Many people on MAT feel unwelcome at meetings, and this sense of alienation and rejection often leads to relapse. That’s where MARS™ comes in. We want people on MAT to be embraced and accepted in recovery. Held at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus in Westwood, the 13th annual SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health… Continue reading SAMHSA Voice Awards Honor Walter Ginter’s MARS™ Project
Tag: harm reduction
HIV Outbreak In Massachusetts Linked To Injection Drug Use
Between 2015 and 2018 there were 129 new HIV cases linked to drug use in two Massachusetts cities. Fentanyl use in two Massachusetts cities is driving an HIV outbreak that officials say could be forecasting a national public health crisis. Lawrence and Lowell Massachusetts, two cities along the New Hampshire border, have seen such a… Continue reading HIV Outbreak In Massachusetts Linked To Injection Drug Use
Toronto Health Officials Recommend Decriminalization of All Drugs
“The potential harms associated with any of these drugs is worsened when people are pushed into a position where they have to produce, obtain and consume those drugs illegally.” On Monday, the Toronto board of health unanimously accepted the decision to propose that Canada’s federal government decriminalize all drug use. The board made the decision… Continue reading Toronto Health Officials Recommend Decriminalization of All Drugs
Vancouver Sees Success in Peer-Supervised Injection Sites
The chief coroner of British Columbia estimates that without the safe injection sites and without opioid antidotes, the death count would be triple what it is. In Vancouver, Canada, individuals who wish to use injection drugs have the option of doing so in a safe environment, supervised by their peers. According to NPR, downtown Vancouver… Continue reading Vancouver Sees Success in Peer-Supervised Injection Sites
How One Rural Community Is Fighting to Save Lives from Drug Overdose
“I don’t want another parent to pick out a casket. I don’t want another grandparent to have to look a grandchild in the eye and say ‘your momma is gone.’” The Driftwood Motel on Oak Island, North Carolina, has seen better days. All around it, pastel-colored vacation homes with kitschy names like After Dune Delight… Continue reading How One Rural Community Is Fighting to Save Lives from Drug Overdose
Using Smartwatches As Harm Reduction Is Misguided, Expert Says
“If someone says, ‘Let’s do a line,’ I’ll look at my watch. If I see I’m at 150 of 160, I’ll say, ‘I’m good.’ That’s totally fine. Nobody gives you a hard time,” said one man. Can a Fitbit or Apple Watch keep you safe while you use drugs? That’s the idea presented by some… Continue reading Using Smartwatches As Harm Reduction Is Misguided, Expert Says
Harm Reduction: How to Engage Parent Advocates Effectively
I’ve had to correct parents whose first line to any policymaker is “my kid was from a good family, not just some homeless person.” “I never thought I would end up here, but here I am. I choose to create beauty in the space left in this world that my daughter used to occupy” –… Continue reading Harm Reduction: How to Engage Parent Advocates Effectively
So You Want to Write About Addicts
At its best, addict lit satiates our quintessential human yearning for stories that may lead to salvation. We want warm fuzzies. We want sweet, sweet, redemption. We started each morning of residential treatment with burned muffins, a house meeting, and introductions. “My name is Tom and I’m a junkie here on vacation. My goal today… Continue reading So You Want to Write About Addicts
Cocaine Safety Tips Rolled Out As Part Of NYC Awareness Campaign
Though critics feel the safety tips are promoting drug use, the health department counters, “We can’t connect New Yorkers to treatment if they are dead.” New York City is trying to get the word out about cocaine laced with fentanyl with a new harm reduction effort: issuing cocaine safety tips. As CBS New York reports, this… Continue reading Cocaine Safety Tips Rolled Out As Part Of NYC Awareness Campaign
More Than One Way to Recover: A Guide of Pathways
Regardless of how we achieved recovery, it is our responsibility as members of the recovery community to better inform ourselves (and others) of the other options out there rather than suggesting that our way is the only way. We live in a country where 45 million American families are affected by addiction. The statistics are… Continue reading More Than One Way to Recover: A Guide of Pathways
