Baclofen: the controversial pill that could 'cure' alcoholism

ACEs quantifies the adverse event in an individual's childhood, as a means to treat addiction. Understanding addiction as resulting from past events helps to treat these individuals through medication and developing a plan to help each patient live a sober life without medications while de-shaming and de-blaming them.

Alcoholism affects homeless people around the world, a condition that makes them physically and mentally dependent on alcohol to maintain stable functions. The Oaks shelter in Ottawa serves free daily pours to severe alcoholics in order to stabilize their physical and mental states, and to help them control the amount of alcohol they intake. These measures in Ottawa have proven cost effective, humane, and offer specialized aid to those suffering from alcoholism.

While critics argue that Naloxone isn't safe for over-the-counter use, some cities have found success distributing Naloxone to community members to help save lives of addicts who overdose. Naloxone can be administered to help those overdosing survive and jump-start the withdrawal process.

Alateen is designed for young people living people abusing substances, but since the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the teens the group serves have begun using alcohol and drugs themselves. To make it easier for youth to access the program, some schools are incorporating Alateen programs at school for students to easily participate.

Police departments across eastern Massachusetts frustrated by the rising opioid epidemic decided to make themselves avenues to treatment rather than instruments of punishment. “It was pretty evident that we weren’t arresting our way out of anything.” The idea evolved into a national program called the Police-Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative with nearly 400 police departments helping thousands of people access drug treatment services across the country.

Across the country, prisons are incorporating “therapeutic communities” to help incarcerated individuals find the residential treatment they need. Substance abuse continues to be strongly linked to recidivism, and in an attempt to break that cycle, these therapeutic communities provide people with structured rehabilitation, counseling, and support as an alternative to traditional prison. Many are federally funded, but considering they’ve only recently gained traction, they still face issues like buy-in and capacity.

Proper disposal of leftover prescription medication can help prevent substance abuse. To help residents properly dispose of their medications, Trumbull County in Ohio is undertaking a campaign to distribute medication deactivation kits to senior citizens. The initiative is funded by a grant from multiple community partners. The solution uses a carbon charcoal mix that neutralizes pharmaceutical compounds, making them safe for disposal.

Oral surgeons and other doctors tend to prescribe opioids to their patients following surgery, which has arguably contributed to a rising number of patients, especially those under the age of 25, developing addictions. Now, thanks to increased awareness and new protocols, doctors and dentists are prescribing fewer opioids and more non-addictive pain killers, as well as educating their patients about their prescriptions.

A church in Philadelphia is adept at ministering to those coming out of incarceration and drug use because its two pastors come from that very same world. They hold members accountable, which could mean a required stint in rehab before folks can use the various services of the church like housing, food and help with employment. As a result the recidivism rate of members is about five percent, far lower that the state-wide rate.

Kentucky is rethinking its penal system for dealing with drug offenders and has shown success in reducing recidivism and relapse rates. Instead of leaving addicts to languish in the typical jailhouse environment of "extortion, violence and tedium," more than two dozen of the state's county jails have created separate units devoted to full-time addiction treatment and support-services for prisoners that involve peer-policing.