Posts by Nate Anderson

SAN DIEGO — Ask just about anyone for their thoughts on what causes homelessness, and you will likely hear drug addiction, mental illness, alcoholism and poverty. A pair of researchers, however, looked at those issues across the country and found they occur everywhere. What does vary greatly around the country, they found, was the availability of affordable…

A diversion program in Los Angeles designed to keep mentally ill, addicted or homeless adults out of jail and instead provide treatment and housing is having little success, according to statistics provided by police officials. The problem? Little interest. Nearly three-quarters of the 283 people deemed eligible for the Alternatives to Incarceration Diversion Program since…

OAKLAND —  Dr. Andrew Herring has a clear goal walking into every appointment with patients seeking medication to treat an opioid use disorder: persuade them to get an injection of extended-release buprenorphine. At his addiction clinic at Highland Hospital, a bustling public facility in the heart of Oakland, Herring promotes administering a shot of buprenorphine in…

With millions of cases of a new and relentless virus, hundreds of thousands of deaths and the wait for a vaccine, for many, the first year of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States brought unimaginable pain, fear and frustration. Some people turned to alcohol to cope. Sales of alcoholic beverages spiked, so naturally alcohol…

A Simple Guide for Sobriety on St. Patrick’s Day Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Today is one of the biggest drinking-oriented holidays of the year, making it tough for some of our sober stars out there. In that spirit, here’s a Workit-style perspective switcher: let’s celebrate some reasons sobriety is lucky! “I make my own luck”…

It seems reasonable to expect that the rise of sports betting will lead to an increase in gambling addiction   When Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals kicks off at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on February 13, Americans in close to 30 states plus the District of Columbia and…

“One of the benefits of Dry January is using it as a way to maybe look at some of your … drinking, and developing new habits,” said Erin Goodhart, a senior director at Caron Treatment Centers. Pausing drinking for a month after the excesses of the holiday season — otherwise known as Dry January —…

From mulled wine at a carol service to bucks fizz on Christmas morning, alcohol features heavily in many people’s holiday celebrations. But for those in recovery or anyone who is trying to create healthier drinking habits, Christmas doesn’t always feel like the most wonderful time of the year. In this blog, Susan Laurie, who has…

It’s a little strip of paper not much longer than 2 inches, and it has the potential to prevent a drug overdose. These strips can detect fentanyl, the deadliest drug in the United States, when it’s mixed with other drugs. Between April 2020 through May 2021, there were more than 100,000 drug overdose deaths in…

Dale Domingo counts every day his son Noah is not alive. The 18-year-old was a freshman at UC Irvine and a new fraternity member when he died after drinking excessively at an off-campus party. “It’s been 1,024 days since my son was taken from us,” Domingo said Tuesday. “That’s something I’m actively counting, every day.…