The US Surgeon General Report on Substance Use in America

The Surgeon General of the U.S. has issued a comprehensive report on Substance Use Disorder and Recovery. The paper advocates for an expanded and evidence-based public health approach to combat the negative effects of SUD on individuals and the nation. It calls for a significant change in public perception and barrier-enhancing stigma that impedes treatment-seeking behaviors; the Surgeon General draws parallels to the successes of HIV advocacy efforts, which disarmed the "fear and judgment" that kept individuals from receiving compassionate and effective medical treatment. The report also looks at the SUD crisis from an economic cost analysis basis, illuminating the public expenditures lost to the unchecked epidemic and the strain put on the public health system as a result.

Office of the Surgeon General. Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General's Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health. Washington, DC: US Dept of Health and Human Services; November 2016. http://addiction.surgeongeneral.gov. Accessed November 23 2016.

https://addiction.surgeongeneral.gov/surgeon-generals-report.pdf

The research into the effectiveness of micro-dosed psychedelic chemicals upon mental health therapies continues to grow. This research article shows promising results, warranting further studies, for the use of pure MDMA (not street ecstasy or molly) to help treat social anxiety in adults on the Autism spectrum. Famous as a profound empathogen, MDMA appears to facilitate social interactions; 77% of the individuals studied in this trial reported the MDMA therapies made it "easier to talk to other people," notably the clinicians with whom they were working (Danforth, et al, 2015).



Danforth AL, et al, MDMA-assisted therapy: A new treatment model for social anxiety in autistic adults, Prog NeuroPsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2015.03.011

What is the main reason you chose collegiate recovery?

A key cog in the SUD recovery support continuum is the emergence of academic-based peer supports, notably Collegiate Recovery Centers (CRC), Collegiate Recovery Programs (CRP), and Recovery High Schools (RHS). For young people in early or long-term recovery, realizing a purpose-driven existence, together with a network of contemporaneous peers who share in the joys and challenges of academic life in recovery, is indispensable. This research article qualitatively analyzes students' self-reported experiences with collegiate recovery and their chief reasons for joining their respective programs.
In the comment thread below, please feel free to post your reasons for getting involved in a CRC, CRP, or RHS...


Alexandre B. Laudet PhD, Kitty Harris PhD, Thomas Kimball PhD, Ken C.
Winters PhD & D. Paul Moberg PhD (2016) In college and in recovery: Reasons for joining
a Collegiate Recovery Program, Journal of American College Health, 64:3, 238-246, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2015.1117464