Category: Addiction

A lot of Greek monsters look strange on paper, but the Chimera may take the weird-monster cake. Part lion, part goat, part snake, it wandered from place to place, leaving fear and destruction behind, and for many people today, the overdose crisis can feel a little like that—always moving, always changing shape, and never staying confined to one neighborhood, family, or community. If you’re struggling with opioids, stimulants, or any other type of substance, it may help to

The National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) explains that conditions that last a year or longer, require ongoing care, and affect daily life often fall into the chronic disease category. That means that, in many cases, opioid use disorder (OUD) can absolutely check every qualifying box for chronic disease status, especially when you’re struggling with relapse.  So why doesn’t the United States and its healthcare systems treat it as such? If you’re frustrated with

When was the last time you enjoyed seven to nine hours of uninterrupted, quality sleep in one single night? If you’re a parent, a student, or employed, it’s probably been a while. But sleeping less as an adult doesn’t necessarily mean you have sleep problems, although it wouldn’t be uncommon if you did. According to WebMD, millions of Americans rely on cannabis to help alleviate insomnia. And their reasoning may make some scientific sense, since

Anthropological discoveries in Asia have proved that people have been using cannabis for nearly 12,000 years, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. In the U.S., over 64 million people reported using cannabis in 2024, according to a national survey, making it the most widely used illicit substance in the country. The survey also showed that more young people have started using it, and with South Carolina’s push in 2025 to legalize medical marijuana (in

Smoking cannabis, also known as marijuana or weed, comes with a culture of smoking styles. Some people use a glass apparatus like a bowl or a bong to smoke. Others may roll a marijuana cigarette, commonly called a joint. And some may prefer to mix their marijuana with tobacco to create an upper-downer effect where the weed relaxes them while the tobacco pumps them up.  A small cigarette containing both weed and tobacco is called

If you’ve been taking drugs that people can legally buy at a gas station, you might feel pretty good. Relaxed, less in your head—at least for a while. But when it wears off, you might feel irritable or restless, or even worried that this is becoming a habit. If you catch yourself thinking about the next dose soon after the first, you may even start to feel panicked. Now you keep hearing people talk about

You might’ve heard about medications that help keep cravings under control for people who struggle with opioids or alcohol—but why isn’t anything sold over the counter or prescribed for stimulant use disorder (StUD)?  Well, while it might seem confusing or, honestly, unfair, the truth is that there is no such medication yet. But the 3 million+ people with StUD deserve to be prioritized when it comes to supplementing recovery treatment with effective medicines. At Waypoint

What looks like focus, sounds like productivity, and convinces you that you’re capable of any feat just before your body collapses? Cue stimulants, confusing substances that make you look energetic and lively from the outside while slowly poisoning you from the inside. But what are they, and how do they affect communities? If you’ve ever watched the award-winning series, Breaking Bad, you’ve seen pop culture turn stimulants, mainly meth, into a storyline, but real life