history

A Day at the DEA Museum

Why would anyone visit the DEA Museum? My excuse was to see all the lies and misinformation in one place.…

February 13, 2025

“Horrible”—Harm Reduction Legend Discusses the Methadone System

I first heard Edith Springer speak at the 2004 Harm Reduction Coalition conference in New Orleans. She was explaining how…

June 4, 2024

The Rise and Fall of Confrontational Alcohol Addiction “Treatment”

Confrontational counseling, sometimes known as attack therapy, is most commonly associated with so-called "therapeutic communities" for people with addictions. It…

January 18, 2024

“Sleep’s Cave”—The Speculation Around Ovid’s Opium References

Publius Ovidius Naso, known today as Ovid, was a Roman poet of great acclaim and some infamy. His works remain…

September 29, 2023

Belladonna and Bad Actors: The Telling History of Addiction Treatment

The roots of today’s stigmatization of people who use drugs—and of paternalistic, exploitative, often cruel approaches to what we now…

April 25, 2023

Pliny the Elder’s Ancient But Refreshing Take on Opium

Pliny the Elder, a Roman statesman and writer, lived during the 1st Century CE. He died, famously, during the eruption…

March 31, 2023

The Story of Aversion Therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder

On June 30, 2022, Schick Shadel Hospital in Burien, Washington, closed its doors for good. It was the last facility…

March 17, 2023

Read “The Young Injectables,” a Harm Reduction Comic Book

A couple of months ago, I was cleaning off a table in what used to be the drop-in center—before the…

March 23, 2021