Author: GuidaBrown
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Addiction Misconceptions: Expert Opinions vs. Personal Bias
I always forget how dumb I am, but, thankfully, I have a bunch of people willing to remind me: family, friends, and strangers…so, yeah, pretty much have that covered. I know a lot about addiction. I’ve spent decades learning about addiction, working with people who have addiction, and working to prevent addiction. I am a…
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Understanding Cannabis Addiction Myths
It happened again the other day…and I absolutely know better than to open my mouth…but I did anyway. I was an observer to a conversation about the vast and varied benefits of cannabis. I was trying my damnedest not to participate, but one of the two people in the conversation decided to point out that…
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The Rising Risk: Alcohol Tolerance and Health Advice Changes
What happens when you take poison? You die. There is certainly an element of truth to Westley, the Dread Pirate Roberts in The Princess Bride, building up tolerance against iocaine powder in order to get Vizzini out of the way. That happens every day. What’s the number one ingested toxin in the US? You got…
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The Crisis in FASD Diagnoses: A Call to Action
In the US, we absolutely have a dearth of those qualified to diagnose Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. There are something like nine diagnostic centers across the country. Just doing some quick math, if we consider that 5% of the population has an FASD, and that consideration is on the LOW end, that means that there…
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Ending Addiction: Strategies for Effective Treatment and Recovery
Would you want to go to an endocrinologist for treatment of your type 2 diabetes if ze were obese and has type 2 diabetes? Do you get your hair cut by someone with a hairstyle you don’t like? Why do we have a current emphasis on people who use drugs (PWUD) to be part of…
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Research on Addiction Needs Added Oversight
Learning is good, but accepting all research as gospel is problematic, and the alternative — dismissing facts we don’t agree with — is equally harmful. Despite my sister saying I’m basically a one-trick pony, I’m passionate about a lot of topics, so I love knowing stuff and sharing it. That’s why I enjoy attending conferences…because…
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Changing Addiction Language for Better Understanding
I write a lot here about language and how words – especially those used in the field of addiction – don’t actually define what we mean to say. Words like “substance use disorder,” “mental health,” and others. Imagine how much farther ahead we’d be if we say that someone has “addiction” rather than a “substance…
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Why Neonatal Drug Testing is Essential for Infant Health
When I check my blood pressure on my own at my local Meijer or CVS, it’s more than fine. However, I have white coat syndrome, which means that nearly every time I have my blood pressure checked at the doctor’s office, it’s unreasonably high. But you know what that doesn’t mean? It doesn’t mean that…
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The Importance of Language in Addiction Treatment
We hear so much about stigma and how it is at least part of the reason that less than 7% of those who need treatment actually access it (NIDA legislative). Our language has changed, though I contend that we may have taken things a bit too far when I can’t actually figure out what words…
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Understanding Addiction: Insights from Ask Eric
I am a huge fan of “Ask Eric,” which my daily newspaper runs every day. For the uninitiated, “Ask Eric” is the latest generation of “Dear Abby” or “Ask Ann Landers.” Ann Landers was really Esther “Eppie” Lederer, and Dear Abby was her twin sister Pauline “Popo” Phillips. I don’t like taking advice from anyone…
Guided by Guida 