, 2019

Voices of Poverty, Pain, Addiction Must Be Heard in Cannabis Debate

The New Zealand government’s announcement of a non-binding 2020 referendum on full cannabis legalization for people over 20 has reignited…

August 6, 2019