Federal Crackdown on Cannabis 2018 by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. On January 4th 2018, Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions issued a memorandum to all United States Attorneys stating that the federal government’s hands-off approach to enforcing cannabis laws was “unnecessary.”  The memorandum rescinded the federal government's hands-off approach to cannabis, effective immediately, due to “Congress’s determination that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that marijuana activity is a serious crime.”  Few crimes are more serious than cannabis activity, thus the memorandum from the AG is an important step towards restoring law and order in our increasingly chaotic society.  States with legal cannabis beware, Ol' Jeffy and his legion of justice warriors are coming to reinstate discip...

Hollywood Scandals Remind Us of Addiction's Roots by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. What does Hollywood have to do with addiction's roots? The recent wave of sexual abuse revelations in Hollywood is simultaneously tragic and inspiring.  The courage, resilience, and fortitude demonstrated by victims publicly disclosing some of the most disturbing and traumatic details of their lives in the hope of catalyzing positive change reveal the best of human nature.  The details the courageous victims continue to share expose the darkest underbelly of humanity’s depravity.  The attention generated by the Hollywood sexual abuse scandals is finally pushing the issue of sexual abuse into the forefront of our consciousness, which will hopefully manifest change across many levels of society. Addictio...

Language of Addiction: Using Treatment Jargon to Describe Treatment By Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. The insulting, dehumanizing rhetoric of the addiction ‘treatment’ industry never ceases to amaze and dishearten. The language of addiction used by the industry is purportedly used for the addicts' own good - to break them down so they can be rebuilt. People who are hurting and vulnerable are called manipulative, junkie liars so often that such language is widely accepted and implemented in treatment settings by so-called professionals.  What if we fought fire with fire and the same critical, cruel language used to ‘shame addicts into change’ was mirrored back to describe the addiction treatment industry?  Well, let us indulge the imagination a bit and give the addiction treatment industry ...

The Entire Aim of Addiction Treatment is Off by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. The goal of nearly the entire field of addiction treatment is to help people stop using substances forever. However, a closer look at the goal of stopping forever reveals fatal flaws. This article aims to expose the flaws in the goal of stopping forever while proposing the broader, more effective goal of changing. The Flawed Goals of Addiction Treatment A goal of stopping substance use forever is problematic in two fundamental ways. The first fundamental flaw in a goal of stopping forever is that the goal is set in negative terms. Effective goals are constructed in a positive framework, which means goals are phrased in terms of what will be done rather than what will be avoided. For example, a goal set as ...

by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. In modern, “sophisticated” society we like to believe in our lofty righteousness.  We are dignified, upstanding examples of integrity.  We parade about in our chrome-wheeled, semi-electric metal boxes. We adorn ourselves in proper fitting attire from a respectable department store. It is a nice, comforting bubble most of us float around in. Meanwhile, those folks who choose methods of consciousness alteration deemed immoral and unrighteous by the moral majority often experience a dark, shameful underbelly of vindictive tribunals and torturous treatment. Teen boot camps are perhaps the most shameful, immoral stain on the dark underbelly of America’s moral majority and its multi-billion dollar “treatment” industry. When it comes to hypocrisy, there’s nothing ...

Is a Higher Power in Recovery Necessary? By Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. Most approaches to addiction treatment tout a relationship with a higher power as essential to success. Peddling salvation and threatening damnation are age-old endeavors for humans, rehabs doing so may just be a modern incarnation of indulgences. But what if they’re right? What if a strong connection to a higher power is essential to recovery? This article explores the incorporeal topic of a higher power from the perspective of awe and wonder, and proposes that an attitude of awe is made up of many of the most vital aspects to sustaining success in recovery and to improving wellbeing in general. Awe: The Cornerstone of Religious Experience Awe has been at the heart of religious experience since the dawn of the co...

Alternatives to Abstinence Will Be Mainstream by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. Step aside ‘abstinence-only,’ your monopoly on addiction treatment is finally coming to an end.  It has taken some time, decades even, for practical approaches to recovery to gain respect and prominence.  Finally, with an opioid epidemic in full swing, treatment rooted in approaches that are nearly a century old, and rehabs crumbling under the scandal of insurance scams, the climate in addiction treatment is on a fulcrum tipping towards change.  This article explores some of the exciting changes on the horizon of addiction treatment. For nearly a century, addiction treatment has been plagued by the erroneous beliefs that most people fail, that only one outcome is viable (total abstinence), and that only one ...

Drugs Are Medicine by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. One of the more hypocritical aspects of today’s culture is the distinction between medicine and drugs.  Two weeks ago we explored the power harnessed in a single word.  The stark contrast between the words ‘drugs’ and ‘medicine’ underscores the vastly different connotations that can be elicited by synonyms.  Challenging the social stigma associated with addiction is one of the most important aspects of healing addiction.  In the spirit of challenging the social stigma around addiction, this week’s article highlights the arbitrary distinction between the words ‘drugs’ and ‘medicine’ as a prime example of the double standard and inherent hypocrisy in our culture’s views on substance use. Rarely do two synonyms elicit such distinct emoti...

How to Solve the Opioid Crisis by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. In an age when Americans agree on few things, an issue that unites us toward a common goal could be deeply and profoundly healing. On the costs of the opioid crisis in America, there is little disagreement. People from both sides of the aisle, all walks of life, and every socio-economic stratum are affected by the opioid epidemic. Even President Trump and former President Obama agree on this issue, with the former recently calling (but not officially declaring) the opioid crisis a national emergency and the latter recognizing it as an epidemic. While many agree the opioid crisis is a major problem, there is a need for increasing clarity and agreement on how to solve it. Officially Declare a National Emergency The first step...

Self-Defeating Thoughts: The Weight of the Word by Thaddeus Camlin, Psy.D. Humanity has a keen knack for degrading our most powerful creations.  Many creatures produce sounds, but in an inspired moment of momentous artistry humans harnessed the production of sound to form the word. From the word language was born. Language, in turn, gave voice to our fascinating, mysterious consciousness and made community possible. Cooperation in community allowed our species to successfully colonize nearly every corner of the planet, a truly magnificent accomplishment for a relatively small, slow, land-bound mammal. Sometimes, we honor the true power of language, as reflected in proverbs like, 'the pen is mightier than the sword.'  More often, however, humanity engages in our peculiar proclivit...