Over the last few years, the advocacy community in Washington, D.C that works on substance abuse issues has scored some tremendous victories. In 2008, more than a decade of work came to fruition when the Wellstone/Domenici parity act was passed. In 2010, we celebrated as the Affordable Care Act was passed, inclusive of not only [...]

By Andrew Kessler September is once again Recovery Month, when advocates for substance abuse and addiction recovery around the United States celebrate their achievements with their communities. While many communities celebrate in similar fashion – via recovery walks or attending professional baseball games where recovery advocates are honored for their work – each community is [...]

Let us face facts and let us not mince words: Our nation’s policy of Drug Prohibition is not working. As a matter of fact, this policy is actually causing much more harm than the prohibited drugs themselves would ever be causing on their own – here and everywhere else around the world. And the irony [...]

With the 2010 midterm elections behind us, there are literally hundreds of questions surrounding Washington. While anyone who says they have all the answers is lying, we can make educated guesses in some cases. Readers of Recovery View are most likely to ask how the current political situation will impact funding for substance abuse treatment [...]

Mary Jane. Pot. Weed. Chronic. No matter what name you give to it, marijuana remains at the center of drug policy in the United States. No other illicit drug is as controversial or causes as many schisms in the treatment and advocacy communities. In California this November, voters will cast a ballot that could have [...]

In the spring of 2010, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) released its National Drug Control Strategy, the first such document released by the Obama White House. Although it was supposed to be released earlier in the year, it was delayed due to the passage of health care reform. The strategy lays out [...]

In late 2003, a new coalition was formed in Washington. Led by Dr. Bill Dewey and Dr. Charles O’Keefe of Virginia Commonwealth University and its College on Problems of Drug Dependence, the Friends of NIDA held its first meeting. Its mission, then and now, is to advocate for the use of science to bring an [...]