Jenny Metz 
Alcohol use is common but can pose serious health and social risks. Knowing when to stop drinking is essential, especially if it harms your health, relationships, or daily life. Abstinence is recommended for those at risk of addiction, while moderate drinking may be possible for low-risk individuals. Successfully quitting or reducing alcohol involves self-assessment, goal … Read more
Coordinated, whole-person care in addiction integrates medical, mental health, and social support to address all aspects of recovery. Its advantages include better outcomes and reduced relapse, but challenges such as high costs, complex implementation, and provider burnout exist. Ethical dilemmas can arise around autonomy, confidentiality, and equitable access. Success relies on self-management strategies like medication … Read more
Urine Drug Screens (UDS) are commonly used in probation and parole. However, UDS can be unreliable due to false positives, false negatives, and short detection windows. Confirmatory tests—GC-MS, LC-MS/MS, hair, blood, and lab-based oral fluid analysis—offer more accurate evidence. Combining initial screening with confirmatory testing and behavioral monitoring allows probation systems to assess compliance fairly … Read more
Telemedicine has expanded access to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment, but barriers remain, including technology gaps, regulatory hurdles, and stigma. Pharmacies add challenges such as reluctance to dispense medications, limited buprenorphine stocking, and insurance restrictions. Solutions like pharmacist training, stronger provider–pharmacy collaboration, and patient support networks can ease these barriers. Government efforts—through regulatory reforms, funding, … Read more
Overdose deaths among women have risen sharply, driven by factors like opioid use, mental health struggles, trauma, and stigma. In response, governments have expanded naloxone access, funded gender-focused treatment, and promoted trauma-informed care. Women can reduce risk through self-management strategies such as safe medication use and relapse prevention. Families support recovery by fostering open communication … Read more
New treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD) are adapting to fentanyl’s rise, emphasizing low-dose buprenorphine, wider methadone access, and digital or community care. These improve survival and retention but pose risks like withdrawal, sedation, misuse, and ethical dilemmas over autonomy, safety, resources, and balancing harm reduction with abstinence, highlighting a shift toward individualized, evidence-based care. … Read more
ADHD–social media addiction symptoms are impulsivity, heightened reward-seeking, and difficulties with self-control, which make individuals more prone to excessive online use. Prevention combines self-management strategies like routines and screen limits, family support through structure and guidance, and community resources such as support groups, helping individuals build healthier digital habits and resilience. ADHD–Social Media Addiction: Understanding … Read more
The SUD staging paradigm provides a structured framework by dividing substance use into distinct phases, from initial experimentation to full recovery. This approach allows interventions, family support, and community resources to be customized to the individual’s current stage, ensuring that prevention efforts target early use, treatment is focused on dependence or severe SUD, and relapse … Read more
Women with addiction retain fundamental reproductive rights, including the right to become pregnant, receive prenatal care, and parent their children, provided they can ensure the child’s safety and well-being. State governments, through child protective services, assess factors such as substance use during pregnancy, home environment, parenting capacity, and the availability of a support network to … Read more
Incubation of craving refers to the phenomenon where cravings for substances intensify over time during abstinence, often triggered by cues such as sights, sounds, emotions, or memories linked to past use. This growing sensitivity can catch individuals off guard, increasing the risk of relapse even after weeks or months of sobriety. Preventing relapse in the … Read more