I realize that at first glance, this may appear to contradict much of what I say on this blog, but if you bear with me you’ll see that it doesn’t: Lindsay Lohan is a victim. Now I don’t think she’s a victim of the disease of addiction, and I’m not saying that her choices aren’t… Continue reading A Sober Look At The Lohan Situation – Part 1
Category: News
Neuroskeptic: The Acting Brain!
Sometimes I feel alone when I look at the “case” for the brain disease model of addiction and cry “bullshit!”. Can anyone else see how ridiculous this is? Does anyone realize they’re just showing us a very normal phenomenon? Does anyone else see these brain scans and say “so what?”. Yes, yes they do. While… Continue reading Neuroskeptic: The Acting Brain!
A Libertarian View On Drugs and Addiction
There’s a great article discussing everything from the drug war & legalization to the brain disease model of addiction on the Mises Institute site. Here’s an excerpt, check it out: When people take drugs, their brain functioning changes. When they have sex, cuddle their toddler, or eat chocolate, similar changes occur in the same brain… Continue reading A Libertarian View On Drugs and Addiction
Tax dollars thrown away on pointless animal experiments
I don’t often find myself siding with PETA, but they bring up an important point: “it is especially egregious that experimenters are trying to use animals to model addiction, which is in large part caused by social, psychological and even economic factors. Studies on animals can’t resolve these issues.” Read more here: Tax dollars thrown… Continue reading Tax dollars thrown away on pointless animal experiments
Addiction: A Disorder of Choice
There’s a great interview with Gene Heyman, the author of Addiction: A Disorder of Choice available on NPR follow this link to listen to it, and learn about Heyman’s extremely important work: http://www.onpointradio.org/2009/08/is-addiction-a-matter-of-choice Another guest on the show, Hazelden’s Marvin Seppala, went on and on about research done on rats, a practice which I found… Continue reading Addiction: A Disorder of Choice
Bogus Drug Scares
Gawker has a good story on the latest overblown drug scares including i-dosing, flashblooding, and Jenkem. Check it out here: How Bogus Drug Scares Get Started.
Excruciatingly Normal News from Know-Nothing Numbskulls
If you’d like to know why people are so misinformed, you need look no further than your local news. Noah Bond of ABC4 in Salt Lake City recently reported on a new heroin epidemic: A strong batch of heroin is killing addicts in Salt Lake County. At least four people are dead and two others… Continue reading Excruciatingly Normal News from Know-Nothing Numbskulls
State Proudly Wastes $200,000,000 A Year
Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Programs (BDAP) will now be represented by a cabinet level secretary – which is a promotion of sorts, it means that a bureau becomes a department, or something like that. Anyways, some politician with a heroin addict son fought for this for 6 six years, so it’s a big… Continue reading State Proudly Wastes $200,000,000 A Year
News Flash: Medical Professionals Over-Think Addiction!
University of Maryland addiction researcher Clinton B McCracken PhD was arrested last year for growing marijuana plants in his home. Police found the plants while responding to a 911 call – McCracken’s fiancee and research partner died while injecting what they thought was an opiate that they’d bought online. They’d both been doing opiates for 3… Continue reading News Flash: Medical Professionals Over-Think Addiction!
Opium Addiction Fuels Afghan Chaos (or is it the other way around?)
The title of this post links to a BBC article about opium use in Afghanistan. I think the article has a very telling and honest tone which I hear constantly when people talk about addiction. When people talk about addiction and why substance abuse happens they often list the dismal life circumstances of the abuser, the… Continue reading Opium Addiction Fuels Afghan Chaos (or is it the other way around?)