Addiction Is Treatable!
No One Has to Die!!!
Hello my name is Dr. Morris Franco
This week we will be discussing addiction
This talk can be for anyone
clinicians, treatment consumers, friends, family and anyone who is curious
I will offer a model for effective ways to help people using and abusing substances that would like to stop their use, moderate it or just create more safety, curiosity and awareness around their use.
This will defer from AA and other abstinence only approaches, but can work in tandem with them
this is based in self-medication theory and harm reduction principles
and Dr. Andrew Tatarsky’s Integrated Harm Reduction Psychotherapy model
Pardon the microphone troubles working on my AV skills
PSA:
I use the word “user” at times to describe people who use drugs in this podcast
This can be a highly stigmatized term
The words we use are very important particularly in such a stigmatized field
I will try my best in the future to be more conscious of this
Phrases that could be better include “people or person who uses drugs”
or words like person, human, treatment consumers, or clients
Help lines:
Free and confidential “trip sitters” so people don’t have to use alone:
1-800-484-3731
https://www.neverusealone.com/
SAMHSA national hotline:
1-800-662-4357
NALOXONE FOR SALE ON AMAZON!
https://a.co/d/fdZrcJy
Video Links:
Harm reduction with John Oliver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMpCGD7b_H4
Dr. Andrew Tatarsky on Harm Reduction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsW7lBXwM9g
Harm reduction as an act of compassion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUgxnYEA8F0
Forget what you learned in DARE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fng5fK0wRl4
One of the many TED talks available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfzkBGgxXGE
Another great Harm reduction TED talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU_MWjIUFmE
Urge surfing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASG1c1EqXyc
Identified patient:
https://youtu.be/bw-TqxkKDI4?si=ld_hlZTp61ytMI-1
Research links:
Moderation as a goal:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7841874/
Overdose death stats from CDC:
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2025/20250514.htm
Supervised Injection Facilities as Harm Reduction: A Systematic Review
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34218964/#:~:text=studies%20per%20outcome%20category,n%3D7
Effectiveness of Nalaxone (narcan) distrobution:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40133970/#:~:text=Conclusions%3A%20%20Community,naloxone%20distribution%20in%20community%20settings
Effectiveness of needle and syringe exchange programs
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28399843/#:~:text=considered%20to%20have%20low%20risk,of%20coverage%2C%20were%20more%20beneficial
Effects of Medication Assisted Treatment:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29934549/#:~:text=MAT%2C%20untreated%20participants%20had%20higher,mortality%20rate%20than%20that%20with
Exploring Cannabis use as a substitute for perscription drugs:
https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-021-00520-5#:~:text=types%20of%20drugs%20replaced%20with,drug%20use%20were%20much%20worse
Nalaxone access threatened by policy:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/overdose-deaths-narcan-naloxone-harm-reduction-samhsa-trump-cuts/
Other links:
Self-medication hypothesis by Dr. Edward Khantzian
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9385000/
Harm Reduction Psychotherapy textbook by Dr. Andrew Tatarsky:
https://a.co/d/8IebSLa
Identified patient model:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/making-the-whole-beautiful/202202/how-does-someone-become-a-familys-identified-patient
Songs of the Week:A-Team- Ed SheeranSoundtrack 2 My Life- Kid CudiPain Killers- Rainbow Kitten SurpriseAstrovan- Mt. JoyCommunitty Centre- PassengerPhotosynthesis of healing- Emory hallFollow the Sun- Xavier RuddSpirit Bid- Xavier Rudd
