Best of the Week: December 5–12

COMING UP IN THE FIX// Sexiest Drug Smugglers * Death Row Drugs *Adolescence Interrupted * Veterans with Hep C * Sober in Mexico * How Debtors Anonymous Helped My Eating Disorder * Battle Scars * Pro Voices * New Blogs *Ask an Expert * PLUS: Other incisive articles

	DRUG WAR// An Ounce of Truth and a Pound of Bullshit—Against the Drug War with Ethan Nadelmann The Fix Q&A with Ethan Nadelmann—founder of the Drug Policy Alliance—on activism, policy and that TED talk. By Zachary Siegel
	TARGETING// The Trajectories of Addiction Who really needs treatment? And how should this be tailored to better incorporate the severity and specificity of addiction? By Jeanene Swanson
	PROFESSIONAL VOICES// The Courage of the Harm Reduction Therapist A master therapist discusses the things that can keep him up at night in his work with clients who are still using substances. By Richard Juman
	TREATMENT ADVICE// Five Relationships That Will Get You Drunk The odds are good—but the goods are odd. By Bobbi Anderson
	PINNED DOWN// Wrestlers Anonymous More wrestlers are becoming open with their steroid stories. Back before testing was taken seriously, it was juice or lose. By A.J. Dugger III

 

BEST OF THE QUICK FIX Congress Shows Historic Support for Medical Marijuana Men and Women Respond Differently To Smoking Cigarettes, Researchers Say Study Finds Hookah Smoke Contains Cancer-Causing Chemicals

New York City Mayor Announces 60% Decline in Pot Arrests New Study Identifies Part Of Brain That Could Trigger Addiction Pennsylvania School District Scraps Pre-Teen Drug Testing Program

COMMENT OF THE WEEK

Taking It Low This week, Richard Juman wrote about the noble efforts of harm reduction specialists. Readers appreciated the value of programs that did not demand complete abstinence:

Being a former "addict alcoholic", I abstain from drug use but have an occasional glass of wine with dinner. I abstained from alcohol ,by choice for ten years before going back to enjoying a drink with family once in awhile. I would have benefited from "harm reduction" had I been aware of Smart and other non 12 step programs back then. I did AA and hated every moment I had to admit that I was powerless over my addictions. I had the power, just chose not to use it. I let programs control my life for 20 years until I chose to control my own destiny. Thanks Tom, for SMART and giving me my life back. -don cherms sr MORE »