The antagonists in the drug policy field, Alfred Lindesmith and Nils Bejerot, made completely different conclusions in the past. Could they have agreed today? IBH President Robert L. DuPont, MD presents an analysis in DrugNews. After reviewing this history, he notes, “Bejerot saw clearly the risks of compromising with drug use and the value of labeling this use as unhealthy and unacceptable. Sweden provides a model for the world in drug policy today.” Read more.
IBH President Featured on Podcast From Drug Prevention Summit
IBH President Robert L. DuPont, MD served as the plenary speaker at the 7th Annual Southeastern US Regional Drug Prevention Summit. Following his presentation, he was interviewed by The Addiction Podcast - Point of No Return, reviewing his work in the field of addiction treatment and national drug policy and advocating for renewed focus on youth prevention and defining the goal of substance use disorder treatment as long-term recovery.
IBH President Featured in Recovery Magazine
The 50th edition of Recovery Magazine features an interview of IBH President Robert L. DuPont, MD who discusses his work in the field of addiction, the miracle of recovery he has witnessed among his patients and his book Chemical Slavery.
Recovery Magazine is free to download with embedded audio link to the interview.
IBH Leadership Joins Addiction Policy Forum's Scientific Advisory Board
IBH President Robert L. DuPont, MD and IBH Vice President Caroline DuPont, MD are honored to serve on the Addiction Policy Forum’s Scientific Advisory Board to provide strategic guidance and direction for research and scientific programs. APF is a leading national non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating addiction as a major health problem. Read more.
LA Times Commentary Focuses on Teen Drug Use, Neuroscience, and the IBH One Choice Prevention Initiative
A commentary in the LA Times highlights the Institute for Behavior and Health’s One Choice prevention message: no use of any alcohol, nicotine, marijuana or other drugs for youth under age 21 for reasons of health. At the core of this message is the brain science showing that the rapidly developing adolescent brain is uniquely vulnerable to drugs. Authors Paul Larkin Jr. and Stephanie Zawada note, “Brain health is critical to the pursuit of happiness. And leveraging scientifically accurate presentations and testimonies to convince young Americans to prioritize their own brain health early on can prevent future substance abuse. Read more.
Alex Berenson Op-Eds: The Adverse Health Effects of Marijuana are Ignored and Denied by an Industry that Promotes its Use
In two op-eds, one in The Wall Street Journal and the other in The New York Times, author Alex Berenson highlights the growing support for marijuana legalization has been fueled by misinformation about a drug that is not harmless as its advocates suggest. He notes that “as marijuana use has become more socially acceptable, psychiatrists and epidemiologists have reached a consensus that it presents more serious risks than most people realize.” There are clear connections between marijuana use, psychosis and violence. Although“legalization hasn’t led to a big increase in Americans trying the drug, it has meant that those people who already use it do so far more frequently. In 2005, about three million Americans used cannabis every day. Today, the figure is eight million. Put another way, about one cannabis user in five uses it daily. By contrast, only one in every 15 drinkers, about 12 million Americans, consumes alcohol every day.” The dramatic increase in heavy use is just one of many causes for serious public health concern as the legalization and normalization of marijuana continues. Read more in the WSJ and the NYT.
Vaping by American Teens Surges, Setting New Record
The latest data from the nationally representative Monitoring the Future study shows the single-largest year-to-year increase in substance use in the US for 10th and 12th graders due to vaping. From 2017 to 2018 past-month vaping of nicotine nearly doubled among high school seniors from 11% to 21%, and did double among sophomores from 8% to 16%. Not surprisingly, the increases seen in vaping nicotine were mirrored with significant increases in vaping marijuana among 8th, 10th and 12th graders. Lead study researcher Richard Miech PhD noted that “Factors that make vaping so attractive to youth include its novelty and the easy conceal-ability of the latest vaping devices, which better allows youth to vape without adults knowing about it. If we want to prevent youth from using drugs, including nicotine, vaping will warrant special attention in terms of policy, education campaigns, and prevention programs in the coming years.” Read more.
Op-Ed: The Medical Marijuana Delusion
An op-ed by Paul J. Larkin in The Regulatory Review explains how “regulation of marijuana has been based on a false distinction for almost a century.” Although components of the marijuana plant may be synthesized into real medications in the future — like the FDA-approved drug Marinol, synthetic THC — medical marijuana will never meet scientific criteria of modern medicine. Larkin concludes, “The real question is whether lawmakers should revise federal law to allow marijuana to be used for recreational purposes, just as alcohol and tobacco can be so used today. If Americans are to honestly debate marijuana use, the debate must be over its utility as a recreational drug, not as medicine, and who should regulate its potential uses—the FDA Commissioner or the U.S. Attorney General. The United States has followed the wrong approach to marijuana regulation for 80 years. It is time to get it right.” Read more.
Dr. Robert DuPont Speaks to the Justice Speakers' Institute about Prevention and Chemical Slavery
As a prison psychiatrist in the late 1960s, Dr. Robert DuPont came to understand that the rising crime at the time was directly linked to the heroin epidemic that raged in cities across America. In this conversation with the Justice Speakers Institute, Dr. DuPont discusses the journey from his realization to the present day national movement to end addiction. He discusses the science behind addiction and the important next steps humanity needs to take to finally end the drug epidemic.
IBH PRESIDENT ROBERT L. DUPONT REVIEWS NEW FILM "BEAUTIFUL BOY": ADDICTION OFTEN BEGINS WITH A ‘BEAUTIFUL’ BOY OR GIRL
The new film “Beautiful Boy” depicts the experiences of a father and son, David and Nic Sheff, as Nic dives deep into a methamphetamine addiction. Not only is this film based on David’s and Nic’s pair of best-selling memoirs, Beautiful Boy and Tweak, the film mirrors the experiences of millions of Americans whose brains have been hijacked by addiction. In this review, IBH President, Dr. Robert DuPont discusses this film and the parallels between Nic and David’s experience and the experiences of the many people with substance use disorders and their families Dr. DuPont has seen throughout his 50 year career. IBH commends David, Nic and all of those involved in making this film, on producing a striking cautionary tale as well as a compelling reminder that recovery is possible for everyone. Read Dr. DuPont’s review here.