All Things Substance Podcast
All Substances Episodes
Let’s talk about alcohol
Episode 19 Let's Talk About Alcohol How does alcohol work? What long-term effects of alcohol What should therapists ask about alcohol Alcohol is a part of most adults' lives. We might be tempted to skip over assessing someone’s use of alcohol. Someone’s drinking...
Treating Chronic Pain
Episode 88 Treating chronic pain is difficult on a good day. After the over-prescribing of opiates in the 90’s and early 2000’s, it's become more challenging. Opiates used to be the treatment of choice, but the medical community has more research and information that...
What is Normal Marijuana Use?
Episode 86 So far we don’t have a determination about what is “normal” marijuana use. We have very little direction on marijuana use at all. Even medical marijuana doesn’t have a dosing or recommended amount. It doesn’t have anything saying don’t use more than this...
Marijuana Issues and Therapy
Episode 85 Marijuana gets a lot of press coverage in the United States. The federal government still has it as an illegal substance, schedule 1 (which means it's on par with heroin). States are starting to legalize recreational marijuana. Medical marijuana has been...
What is normal drinking?
Episode 84 What is normal drinking? This is a very common question. I was asked a couple of different versions of this question from colleagues. In today’s episode I’ll talk about what government entities say is “moderate” and talk about a few scenarios that I’ve...
What Does CBD Do?
Episode 68 What Does CBD Do? Is it good for anxiety and/or PTSD? Is CBD good for treating substance use disorders? Is CBD good for chronic pain and arthritis? With CBD being added to more things all the time (drinks, lotion, vitamins and even water) it can be hard to...
What is CBD?
Episode 65 What is CBD? What’s the difference between CBD and Marijuana? Is CBD really what people say it is? CBD is everywhere. It can be hard to know exactly what CBD is and isn’t. You can search on the internet and it seems the loudest voices are promising huge...
Vaping
Episode 62 What is vaping? What’s the difference between different types of vapes? What are the issues around vaping? Before 2010, there really wasn’t much new in the tobacco realm. Snus had become a thing and was being promoted in different flavors. At the end of the...
Delta-8
Episode 61 What is Delta-8? What does it do? What’s the legal status? Delta-8 is the newest product to come out of the CBD industry. This product, though, can get people high. Derived from hemp, Delta-8 is legal in most states and increasing in popularity. It's a...
Over the counter medications
Episode 57 Which over-the-counter medications are used most often recreationally? Which over-the-counter medications pose a risk to a person’s health? Over-the counter medications are incredibly numerous in type and treatment provided. They are a huge part of our...
What are steroids?
Episode 54 What are steroids? What are the real risks to using steroids?What does it have to do with mental health? The pursuit of a perfect body is not just for women. There are unrealistic body expectations of men too. Steroids are more complex than we think and not...
What are barbiturates?
Episode 53 What are barbiturates? How were barbiturates used historically? How are barbiturates used in recent years? Barbiturates are an older class of drugs that had tons of uses and were the go-to for many years. Newer medications with less risks superseded these...
Sleep Medication Risk
Episode 50 What should I know about sleep medication risks? What are the risks in the non-benzodiazepine class of medications? What is the addiction potential of those medications? The desperation that comes from trying to sleep causes people to make choices...
Sleep Medications
Episode 49 Sleep. One of the essential building blocks of our lives. It seems so simple to get and it's really one of the harder things to do at times. Chronic sleep deprivation and insomnia can wreak havoc on a person’s health and mental health. Treatments can vary...
The New Roofies
Episode 48 What are roofies? How are they used recreationally? What's the most commonly used roofie? Roofies have been around for years. They hit their heyday in the late 80’s and 90’s. Women all over the world were warned not to set their drinks down, not to accept a...
ADHD Treatment for Adults
Episode 45 What if the symptoms don't seem like ADHD? What if someone has abused stimulants before? What if a client is abusing their medication? ADHD treatment can bring to mind a few different things. Medications, particularly stimulants are usually at the top of...
ADHD Medications
Episode 44 What medications are used to treat ADHD? What are the different kind of medications? How do ADHD medications work? ADHD diagnoses are becoming more common for children but especially in the adult population. Research tells us that approximately 70% of...
Meth: A Recovery Story
Episode 42 Meth addiction is all around us. We see it in the faces of people on the street. We see it in the news. We might even see it in our families. Recovery from meth is hard and and may seem impossible. People do come back from the dark place that is meth...
Why Do People Use Meth?
Episode 41 What is meth and why would people use it? Have you ever thought “Why would someone ever use meth?” Even those who know how bad it can be still can end up using it and falling into a full blown meth addiction. This episode sheds light on the attraction of...
Meth Facts
Episode 40 Meth popularity is extremely high right now in the US, Australia and the UK. This drug is especially damaging with really visible consequences. This episode will cover the meth facts including how its used and long-term effects. Helpful Links History of the...
Ativan, Klonopin and Xanax
Episode 37 What are the benzodiazepines used for anti anxiety? What’s the difference between them? Are benzodiazepines ever safe? Ativan, Xanax and Klonopin are some of the most prescribed medications in America for anti anxiety.. What’s the difference between them?...
Benzodiazepines: Benefits and Risks
Episode 36 What are benzodiazepines? How are they used? What are the risks? Benzodiazepines can feel like a miracle for a person with anxiety. Feeling panicked to feeling ok in a matter of minutes. But there’s more to them than that. Tune in to this week’s episode of...
What is the difference between cocaine and crack?
Episode 35 Is cocaine dangerous? What is the difference between cocaine and crack? How popular are cocaine and crack? Cocaine used to be the drug of the 80’s. Business people and movie stars living large. Cocaine is making a comeback all over the world. In this...
Khat and Kratom
Episode 34 What is Khat? What is Kratom? Could Kratom help with opiate addiction? In this episode we’ll be talking about two different plants: Khat and Kratom. One is a cultural staple in some parts of the world. Another is being proposed as help for opiate addicts,...
Synthetics: Fact and Fiction
Episode 33 What are synthetic drugs? Are synthetic drugs legal? Have people really become cannibals from synthetic drugs? Synthetic drugs were all over the headlines for years. What’s fact and what’s fiction? Are they dangerous or is that just hype? Tune in to this...
Psychedelic PTSD Treatment
Episode 31 What is Psychedelic PTSD Treatment? What is MDMA? What about Ketamine and Psilocybin as treatment options? MDMA or Ecstasy is a unique kind of hallucinogen. It’s known as a party drug but also as a psychedelic PTSD treatment. We’ll explore this and two...
Dissociative Hallucinogens
Episode 30 What are dissociative hallucinogens? What is Ketamine? What are the effects of dissociative drugs? Dissociative hallucinogens are specifically drugs like Ketamine, PCP, Salvia to name a few. They are known for making a person experience a form of...
What is LSD? What is DMT?-Classic Hallucinogens
Episode 29 What types of hallucinogens are there? What is LSD? What is DMT? What are mushrooms? What are the effects of hallucinogens? Hallucinogens & Psychedelics. There are lots of different kinds of these drugs. This is part 1 of 3 where we are covering...
Inhalant Abuse
Episode 28 What is inhalant abuse? What types of things do people use when they are huffing? What are the risks of inhalant abuse? Inhalant abuse or huffing is a commonly practiced way to get high. The prevalence varies from place to place, but inhalants can often be...
Medication Assisted Treatment Explained
Episode 25 What treatment options are there for opiate addiction? What is medication assisted treatment? What’s the difference between agonist, partial-agonist and antagonist options? What is the therapist role in treating opiate addiction? The opiate epidemic is all...
A Recovering Opiate Addict’s Perspective
Episode 24 How does opiate addiction start? What does progression look like in opiate addiction? What keeps people stuck in a cycle of opiate addiction The opiate epidemic is all around us. We hear about the deaths and the dangers. Most of us know a bit about it, but...
Opiates and Heroin Introduction
Episode 23 Where do opiates and heroin come from? What’s the difference between the prescription painkillers? How did opiate addiction get so bad? The opiate epidemic is all around us. We hear about the deaths and the dangers. Most of us know a bit about it, but we...
Legalization of Marijuana
Episode 22 Why is marijuana illegal anyway? What’s the difference between legalization and decriminalization? What implication does this have for therapists? The debate over legalization of marijuana is all around us. It’s a complex issue and there are a lot of terms...
Common Claims About Marijuana
Episode 21 What are common things people say about the effects of marijuana? What are the facts about those common claims? What implication does this have in therapy? Conversations about the effects of marijuana give rise to really interesting information being...
Marijuana Basics for Therapists
Episode 20 What is marijuana and how is it used? Why is THC potency important? What does this have to do with therapy? Marijuana is here to stay and it looks like we’re heading towards legalization. We need to know the facts about marijuana. It comes up in therapy...