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J Psychoactive Drugs. 2010 December ; 42(4): 425–433. Abstract : Lack of a stable, alcohol and drug free living environment can be a serious obstacle to sustained abstinence. Destructive living environments can derail recovery for even highly motivated individuals. Sober living houses (SLHs) are alcohol and drug free living environments for individuals attempting to abstain from alcohol and drugs. They are not licensed or funded by state or local governments and the residents themselves pay for costs. The philosophy of recovery emphasizes 12-step group attendance and peer support. We studied 300 individuals entering two different types of SLHs over an 18 month period. This paper summarizes our published findings documenting resident improvement on measures of alcohol and drug use, employment, arrests, and psychiatric symptoms. Involvement in 12-step groups and characteristics of the social network were strong predictors of outcome, reaffirming the importance of social and environmental factors in recovery. The paper adds to our previous reports by providing a discussion of implications for treatment and criminal justice systems. We also describe the next steps in our research on SLHs, which will include: 1) an attempt to improve outcomes for residents referred from the criminal justice system and 2) a depiction of how attitudes of stakeholder groups create a community context that can facilitate and hinder the legitimacy of SLHs as a recovery modality.

People suffering from addiction need help, not criminal punishments. The Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act, or IP 44, is a citizen initiative that Oregonians will vote on in November (cont)...

Deaths caused by meth use have risen 18-fold this decade We are seeing a lot of men coming out of rehab and into our Recovery Housing who are trying to overcome their meth addiction. The opioid problem is massive and not going away anytime soon but this article reminds us that there are lots of other substances that are also causing havoc in our society. https://www.economist.com/united-states/2019/03/09/amid-the-opioid-crisis-a-different-drug-comes-roaring-back

Washington leading the way. Wonderful work by representative, Lauren Davis, who authored all three Bills that passed the House unanimously. “Recovery happens not in treatment but in the community”, said Davis, who is founder and executive director of the Washington Recovery Alliance. I hope Oregon and all other states follow suit. PROGRESS Resetting state view on helping those with substance abuse