Scientific controversies, treatment challenges,
and points of discussion about addiction

Bringing Science to the Streets (coming soon)

Many interventions for addiction work well in the lab but not on the streets. Join me and Scott Sanders, Executive Director of the Hope Resource Center and leader of the Hope Dealer Community here in Columbus Ohio, to discuss how we can make interventions more effective in the real world. Scott, a former addict himself, puts his money where his mouth is, using strategies that work in poor urban communities devastated by crack and fentanyl addiction. Scott's Hope Dealer Community has been featured on CBS News and in Reuters' Pulitzer Prize winning article, Fentanyl Express.

Crack and Methamphetamine: America's Forgotten Drug Epidemics (coming soon)

The American press has done a fantastic job of informing the public about the opioid crisis. Most of us are therefore well aware of the risks both prescription and street opioids carry. At the same time, most Americans, including everyday citizens and addiction scientists alike, believe the crack and methamphetamine epidemics are things of the past. Yet crack and meth overdose rates continue to climb, and are higher now than ever. Together, crack and meth kill nearly as many people as opioids. In this episode, we explore the crack and meth epidemics and consider why the scientific community and the American press have largely abandoned them.

Podcast (coming soon)

Suboxone: The Bright and Dark Sides of Medicine's "Cure" for Opioid Addiction (coming soon)

Suboxone, which is widely used to treat opioid addiction, is often described by scientists and public health officials as a miracle cure. Like methadone before it, however, Suboxone maintains addiction because it contains buprenorphine, a synthetic opioid pain reliever. There's no question Suboxone saves lives, but long-term treatment, which has become commonplace, reduces quality of life compared with full abstinence. In this episode, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Suboxone treatment with Ashley Arick, a former fentanyl addict who was treated with Suboxone, relapsed on fentanyl, and has now been fully abstinent for two years.

Addiction: A Disease or a Moral Failing? (coming soon)

Medical and mental health professionals are in near-unanimous agreement that addiction is a disease. The American Medical Association declared drug addiction a disease in 1987. They're joined by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Society of Addiction Medicine, and the National Institutes of Health. Yet only about half of Americans believe addiction is a disease, and eighty percent say they wouldn't affiliate with a known addict. In this episode, we consider the disease model of addiction and common misunderstandings about it.

The History of Drug Treatment in the U.S.: Repeating the Same Old Mistakes (coming soon)

The Paradox of Self-Control and Agency in Recovery

Addiction as a Brain Disease

Why Do So Many Academics Hate 12-Step Recovery

Straight Talk About Abstinence and Moderation

Overselling Harm Reduction

ADHD Overdiagnosis and Adderall Addiction

Why Aren't We Better at Treating Addiction? (coming soon)

On March 31, 2023, the most recent date of available data, there were 1.6 million Americans in inpatient or outpatient treatment for addiction at one of 17,561 facilities across the U.S. Most of these people had been in treatment before, and an estimated two-thirds relapsed within a year. In fact, relapse rates have changed little in over 40 years, despite endless promises of treatment breakthroughs and even cures. In this episode, JK joins us to discuss why treatment success rates haven't improved, and what might be done about it.

Many of us think about addiction as a problem of modern times, but American history tells a different story. Writings about treating addiction extend to the founding days of our nation. Since then, the U.S. has experienced at least three opioid crisis recycled treatment approaches that have failed in past generations, such as psychedelics. In this episode, we discuss the history of addiction and its treatment in America, and consider what we can learn from failures of the past.

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