Category: Uncategorized
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Understanding Testing Treatment Options for Addiction
I recently spent some time at Mayo Clinic. If you’re from the Midwest, this needs no explanation. For those of you who aren’t from the Midwest, I actually don’t know how to explain it well because it is surreal. I grew up knowing that Mayo is where you go when you’re really sick. When I…
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The Ubiquity of Alcohol in American Society
We drink a lot of alcohol in the US, but not everyone drinks it. In fact, 35% of those of legal drinking age consider themselves abstainers (Gallup). Statistically, that means that more than three people in every ten we encounter don’t drink alcohol. So why are messages of drinking so ubiquitous? How did the alcohol…
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Mandatory Reporting in Healthcare: The Prenatal Dilemma
Imagine that you’re a person working in the healthcare profession…perhaps a nurse or a doctor. And think about what caused you to go to school for all those extra years. Was it the desire to have lots of student debt? Maybe it was working all those hours, especially on weekends and holidays… Or perhaps it…
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Racial Disparities in Newborn Drug Testing and Prenatal Care
What would a pregnant person on the verge of delivering a baby say if she were asked if she has a history of drug abuse within the last 12-18 months? How about if she’s asked about her history of child abuse, neglect, or court-ordered placements of children outside the home? History of domestic abuse or…
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I’m Not Responsible for My Addiction — Or AM I?
Addiction is a disease just like heart disease is a disease. Both these diseases are preventable. Addiction is preventable through education and lack of use. Heart disease is preventable through following a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and not smoking. And both these diseases still occur – a lot – despite their both being preventable. So…
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Getting Us Out of This Mess
Because of what I listened to from the first 2024 Republican Presidential primary debate, I Googled “How is fentanyl coming to the US?” And here’s what I found from the January 2020 DEA Intelligence Report: “The flow of fentanyl into the United States in 2019 is more diverse compared to the start of the fentanyl crisis…
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Stigma Reduction or Style Over Substance?
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which, just for the record, is now considered stigmatizing language due to the use of the word “abuse,” says that “stigma may stem from antiquated and inaccurate beliefs that addiction is a moral failing.” (NIDA nidamed) In 2020, the National Institute of Health reported in “The stigma of mental…
Guided by Guida 