Author Blog

September is National Recovery month, which is now in its 25th year!  "National Recovery Month is a national observance that educates Americans on the fact that addiction treatment and mental health services can enable those with a mental and/or substance use disorder to live a healthy and rewarding life. The observance’s main focus is to laud the gains made by those in recovery from these conditions, just as we would those who are managing other health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and heart disease.”

Recovery Month spreads the positive message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can and do recover.  This year’s theme, ‘Join the Voices for Recovery: Speak Up, Reach Out,’ encourages people to openly speak up about mental and substance use disorders and the reality of recovery, and promotes ways individuals can use to recognize behavioral health issues and reach out for help.”

So this month, I wish to again focus my blog on further destigmatizing and demystifying the disease of addiction. This illness has no socio-economic barriers and two recent articles definitely reinforce this.  It is time to abandon any and all preconceived stereotypical notions we might have!  Give it up!  We are all affected, regardless of skin color, race, religion, education or employment status.

Please check out these two articles and be sure to let me know what you think!  Vermont Quits War on Drugs and Whites Account for Rise in Heroin Deaths

I hope you will consider reading my book “Addiction on Trial” and remember that its subtitle could just as easily read “Tragedy Anywhere USA”.  Please also consider checking out a previous blog: We Need More Doctors Like Saul Tolson to better understand the biological, psychological and sociological components of addiction.  And just imagine what it must be like to be the parent who gets a call that your son is A Heroin Addict in Jail

September is Recovery Month – Spread the word!!!

Unfortunately, life got ahead of me this summer as I went into a “full steam ahead” mode to get the word out about my book, interspersed with visits from three of my grandchildren.  I apologize for not having kept up with my self-imposed schedule of blog postings about my author endeavors and current addiction medicine related matters. To all of you who have read Addiction on Trial, thank you; and if you posted a review on Amazon, an extra thank you 🙂 

As you can see from my events listings, I will also be doing some traveling over the next few months.  I am looking forward to presenting at the Flight Attendants Drug & Alcohol Conference in Baltimore and at the Union League Club in New York City.  I must admit, the event in New York City is going to be a little extra special, as the Union League Club membership has included fifteen Presidents.  I am honored to be asked to speak about my book and the disease of addiction; and will be returning to the club in December for their annual book fair. The College of the Atlantic has also chosen my book as part of their curriculum for Psychology courses, and I will be visiting the campus this winter to meet with students, who I am certain will keep me on my toes.

Speaking of students, learning about addiction and related diseases need not stop after formal education.  I would like to share with you an article about how the National Basketball Association is educating its players about drugs and to again applaud the dedication and work by Chris Herren.

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable summer, and I again wish to thank all of you who have been so supportive of my book and my mission to entertain while educating through the back door … or maybe the side door 🙂  I will keep you posted on the progress of the next Shawn Marks Thriller, as I am currently working on the sequel, Lost to Addiction.  Shawn Marks, that egotistical but likable big shot Boston attorney, will definitely have his hands full as he attempts to defend the son of a wealthy shipping magnate. The adventures with Marks will continue as he travels to Europe and to the seedy underground of drug distribution centers in Guadalajara Mexico to solve this murder mystery.  Stay tuned!

Together we are spreading the word and effecting change, albeit one town at a time; maybe even just one person at a time - but changing hearts and minds requires patience and persistence!  I hope you will all consider passing this blog along to others, and I hope my book will continue to convert the "naysayers".  Please let me know your thoughts and also please consider signing up for a group discussion with me about the disease of addiction, spurred by my novel, "Addiction on Trial".  Just go to the Book Clubs tab above.  Thanks and keep up the fight!

The article below was written by Charles Eichacker in the May 2014 Health Quarterly, Ellsworth Maine.  Thank you Charlie !!!

Click on the image to read the article.
Ellsworth ME Health Quarterly May 2014 (1)

Please join me for an Author Discussion with your Book Club or a group of friends.  Just go to the Book Club or Contact tabs above and schedule a session in person or by Skype. It's been a pleasure to chat with a wide group of folks interested in learning about addiction or just wanting to tell me what they think about Shawn Marks, that egotistical but likable big shot attorney from Boston.  Although some of you think that Jimmy, the heroin addict from away, was falsely accused; was he?  And don't forget what Aunt Betty said, "When people are high on drugs, accidents happen and sometimes it looks like it wasn't an accident.”  I hope my book will continue to entertain, keeping readers on the edge of their seats while also exposing the life of addiction.  Oh yes, one more thing - Is Shawn Marks able to fall in love? 

Addiction Medicine and Emergency Medicine physician delves into world of substance abuse, family dysfunction and the ‘what-ifs’ of life

“Addiction on Trial: Tragedy in Downeast Maine” by Dr. Steven Kassels is a unique medical murder mystery/legal thriller that entertains audiences and educates readers through the realistic depiction of the struggles of addiction. The book dissects our societal discrimination toward drug addicts and explores common misperceptions of what addiction really is – a chronic illness requiring a similar treatment approach as other chronic diseases. The book exposes the real challenges of addicts and their families through a trio of characters who are drug dependent on heroin and cocaine as well as a father who is consumed by alcoholism.

 The medical topics unfold while the reader is exposed to a riveting murder trial and the adventures of Shawn Marks, the egotistical but likable Boston big shot attorney, who juggles an array of female companions without taking his eye off the legal challenges in Downeast Maine.

“Addiction on Trial” combines Dr. Kassels’s professional experiences with current events by delivering its messages in a non-scientific, approachable way in hopes of changing hearts and minds of how best to approach the scourge of addiction. Kassels hopes the book will help to clearly define the disease of addiction as an equal opportunity illness that has no socio-economic barriers while providing insight into the current heroin and prescription drug epidemic ravaging our communities.

Purchase the book
Purchase the book

 To order from Amazonhttp://amzn.to/1lDGvqu

Additional information or to schedule:

Free Medical &/or Book Club Discussions - In person or by Skype https://addictionontrial.com/book-clubs/

Published by AuthorHouse - Book also may be purchased at: barnesandnobles.com, authorhouse.com & iBooks

 

About the author

Dr. Steven Kassels is an author and physician who has been board certified in Addiction Medicine and Emergency Medicine. A graduate of Milton Academy and Lake Forest College, he received his medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, UClub_Addiction-28 cropMichigan. He has served as chief of Emergency Medicine at an inner city hospital and currently serves as the medical director and founder of Community Substance Abuse Centers. Dr. Kassels is a member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and has presented numerous lectures and round table discussions on drug abuse related topics. Dr. Kassels currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts and Southwest Harbor, Maine.

"The Scourge of Heroin Addiction"  

Op-ed published by the Boston Globe April 1, 2014  http://b.globe.com/1kAzt54

Governor Deval Patrick has appropriately declared the opioid addiction epidemic as a public health emergency.  The governor's directives will save lives and help to put some brakes on this run away scourge to society.  But questions remain and more issues need to be  addressed. 

For example, why is medication management for the treatment of heroin/opioid addiction scorned by so many? In a recent Boston Globe article, "Heroin Epidemic Exposes Deficiencies In Care System" (http://b.globe.com/1iNFmzo), Ms. Jacobs, Director of Substance Abuse Services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, acknowledged, "medications are not used as much as they could be for opiate addictions because of stigmas attached to them, she said."  We watch endless commercials about how to treat illnesses such as urinary incontinence or erectile dysfunction but public service announcements addressing the heroin/opioid epidemic and the proven benefits of outpatient cost effective medication management have been relatively sparse.  The governor's directives, which include public health advisories to educate the public about opioid addiction treatment options, will hopefully demystify common misperceptions, such as crime increases when there is a treatment center in one's community. In fact, there is a 50% to 80% reduction in crime by heroin addicts when in treatment. (http://bit.ly/OVVRfh ;  http://1.usa.gov/1dtb42B)

We read about the blame for the heroin epidemic, but rarely do we address a complex underlying issue – that we as Americans want instant results and we want total pain relief after an injury or procedure.  Injudicious prescribing of pain medications undeniably contributes to the problem, and holding doctors accountable is essential; but this is not the only reason we have an unabated heroin epidemic. Other factors include: the war in Afghanistan, which directly led to a surge in heroin production; the reconstitution of oxycontin pills, so they could not as easily be used to "shoot up" or "snort", resulting in more persons turning to heroin as a drug of choice; the increased availability of opiates through the internet; inadequate mental health treatment services resulting in some patients "self-medicating"; and the lack of addiction treatment facilities due to a common community approach of NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) along with the stigma associated with seeking treatment for the disease of addiction.  Despite the arrest of kingpins and drug pushers, big and small, we still have a supply and demand problem. The supply of heroin has increased and cost is down to as little as $4/bag. As fast as we take drug pushers off the streets, they are replaced by others - there is too much money involved.  Governor Patrick is right to focus on the demand side of the issue.

If outpatient treatment is not more widely accepted and available, inappropriate hospitalizations and incarcerations of patients will continue.  It is time for our locally elected officials to openly support establishing treatment centers in their communities?  We all know heroin addicts, albeit we may not know who they are. They could be any one of a number of patients I have treated: your plumber; the mailman; your kid's college professor; the IRS agent who audited your tax return; the person selling flowers at the corner; the principal of an elementary school (http://bit.ly/1m6XMbL); someone who works in a mayor's office (http://bo.st/1hbtN20); or a neighbor; or a family member.

A recent study has shown that less than 20% of individuals needing addiction treatment actually received treatment (http://1.usa.gov/1hYRzvX)..  Another study found that only 1 in 10 people with addiction involving alcohol or drugs other than nicotine receive any form of treatment and that "most medical professionals who should be providing addiction treatment are not sufficiently trained to diagnose or treat the disease, and most of those providing addiction care are not medical professionals and are not equipped with the knowledge" (http://bit.ly/1o2l3Ax). Are we willing to accept as status quo the present system of  unnecessarily hospitalizing or incarcerating patients?  We are wasting tax dollars: it costs up to $50,000 or more per year to incarcerate (http://bit.ly/1iBKSlg ; http://nyti.ms/NW5dGQ) and approximately $5,000 per year for outpatient treatment (http://bit.ly/1rCh3G6). “There are things besides beds that are effective in this system,” Jacobs said. “More people should see this treatment as a viable option.”  (http://b.globe.com/1iNFmzo)

There should be just as many public service announcements about addiction as there are Viagra and Cialis commercials. In addition, expansion of addiction treatment services in jails would help to mitigate much of the revolving door phenomenon. Furthermore, we should demand that our medical schools and hospitals improve addiction training of our physicians. While there is plenty of blame to go around, let's focus on the solutions. The scourge of addiction is in all of our yards.  The solution is to decrease the demand with bold public initiatives and a change in attitude.  It is both the humanitarian and fiscally responsible thing to do.

Steven Kassels, MD has been Board Certified in Addiction Medicine and Emergency Medicine.  He currently serves as Medical Director of Community Substance Abuse Centers and has authored the book, “Addiction on Trial: Tragedy in Downeast Maine”.