A study by the Research Council of Norway has concluded that psychedelics do not link to mental health problems or suicidal behavior. A study of roughly 130,000 adult citizens in the United States found no “evidence that psychedelic use is an independent risk factor for mental health problems.” Of the 135,095 randomly selected people, 19,299 […]
It is now one hundred years since drugs were first banned — and all through this long century of waging war on drugs, we have been told a story about addiction by our teachers and by our governments. This story is so deeply ingrained in our minds that we take it for granted. It seems […]
Agassi confesses he “hated tennis and took meth” and Dr. M reveals his demons while struggling to help addicts on Vancouver’s mean streets Are you now, or have you ever been, in the realm of the “Hungry Ghosts”? The Hungry Ghosts is one of the six realms in the Buddhist Wheel of Life — the un-fun one where people […]
What if I told you there might be a new way to treat drug addiction? I don’t mean spending billions failing to police the drug supply, or mopping ineffectually at addiction’s results, which are ill health, violence, sold bodies, damaged families . . . let me reword that, blood infections and oozing facial sores, fractured […]
What causes drug addiction? One Canadian physician argues that the problem isn’t the drugs themselves. Dr. Gabor Maté believes — based on research and his own experience working at harm reduction clinics in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, a poor area that has one of the worst drug problems in North America — that the root of […]
How is it possible to have compassion for someone whom you believe is choosing to live a life of drug addiction? Someone who chooses drugs over their families, over their children, over their job? As we explored with Dr. Drew previously in the #14Days on the Wagon series, stigma surrounding addiction is often tied into the widespread belief that […]
If there’s one constant among addicts of all types, it’s shame. It’s what makes us lie and hide. It’s what keeps us from asking for help – though we don’t think we need it, since we’re also good at lying to ourselves. About why we eat. Or shop. Or gamble. Or drink. Dr. Gabor Maté […]
Although it is mass-produced, mass promoted, legal, and ingested by a multitude of people all over the world, most people don’t ever consider or understand the spiritual consequences of drinking alcohol. Let’s begin by taking a look at the etymology of the Word alcohol. Etymology means the root of the word… where it is derived […]