Tag Archives: Addiction Advocacy

•

It has been quite a journey over the past several years trying to educate many members of the Legislature and the Governor of Maine as it relates to the benefits of Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Dependency. I would like to say that they have been as receptive as the Police, the Portland Chamber of Commerce, and many citizens - but unfortunately, I can not say that!

But I must commend Dr. Mary Dowd on a superlative piece, and what makes it so powerful is it could just as easily be titled, "Patients Do Matter"!!!  Listen to the Voices of Addiction.

We might be worn down, but when it comes to advocating for patients, never worn out. Hopefully some of our politicians will want to read my testimony to the Maine Health & Human Services Committee eleven months ago.

Maybe they might consider reading my book because Addiction Is On Trial in Maine.

•

For the first time in U.S. history, the Surgeon General has sent letters to each and every physician warning them about the Opioid Epidemic.

Dr. Vivek Murthy is not only asking for changes in prescription practices, but also "asking clinicians to help us change how our country thinks about addiction."

For a more in-depth analysis of the role physicians play in this health crisis, please read my blog post, "Heroin Epidemic Reason #1: Blame the Doctors".

As evidenced by the Surgeon General's warning, we must all take steps to change how the country thinks about the disease of addiction.

To that end, I am donating all my author proceeds from my novel, Addiction on Trial, to addiction treatment centers, homeless shelters and academic endeavors that support the destigmatizing of addiction.

I hope you will consider buying a copy for yourself or to give it as a gift to anyone interested in changing hearts and minds about the disease of addiction.

Please also visit my Facebook page or Twitter account to learn which organizations have been identified as the beneficiaries of this ongoing fundraising campaign.

If you would like to recommend any additional organizations that would benefit from an author-proceeds fundraising campaign, or awareness-building social media posts, please send information to me through my Contact Page.

Below, please read about how Dr. Vivek has taken unprecedented steps by sending an official Surgeon General's warning to all doctors about opioids, which he calls 'the health crisis of our generation'.

Photo Surg GenI have included below a copy of the personal letter I received. I look forward to assisting the Surgeon General in his mission to destigmatize the disease of addiction!  Remember - "It Takes a Village" and "A Thousand Points of Light".

Surgeon General's Warning

I welcome your comments, questions and insights by either clicking "Leave a Reply" below, or by answering any of my Polls about the Heroin Epidemic!

•

It's time to end the stigma and silence around--and the causes of--drug addiction.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be asking questions of my blog, book and social media readers.

Today's question relates to the art, journalism and culture around opiate addiction, what you consume, and why?

[yop_poll id="2"]

For Question #1, click here.

Thank you for answering, and please share with your friends!

•

I am writing this blog to share a very exciting adventure. The University of Amsterdam has invited me to speak to the School of Communication Research.  Thank you Prof. dr. Claes de Vreese in the division of Political Communication and Journalism for the opportunity to discuss how fiction can be used as a vehicle to effect social change.

1b

3

 

Here is the outline of my talk:

The Use of Fiction as a Vehicle to Communicate & Educate

The benefits of using  a “novel” approach to communicate and educate about multifactorial societal challenges will be discussed. The obligations of physicians and the medical community will be used to illustrate how in combination with social media, fictional works can:

  • communicate the complexity of disease states in an understandable format;
  • engage and educate a wider audience in order to effect social change;
  • destigmatize certain diseases, and specifically the disease of addiction;
  • decrease bias by connecting faces and lives to illnesses; and
  • encourage policy makers and politicians to base decisions on evidence based science and financial considerations.

2

Here are a few more slides I will be using during my presentation. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words; so please enjoy the following slides and please let me know if you would be interested in having me present to your group, organization or academic institution.

4

5

6

7

8

ONWARD AND UPWARDS - TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A CHANGE!!!

AND THANK YOU FOR VISITING MY BLOG

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

•

KasselsEggsIssuesClips from Steven Kassels on Vimeo.

I recently had the opportunity to talk at the Portland Maine Chamber of Commerce monthly meeting. I hope you will listen to my presentation, and let me know if you agree or disagree. But regardless, if we do not aggressively address this scourge to society, we will continue to spend inordinate funds on treating the consequences of addiction. As they say, "You can pay now, or you can pay more later, but you are gonna pay."