Category: addiction
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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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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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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…
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How to Influence Change: Key Insights from _Influencer_
My navel gazing generally consists of my asking myself and others, “Is it me?” Usually it isn’t, at least in my own mind, which is why I was excited to read Influencer by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillanm, and Al Switzler. It’s an old book, as far as books go…published in 2007,…
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Is ‘California Sober’ a Real Path to Recovery?
There’s much debate about what recovery looks like. In fact, in some fun videos on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mikeandguida/) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MikeAndGuida) that I do with my friend, the renowned trainer Mike McGowan, we recently talked about “California Sober,” and sheesh, did we get pushback! For the unfamiliar, “California Sober,” according to one source, means “when a…
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The Overlooked Impact of Alcohol in Drug Policy
On April 1, 2025, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy from the Executive Office of the President issued its Statement of Drug Policy Priorities. Sadly, as expected, the most abused drug in the nation, alcohol, was left out. Again. The document opens with this statement, but the emphasis is mine, “The Trump…
Guided by Guida 