Picture a drug addict who dies from an overdose of prescription medication. What gender is the addict? If you answered male, you’d be right, but new evidence suggests that more women are dying from drug overdoses than ever before. More women now die of overdoses from pain pills like OxyContin than from cervical cancer or homicide. In fact, a new…

“It’s Larry,” said the nurse, handing me the phone. No other introduction was needed. Larry was a Viet Nam vet who was a frequent patient at the hospital where I worked. It was 8 p.m., I had a unit full of psychiatric patients and he wanted to be admitted. Larry was drunk, which he and I both knew would keep him…

One of these people is an addict and one isn’t. Guess which one is lying: “Are you an addict?” “No.” “Are you an addict?” “No.” It’s a trick question. The answer is neither is lying. The non-addict is telling the truth, and the addict is in denial. (For sake of simplicity, the term “addict” will be used to refer to…

Opiate Addiction in Southwest Florida has reached epidemic levels. The rate of emergency room admissions, overdose deaths and arrests in the greater Sarasota area meets or exceeds statewide numbers. If you’re reading this, I’m sure you know someone in your life who is suffering from Opiate Addiction. There things that will work in getting them clean and things that wont – and it’s not always what it seems. What you…