Addiction

…there’s general agreement that the experience of being raised in a home with a troubled parent can and does have adverse impact on adult behavior

The increased incidence of depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric symptoms linked to OUD may also help to account for high rates of relapse among patients, post-treatment, versus other substance disorders.

Her definition of social drinking was any alcohol consumed in the company of other human beings.

Much of the chronic user’s life is taken up by anxiety, about where future doses will come from.

But if a community treats a correctional institution as a kind of locked flophouse, what else we can expect?

We can’t predict in advance which user will turn out to be in which category, and frankly, neither can they.

Addictions are complex. Considering the various risk factors, it’s likely that marijuana will appear to act as a gateway to harder drugs for some users, but not others.

…healthcare advocates have to work extra hard while proponents of a more punitive approach simply point to a crime committed by a drug user…

It reminds me of the addicts who convince themselves that somehow, despite all the pain of the past, this time things will be different.

Nurses and doctors experience the same feelings about homeless alcoholics they see in the ER every Saturday night.