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Good talk for a guy who has been studying the subject for years, travelling all around the world:
Cliffs:
- He states that almost everything we know about addiction is wrong.
- People take heroin in the form of morphine a lot for medical issues but don't become addicted. So the level of chemical addiction is overrated.
- Most of the knowledge about addiction comes from studies who are about 100 years old. Basically rats with clean water and water with a drug. They chose the drug.
- In the 70s, a professor did an experiment called "Rat Park" where the rats had everything (cheese, tunnels, other rats, sexual partners, etc). He put both waters. None of the rats drank the drugged water.
- Isolated rats were overdosing at about 100% rate. The ones in "Rat Park" had a 0% rate.
- 20% of US soldiers in Vietnam used a lot of heroin. Once they got back in the US soil there was a concern about them becoming junkies. 95% of them just stopped using heroin without any rehab.
- Then he proceeds to explain addiction causes being "bonding" and "connection" issues. Since you can't connect with people you connect with the object of your addiction.
- We are used to treat former addicts like ex-convicts. Shame and stigmatize them.
- In the early 2000s, 1% of Portugal population was addicted to heroin. They tried to do the american way and failed.
- They decriminalized all treatment funds and use them to reconnect addicts to society. Instead of focusing only in residentail rehab and psychological treatment. They started a big employement program for addicts, for example, paying 50% of salary to their employer.
- The main objective was that every addict have something to wake up for, and build relationships with basically the world.
- 15 years later injection drugs were down 50%. Addiction, HIV infections, ODs, everything went down.
- Current society is addictive in many other ways too (smartphones, food, social media, etc). It's not only illegal drugs.
- Connections now through social media and technology are not as genuine as real life.
- Group interventions that threat addicts to cut them off does not work. The opposite way (unconditional love) seems to be way more effective.
- His conclusion: The opposite of addiction is connection.
I know a lot of you have some first or second hand experience with addiction. Would like to read your opinions about it.
Cliffs:
- He states that almost everything we know about addiction is wrong.
- People take heroin in the form of morphine a lot for medical issues but don't become addicted. So the level of chemical addiction is overrated.
- Most of the knowledge about addiction comes from studies who are about 100 years old. Basically rats with clean water and water with a drug. They chose the drug.
- In the 70s, a professor did an experiment called "Rat Park" where the rats had everything (cheese, tunnels, other rats, sexual partners, etc). He put both waters. None of the rats drank the drugged water.
- Isolated rats were overdosing at about 100% rate. The ones in "Rat Park" had a 0% rate.
- 20% of US soldiers in Vietnam used a lot of heroin. Once they got back in the US soil there was a concern about them becoming junkies. 95% of them just stopped using heroin without any rehab.
- Then he proceeds to explain addiction causes being "bonding" and "connection" issues. Since you can't connect with people you connect with the object of your addiction.
- We are used to treat former addicts like ex-convicts. Shame and stigmatize them.
- In the early 2000s, 1% of Portugal population was addicted to heroin. They tried to do the american way and failed.
- They decriminalized all treatment funds and use them to reconnect addicts to society. Instead of focusing only in residentail rehab and psychological treatment. They started a big employement program for addicts, for example, paying 50% of salary to their employer.
- The main objective was that every addict have something to wake up for, and build relationships with basically the world.
- 15 years later injection drugs were down 50%. Addiction, HIV infections, ODs, everything went down.
- Current society is addictive in many other ways too (smartphones, food, social media, etc). It's not only illegal drugs.
- Connections now through social media and technology are not as genuine as real life.
- Group interventions that threat addicts to cut them off does not work. The opposite way (unconditional love) seems to be way more effective.
- His conclusion: The opposite of addiction is connection.
I know a lot of you have some first or second hand experience with addiction. Would like to read your opinions about it.
