Tag: substance use disorder

  • How Do YOU Define “Party”?

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    GuidaBrown
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    For the last fourteen years or so, I’ve been doing assessments to determine whether or not people have substance use disorders (SUDs). We all know that the younger a person starts using substances, the more likely that a SUD will develop, so my assessments always include a version of the following questions: “How old were…

  • Getting Us Out of This Mess

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    GuidaBrown
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    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…

  • Alcohol Testing for the Masses Or Bias Against Teetotalers?

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    GuidaBrown
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    In 2021, as part of the Biden administration’s $1 trillion infrastructure package, automakers were mandated to install new technology in vehicles to prevent motorists from driving intoxicated. And in December 2022 the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) began officially recommending that all new vehicles for personal use be equipped with alcohol detection devices – which makes sense…

  • Worst Outcomes for Babies

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    GuidaBrown
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    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…

  • Stigma Reduction or Style Over Substance?

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    GuidaBrown
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    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…

  • Bias Against Babies

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    GuidaBrown
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    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,…

  • Whose Safety Is Being Secured?

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    GuidaBrown
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    Recent headlines have shown wide-ranging ideas about what should happen when those with substance use disorders (SUD) have babies born with unprescribed drugs, including alcohol, in their systems.   The American Medical Association cautions “Don’t criminalize pregnant patients with substance use disorders,” and it seems that Ohio has taken that advice to heart, given this inflammatory…

  • Legal ≠ Harmless

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    GuidaBrown
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    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…

  • The “Addictive Personality” Misnomer

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    GuidaBrown
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    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…

  • Testing for Truth

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    GuidaBrown
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    A recent edition of the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse reports that of the 1,300+ children, aged 9 to 13, surveyed, 9% more tested positive using hair testing for substance use than the 10% who self-reported use. Wait, now…  The report indicates that 5% of 8th graders — children aged 13-14 — are reporting cannabis use…