Tuesday, May 5, 2015


The Fix: Addiction and Recovery, Straight Up
Best of the Week:
April 25–May 1
COMING UP IN THE FIX// Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck * Street Drugs and Suicide * Interview with Comedian Craig Gass * Not Mary Poppins: The Addict as Parent * Eric Clapton Profile * Adult Children of Alcoholics * Are Drug Therapies for Addiction Dangerous? * Brian Stogstill: from Incarceration to Higher Education *PLUS: Other incisive articles
WAR ON LAW// Rotten to the Core: The DEA Under Michele Leonhart
Michele Leonhart, the disgraced former head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, didn't fall from grace—she jumped.
By Neville Elder
PROBLEM ENLARGEMENT// Should Pregnant Women Who Use Drugs Be Punished?
A growing list of states have criminalized pregnant women who use drugs if they don't seek treatment. These laws are doing more harm than good.
By Tessie Castillo
POLITICS// The Drug Policies of 2016's Presidential Candidates
Three Republicans, one Democrat and what to look forward to in drug policy debates.
By Keri Blakinger
EATING DISORDERS// Love Notes from Hell: Roy Nelson on Addiction, Eating Disorders, and Freedom from Obsession
"We're in competition with no one," he says. He is known as people's "last resort."
By Amy Dresner
ASK AN EXPERT// Should I Go Off Suboxone? If So, How?
For our relaunch of "Ask an Expert," The Fix asks some of the best minds in addiction medicine one of its most difficult questions.
By Dr. Richard Juman
 
BEST OF THE QUICK FIX
Ecuador May Decriminalize All Illegal Drug Use
Cocaine Traces Found In Hospital Wing Near Where Kate Middleton Is Set To Give Birth
Oregon Brewers to Make Beer Out of Sewer Water
Congressional Hearing Examines Opioid Abuse Epidemic
Wal-Mart Is Suing Texas to Sell Liquor in Stores
Bud Light Apologizes For Label That ‘Missed the Mark’
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
Help Unwanted
This week, Dr. Richard Juman relauched The Fix's Ask an Expert section to answer this question: Should you get off Suboxone? If so, how? Readers appreciated the experts weighing in on such a difficult question:
This is a really interesting and challenging article. I think it shows just how confused addiction medicine is. I would tend to trust Dr Willenbring's advice - what he is saying makes a good point from the pharmacology point of view. However, I think that the studies that show a 90% relapse rate require further analysis. Dr Junig and Dr Paul make very good points around perception of OST - this is an area of my current research. Also, Dr Junig has a huge amount of experience in this area. I do think that the influence of the belief that abstinence is king is seen in these comments and I am concerned about the suggestions around naltrexone for a number of reasons. I also think that dependence and "addiction" are being conflated in some of these arguments. Personally I think that people can fully recover from heroin use disorders, and many do so without substitution. Many do down- titrate once finding stability on OST, but I think that there needs to be a resolution of other life issues first before it is worth risking.
And what is "infusion detox" is it just another term for the snake-oil "cure" called rapid detox? If so, run a mile.

-Shaun Shelly

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