The Addiction Solution: Treating Our Dependence on Opioids and Other Drugs

Sederer, psychiatrist and New York State chief mental-health officer, elucidates the complexities of addiction in this scholarly and informative book. The information provided is weighty and acronyms abound, but plentiful human stories of addiction and recovery from the author’s practice and from popular culture—Billie Holiday (a heroin addict) and Bruce Springsteen (the son of an alcoholic) appear—lighten the impact of the profusion of facts. Part one begins with 10 factors, such as drug potency and purity and user age, that influence whether an individual will interact with a psychoactive substance as a “chipper”—an occasional, unaddicted user—or addict. Part two examines prevailing public-policy approaches for prevention, and part three looks at principles of treatment and summarizes the many kinds that can be effective. Sederer leaves his audience with the pragmatic understanding that addiction is a multifactorial disease and that its prevention and treatment require a comprehensive approach based on the individual’s circumstances and character traits. For readers interested in understanding current thought on addiction, prevention, and recovery, the book will prove invaluable. (May)