3 days ago
I'm in Addiction Recovery and I Still Drink Wine
Not long ago, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s history of heroin addiction alone would likely have disqualified him from being considered for a role like secretary of Health and Human Services. Now, however, numerous successful authors, politicians, executives and celebrities talk openly about past substance use disorders. 'Lived experience' even confers additional authority.
But there's a caveat to this acceptance. Recovery is still largely viewed as lifelong abstinence — not just forever avoiding the specific substances someone once relied on, but also typically steering clear of all nonmedical drug use besides caffeine and nicotine. Most public recovery stories — like Mr. Kennedy's — are tales of total abstinence, often propelled by participation in 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous.
In reality, most people who resolve addictions — including me — do not reject all substance use forever. For example, though I am in recovery from heroin and cocaine addiction, I still occasionally drink alcohol and use marijuana without issue. Though definitions vary, many experts now agree: If substance use no longer interferes with your ability to live a productive and loving life, then recovery has been achieved, with or without abstinence.
Still, few people are open about their 'non-abstinent' recovery. Many of us fear that if we disclose the occasional weed gummy or sauvignon blanc with friends, we will be viewed as still in active addiction, and face the stigma that comes with that.
The scarcity of recovery stories like mine distorts drug policy. It bolsters the continued dominance of abstinence-only rehabs and recovery housing, which deters many people who could benefit from seeking help. It enables most residential treatment and recovery homes to reject long-term use of the addiction medications like buprenorphine and methadone — the only treatments proven to cut opioid overdose deaths in half — based on the mistaken idea that taking them means a person isn't really sober or in recovery.
A recent executive order from the Trump administration makes recognizing non-abstinent recovery more urgent than ever. It proposes defunding a wide range of harm reduction programs that help people use drugs more safely without requiring abstinence, including efforts that provide clean needles or supervised places to use drugs. It also promotes compulsory rehab, which overwhelmingly demands total abstinence.
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