An Introduction To Redux In Press and Harm Reduction

That's me.

There are many places I could have chosen to start my own blog in the genre of harm reduction politics in drug policy land, but I'm constantly spending a lot of time immersed in the world of tech and cybersecurity as well. So - this is a good medium to narrow the gap. There's plenty I can give to say within both subjects in the same sorts of entries anyway. So, that's that.

My name is Joey McVean (Formerly, still legally Alex Skarnikat-McVean) and I am addicted to opioids and amphetamines mainly. I'm on no street drugs as it is, as I've gon the pharmaceutical route with methadone maintenance and an improv MAT (medication assisted treatment) for meth addiction with Vyvanse and Dexedrine being the replacements. It works alright. Like I said, no street drugs whatsoever these days. That's actually amazing. I keep no promises though.

I come from a world where I believe strongly in harm reduction as being the main performant ideology which can actuallyimprove my life in addiction, and many others. Moreso than the old-school way of abstinence only programming to 'Let go and Let God' do the work. I've taken the power back in my life,so to speak. If you don't get the reference, I'm making a not so subtle snipe at the wisdom granted by 12 step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous to guve it all up.

Here'sthe truth of how out 'contemporary' addictions treatment is performing these days. A study in Vancouver which followed 1500 people over a period of 15 years found the 250-odd who went to treatment (for any reason from interventionism to their own willpower) did exactly zero percent better in maintaining abstinence in comparison to their peers who did not go to treatment.

Here's another one. An 80 year study by Harvard University which followed a group of people from birth (near to given averages of life expectancy) to death found this to be whas gives satisfaction in life. It's your relationships with other people. That means your family, your friends, aquaintances, your reputation to those outside the know. It's how solid your work-relations may be, and your love life. It's about sex, touch, marraige, the choice to be free of all that, and the bonds which tie us together in the communal values which unencumber us as the subset of hunter-gatherers we are. We're human beings. If we areb't being together, we aren't much. Why do you think the loneliest or the most prone to psychoses tend to hear voices?

Our connection to those outside ourselves, and to that which makes up the spiritual connectivity which we all have (unless you're the AI who refuses to be companion to any code string anywhere you poor thing) is what makes us tick. Statistical gathering which includes things like "level of drug use improved by X amount" with sever degrees of removal listed over "total abstinence" helps a lot too. That's meeting people where they're at.

Meeting people where they're at. That's the cliche which drives harm reduction to the force it is. It works, a lot more than giving up.