Through the partnership, Highmark members will gain access to a personalized digital program that aims to reduce harmful drinking. The program includes virtual visits, medication-assisted treatment and coaching support.

Drug and alcohol use, abuse, and addiction are not only on the streets but in your neighborhood, in your church/synagogue/mosque, in your school, in your workplace and in your home. The first step in an effective national approach is admitting the true problem.

What if addiction is caused by an underlying disorder? And what if the underlying disorder, in turn, produced that drug use? And, what if the person whose life has been crippled by the drug use, is using the drug to cope with a yet undetected psychiatric illness?

Tackling addiction from this neurological perspective has potential for broad applications. While addiction ia seen with a wide chemical array of molecules—alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, opiates, and the like—the addictive behavior that results from each is the same.

It’s a story we have heard and read about all too often during the past year and a half. So many families devastated by Covid, and so many more rushed by a relapse of another kind, addiction. When the pandemic hit, people were not only sheltering at home, separated from people, they were removed from their support systems and services. This article get to the heart of addiction treatment, the need for human connection.

I recently read an article about an artist who has created an art installation. She is focused on sending a message that there’s no stigma tied to mental health and other challenges associated with addiction. The public art installation is called “I Am Here.”

The federal government recently removed one of the bigger hurdles to prescribing buprenorphine.

It’s estimated that 14.5 million people ages 12 and older have an Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in the United States. Unfortunately, only 7.2% of those people with AUD sought treatment for their condition.

Let’s talk about the four different stages of drug addiction.

The goal of National Drug and Alcohol Awareness Week is to dispel any myths students and teens may believe about substance use and to connect them with scientific facts instead.

Drugs and alcohol can have significant negative effects on the bodies and minds of individuals who misuse them and can be particularly harmful for teens.

The goal of SUMAT is to be an added resource in Maryland and the greater DC area. We collaborate with other resources like Job and Family Services, churches and homeless shelters, jails. SUMAT also works with community partners to assist patients in making the connections they may need to find employment or housing or outside support groups in a variety of fields.