Tag: addiction

What Is Dopamine Detox?

Just another fad that oversimplifies a complex problem to sell an easy fix.

/ April 12, 2023

Is Gaming Addiction a Thing?

The WHO has added gaming disorder as an official ICD diagnosis, and the APA is considering adding gaming disorder to the DSM. What is gaming disorder and how should it be diagnosed?

/ June 20, 2018

Kratom: another dangerous “natural” remedy

Kratom (Mitragyna speciose) is a tropical tree from Southeast Asia whose leaves are traditionally chewed or prepared as a powder. Native populations chew the leaves to reduce fatigue when doing manual labor, such as working on rubber plantations. It is also used in cultural performances and consumed as a drink prepared from kratom powder. When the Second World War caused an increase...

/ August 4, 2016

Is Addiction a Disease? Yes and No

Addiction is a puzzling phenomenon. Why do addicts persist in self-destructive behavior even after it has lost them their jobs, their family, their health, and their self-respect? Do they have any control over their behavior? If so, why don’t they control it? If not, why not? Two recent books shed light on these questions: The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not...

/ December 1, 2015

Medical marijuana as the new herbalism, part 1: Science versus the politics of weed in New York and beyond

Medical marijuana. It's promoted as a seeming panacea that can cure whatever ails you. While there are potentially useful medicinal compounds in marijuana, in general the medical marijuana movement vastly oversells the promise. The truth is far more prosaic and nuanced.

/ July 7, 2014

Food Allergies and Food Addiction

Last week I wrote about the CME presentations at an obesity course put on by the American Society of Bariatric Physicians. I saved the most controversial one for last. Dr. Kendall Gerdes is a former president of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, which I have previously written about. The AAEM is not recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties and...

/ May 4, 2010