The Biden administration has significantly opened the door to drug treatment strategies that help reduce substance use, even if patients aren't fully abstinent.
That’s not how any of this works. People with substance use disorders use drugs because their brains have literally changed from drug use, not just because “they’re fun”. People in later stages of addiction aren’t having much fun, they’re barely surviving. If we could just teach them to use moderately, that would be amazing.
In an ideal world we’d get people to stop using drugs entirely. Unfortunately, that’s a tough goal to reach for many people. So we try to get them to use less, or differently (eg smoking instead of IV), so that they’re less likely to die.
That’s not how any of this works. People with substance use disorders use drugs because their brains have literally changed from drug use, not just because “they’re fun”. People in later stages of addiction aren’t having much fun, they’re barely surviving. If we could just teach them to use moderately, that would be amazing.
In an ideal world we’d get people to stop using drugs entirely. Unfortunately, that’s a tough goal to reach for many people. So we try to get them to use less, or differently (eg smoking instead of IV), so that they’re less likely to die.