Tag: alcohol
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Worst Outcomes for Babies
Two noteworthy articles bleeped onto my radar on the same day recently. The first was a post about “Alcohol Use, Screening, and Brief Intervention Among Pregnant Persons — 24 U.S. Jurisdictions, 2017 and 2019” and the other was “2023’s Best & Worst States to Have a Baby” from WalletHub. I fully realize that WalletHub is…
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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…
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Bias Against Babies
Bias is defined as “prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.” This topic comes up often regarding testing pregnant patients for misuse of drugs. For example, in April 2023, JAMA reported that “Black patients, regardless of history of substance use,…
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Legal ≠ Harmless
Somehow along the way, we’ve made a distinction between “hard” drugs and, well, other drugs, as though only “hard” drugs cause problems. We’ve forgotten that those other, less “hard” drugs are also dangerous. We’ve also stopped thinking of alcohol as a drug at all, despite it being one of the most abused and dangerous drugs…
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The “Addictive Personality” Misnomer
I’m often asked if there’s an addictive personality…as though people with substance use disorders (SUDs) can be identified through that one trait, but there’s not. There are, however, common personality traits that those with SUDs tend to have. See if you recognize anyone in these traits: impulsivity, disinhibition, manipulative tendencies, a lack of accountability, a…
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We Can’t Treat It If We Don’t Test For It
The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), is designed to “address the needs of infants born with and identified as being affected by substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure, or a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.” The Act is an effort to, in part, address the health and substance use…
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Weed in the NBA
Big news before 4/20 was that the new NBA collective-bargaining contract will not require testing for THC. This new contract comes on the heels of the NBA having temporarily suspended testing of THC over the last three seasons, in part as a response to the COVID pandemic. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has gone on record…
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My Friend Michael Is Dying
To be honest, I’m not even sure what he’s dying from, which makes helping him that much more difficult. It may be cancer, or it may be that his disease of addiction has finally sped up his demise…from cirrhosis or whatever else a body does when it’s had enough. And, given the fragmented systems of…
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The “Marty Mann Test for Alcoholism”
I recently watched a TikTok from jennabobenna9 who BRILLIANTLY said, “It’s not the number; it’s the fact that you’re doing the math in the first place. That’s a red flag,” explaining to viewers that the number of drinks or sips (or, if I may, lines or hits or pills) doesn’t matter. What matters is if…
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Four Ways to Die Podcast
Check out this podcast from the Kenosha County Substance Abuse Coalition, hosted by Mike McGowan. He interviews me about one of the most popular blogs I’ve ever written: “Four Ways to Die.” Alcohol is a toxin and, far and away, the most commonly abused substance. It can kill all by itself. It also doesn’t play…
Guided by Guida 