Two experts in our film Wasted likely have more knowledge and wisdom about Alcoholics Anonymous than anyone else in the world. They set the record straight on key beliefs about AA. Here’s Dr. Keith Humphreys on how total abstinence became the AA measure of success. Dr. Keith Humphreys is… Read more »
Shop Around for an AA Meeting that Works for You
Two experts in our film Wasted likely have more knowledge and wisdom about Alcoholics Anonymous than anyone else in the world. They set the record straight on key beliefs about AA. Here’s Dr. Bill Miller on why individual AA groups develop their own character. Dr. William R. Miller is… Read more »
Director’s Diary #2 – Mike Drank Again.
I can honestly say I never saw it coming and I never thought I’d have to deal with it. In our first round of filming, the experts told us alcohol use disorder is a chronic relapsing condition and yet it never occurred to me it would happen to Mike. How… Read more »
5 Myths About Addiction
In Wasted filmmaker Maureen Palmer and her partner Mike Pond start a new conversation about the science of addiction. They discussed how The long term effects of marijuana on the brain can be deleterious. They examine the biological origins of addiction and why some old models of treatment don’t work for… Read more »
Why Addiction is Especially Deadly for Young People
Substance Use Disorder is a disease of youth. Yet we don’t often think of it that way. According to a study in the New York Times, “of 40,000 who began drinking before the age of 14, nearly half had become alcohol dependent by the age of 21. In contrast,… Read more »
Your Risk for Becoming Alcoholic: 5 Genetic Factors
Want to know how much your genes will influence whether you develop an Alcohol Use Disorder? Dr. Marc Schuckit, a psychiatrist at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, is a world leader in understanding the genetics of alcoholism. Here’s what his research tells us.
The Cost of Addiction Part 2: The Cost of Mike’s Alcohol Use Disorder
As touched on in our previous post, addiction unnecessarily costs taxpayers a lot of money. Mike had to speak at a conference on reducing hospital admissions earlier this year, and for that talk, we tallied what Mike’s trip to rock bottom cost the BC taxpayer. At every stop on his downward… Read more »
The Cost of Addiction Part 1: Why Don’t We Fairly Fund Addiction Treatment?
Addiction and risky use constitute the largest preventable and most costly health problems facing the U.S. Addiction and risky use cause or contribute to more than 70 other conditions requiring medical care, including cancer, respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS, pregnancy complications, cirrhosis, ulcers and trauma. Addiction By the Numbers*: “¢… Read more »
Video: Experts Challenge Our Thinking About Addiction
Challenging the Language of Addiction
My name is Michael Pond and I live with an alcohol use disorder. (AUD) That’s what we now call alcoholism in the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ““ 5. In psychology and psychiatry, the DSM-5 is our bible. The change in language is in part to address… Read more »