Joe Gerstein, founder of the Smart Recovery treatment programme that is spreading from the US as an alternative to AA, explains why he rejects the myth that alcoholism is a ‘disease’ to be endured rather than cured Alcoholism is a disease that leaves victims powerless and needing to stay in permanent recovery if they are….
Continue reading ›
One hundred years ago, the US convened the International Opium Conference. This meeting of 13 nations in Shanghai was the beginning of global drug prohibition. Prohibition slowly became one of the most universally applied policies in the world. But a century on, international support for this blanket drug policy is slowly but inexorably unravelling. In….
Continue reading ›
A drink is always welcome, but just how much alcohol can the body handle in a lifetime? Thirty-five-year- old Anusha Sangwan would go out five nights a week and end up drinking anywhere between 2-3 cocktails per night. “We’d party a lot in college and having two drinks every night didn’t seem like a lot….
Continue reading ›
A campaign group has called for more research into the way alcohol can affect teenagers’ health. Alcohol Concern said it was worried that a rise in teenage drinking would lead to more people suffering alcohol-related illnesses at younger ages. The organisation called for further study as it emerged that a 22-year-old man was dying in….
Continue reading ›
For many addicts and those in recovery, the feelings of guilt and shame that surround their addiction are not only powerful, they are also the motivating factor that either makes or breaks their recovery efforts. When it comes to overcoming guilt, substance abuse treatment is the beginning of a long road that includes counseling and….
Continue reading ›