Bradly Campbell, Vancouver combats heroin by giving its addicts the best smack in the world(2015)https://theworld.org/stories/2015-02-04/vancouver-combats-heroin-giving-its-addicts-best-smack-world

Background:This article written by,”Bradley Campbell”,  expands on the counterintuitive idea that giving addicts drugs is actually safer. Vancoover is a port city meaning lots of drugs coming from the pacific, this makes it a hub for addicts. The city has tried different ways to make the addict rates go down but nothing is really making the difference. After trying different methods and research experiments experts extended a program to 26 heroin addicts. This program essentially was giving these addicts heroin for free however many times they needed it. This in return would stop them from breaking and entering cars and homes as well as harming themselves and others around them for their next fix. Most rehab facilities disagree with this methodology and claim they can help recover even the worst addicts. They also claim that this program is just a way of killing off the addicts in a nice way.

How I used it: This article provided me with insight into the program that this whole counterintuitive idea is based upon. I used this source to show a real life example of a government giving addicts drugs, and it is actually working to solve the issues. This source also provided great quotes from addicts themselves that love the program and talk about how much it has benefited them.

 Maia Szalavitz, Matters of Substance(2014) https://www.drugfoundation.org.nz/matters-of-substance/archive/matters-of-substance-november-2014/ageing-out-of-addiction/

Background:This article is all about the inevitability of growing out of drugs. It addresses the statistics involved in which most drug addicts “age out of drug use” just by getting bored or finding a cause to quit on their own without any programs or treatment to help. It also talks about how people who work in certain professions or have certain past experiences will have skewed perspectives on addiction and often put a connotation on it that once you’re an addict you’re an addict for life.

How I used it: I used this source to show that giving these addicts drugs wouldnt for most addicts be a lifelong thing. It would be a program to help addicts during a period of time until they get bored or find the urge to get clean on their own. This source also provides knowledge on the bias people have towards addicts which i used to show that addicts aren’t lifetime addicts people just think they will be if they don’t get help which is the wrong idea to have.

Kerry Nenn, Is Relapse Inevitable With Forced Sobriety?(2023) https://recovery.org/is-relapse-inevitable-with-forced-sobriety/

Background:This article addresses the problems with forcing sobriety on addicts. When addicts are forced to commit to multi step programs to “fix” their addictions they more often than not wind up doing those same drugs just a few weeks out of rehab, only this time their body isnt used to is as well and the same dose they could handle months ago they might not be able to handle now. Risking not making rehab mandatory after serious offenses is a debate up to many but this source is biased towards forcing mandatory rehab.

How I used it:I used this source to show that rehab is not the most effective way to help addicts, if it was we would’ve seen better results and a decrease in our addiction rates, instead we saw the opposite. I also used quotes from this source that cited people who have been forced into rehab and relapse not even a week later.  With this source I was able to show the flaws in rehab opening people’s minds to this new program.

National Institute of Drug Abuse, Drug Overdose Death Rates(2023)

https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates

Background:

This website does not have much information text wise but has very valuable charts that are statistics of different usages of drugs paired together and the overdose rates they cause.  This data is scattered from 1999-2021 giving a very clear visual of the prevalence of drugs through times with heroin increasing more and more until a year or two ago. Also I specifically like figure 4 and 5 that show heroin by itself and heroin combined with other opioids (street drugs) the comparison between the 2 is a great resource

How I used it: I used this source to show how addiction rates have increased significantly in the past few years. I was then able to shape this information into pushing the idea that what we are doing to help addicts right now obviously is not working and that we need to try something new.  I also was able to use this source to show the importance of pure drugs and how the drugs addicts are getting from the street are the reason so many are dying.

The truth about enabling(April 10, 2019) Family First Intervention

The Truth About Enabling

Background:This article is all about signs that you are enabling an addict and the harm that it causes. Most times loved ones think they are helping when in reality they are doing more harm than good. Covering addicts when they are too hungover to go to work or making excuses for them only prolongs the addiction. Enabling not only affects the addict and causes them to not face consequences but also creates a dynamic in their families that they don’t like confrontation. This is a good source because giving addicts drugs to “help them” is enabling.

How I used it: I used this source to show the true definition of enabling and debunk the criticism the program receives from this aspect. Enabling is all about not accepting that your loved one has an issue and covering for them. This program would have addicts openly admitting their addictions to get these drugs and there would be no one covering up for them anymore. I also used the aspect of parents pushing to do what they think will help often makes things worse to show once again that what we people are trying to do to help isn’t working.

Vancouver combats heroin by giving its addicts the best smack in the world (February 4, 2015)Bradley Campbell

https://theworld.org/stories/2015-02-04/vancouver-combats-heroin-giving-its-addicts-best-smack-world

Background:This source was a good source for causal argument as well as rebuttal due to the end of the source where they had rehab professionals weigh in on what they thought of the Vancouver programs for drug usage. These specialists felt as if it was blackmail to keep the addicts from causing crime and not to help the addict at all. They also believe that even the worst addicts can be helped.

How I used it:I used this source previously to push my argument but I also used it in a completely different way to show another side of the article. I used the portion of the article that had skepticism in it to shoot down the narrative that we would be silently killing these addicts. I did so by taking the quotes of the skepticism and putting it up against his own words he previously said, by using his own quotes against himself I took down his position.

Drug Success Rates and Statistics(October 1,2022) Wendy Manwarren

https://americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/success-rates-and-statistics

Background:This source provides an insight into rehab and the effectiveness of it. This source believes that success differs from center to center. This article also offers treatment success rates and how rehab is more necessary than ever. Also stating that each person will need individualized treatment and everything needs to be adapted from person to person and that relapse is not a failure.

How I used it: I used this source’s perspective on how rehab is different for everyone and combated that with the fact that if it’s a different route for every addict then why do we stick them all in the same 3 month multiply step programs. By saying every addict has their own road to recovery I am able to say that this program could be a new pathway for some addicts and we could benefit from having more diverse recovery systems.

Maehira, Y., Chowdhury, E.I., Reza, M. et al. Factors associated with relapse into drug use among male and female attendees of a three-month drug detoxification–rehabilitation programme in Dhaka, Bangladesh: a prospective cohort study. Harm Reduct J 10, 14 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7517-10-14

Background:This article was about a study conducted. This study took females and makes and put them into rehab, during and after rehab they tracked the addicts progress to see if they stuck to sobriety or relapsed. It also provided details into why addicts relapse.  This study provided insight into the world of homeless addicts and how being homeless affects their ability to be sober.

How I used it:  I used this article not for its failed rehab ratings but instead to show why the rehab fails after the addicts are released. I used quotes from this article to show how addicts use drugs to cope because they are living on the street and with statistics provided by this article I was able to provide undeniable proof that homeless addicts relapse out of rehab because we put them right back into their unstable and unhealthy environment on the street. My hope with this was to make my reader understand where these addicts are coming from and that if we can’t give them shelter we could at least help them cope.

Genetic Science Learning Center. (2013, August 30) Drug Use Changes the Brain Over Time. Retrieved April 02, 2023, from https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/brainchange

Background:This article provides an amazing description in non academic vocabulary on the brain and how it is affected during drug abuse. It includes diagrams showing brain function after hard use of drugs and before. Speaks about the lack of judgment addicts have after being a long time addict. The brain will change itself to adapt to your drug intake and after that it will take months to years to get your brain to function back normally, making relapse much more common.

How I used it:I was able to use this source to show the actual brain changes that happen overtime to a long term addict. These changes can be reversed by a 3 month rehab program. By providing this info the reader gained a perspective that for some addicts the damage is truly done and the only thing they can do is sustain their addiction or do it long enough that they eventually get bored. The way this article was also non academically written also helped me convey to the readers what was actually happening to the brain.

Science Direct (Volume 16, Issue 4, April 2016, Pages 1323-1327) R.A. Rudd, N. Aleshire, J.E. Zibbell, R. Matthew Gladden https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1600613522008991

Background:This article shows how much drug overdose has increased in relation to opioid drugs and heroin. The rates that are going up at a steady increase are a cause for concern with these prescription drugs that are now killing people because they are no longer safe when made on the streets. Heroin is the main driving factor and heroin is one of the many street drugs that are cut with synthetic opioids. This article has many good resources for the argument that drugs are being laced and tripling the amount of overdoses.

How I used it: I was able to use this source to show how street drugs are dangerous and the drugs this program would provide would be pure and not laced with opiates. Most but not all overdoses of heroin happen because of the synthetic opioids laced within the heroin. If more people were made aware of how much of a difference these opiods make they may be more inclined to help give clean drugs to addicts to reduce overdoses. This is the exact belief I wanted my reader to feel

Street Drugs: Know the Facts and Risks, WebMD Editorial Contributors (March 13 2023)https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/street-drugs-risks

Background:This article talks about street drugs and how unsafe they are. It lists different street drugs and the harm and risks they can cause. Street drugs are drugs that have added chemicals or are contaminated in some way. Heroin is a street drug often added to prescription pills that cause overdoses. This is good because by giving clean drugs we would lessen the amount of street drugs and in return pose less health threats for the addicts.

How I used it: This was another article I used to also show the danger of street drugs. But with this source I used it to accurately define street drugs and give knowledge as to what I was going to be talking about. I also used this article to show that you have no idea what’s in these street drugs when you buy them and there is no way to find out except trying them. By giving this information my hope was to get my reader to be scared of the drugs on the street and at least settle for the better clean drug option I was offering.