Maiz Szalavitz is the author of Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction, and the New York Times bestseller Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction.
Below are current articles by, and interviews with, Maia Szalavitz.
Photo by Bettina Hansen of The Seattle Times
Harm Reduction Is the Best Approach for COVID and Drug Addiction, Scientific American, 7/7/21
We’re Overlooking a Major Culprit in the Opioid Crisis, Scientific American, 5/28/21
What the Incredible Achievements of ACT UP Can Teach Activists Today, Filter, 5/19/21
Changing the Narrative on Drug Addiction, Shawnee State Distinguished Lecture Series, public address, 3/12/21
Pain and Isolation Are Driving America’s Lockdown Overdose Surge, Vice, 2/18/21
DEBUNKED Episode 14: Myth ‘Once a Junkie, Always A Junkie‘, interview, 2/11/21
Harm Reduction as a Public Health Strategy for Pandemics, presentation, Cato Institute, 6/3/20
Pandemic: It’s Important to Remember the Human Capacity for Positive Change, The Wire: Science, 12/15/20
Pandemic Shaming Can Backfire. Here’s a Better Way, Medscape, 12/3/20
We Need to Start Over with Drug Policy: Interview with Maia Szalavitz, Evergreen Treatment Services, 11/12/20
Effective Harm Reduction Responses to the Worsening Overdose Crisis Caused by COVID‐19, Drug Policy Alliance, moderator, 10/20/20
YouTube’s ‘This is Paris’ reveals Hilton’s rich girl persona masks genuine trauma, NBC News: Think, 9/19/20
Claiming the Moral High Ground – A Global Indictment of the War on Drugs, Drug Truth Network, 9/11/20
DPP #22: Are You Addicted? Maia Szalavitz and the Unbroken Brain, interview, Drug Positive podcast, 5/14/20
Brain Implants to Treat Addiction Are Dangerous and Promising, Vice, 5/5/20
People Who Take Opioid Painkillers Are Getting Screwed Thanks to Coronavirus, Vice, 3/24/20
A Vending Machine in Canada Is Dispensing a Drug Twice as Strong as Heroin, Vice, 2/10/20
What Happens When a ‘Progressive’ Democrat Refuses to Help People with Addiction, Vice, 12/20/19
Affluenza, Radio Health Journal, interview, 12/15/19
Drug Truth Network, interview, 12/5/19
Doctors Are Still Denying People Pain Meds and the Results Are Deadly, Vice, 11/4/19
The Bankruptcy Money From the Makers of Oxycontin Might Actually Save Lives, Vice, 11/24/19
The DEA Shares Blame for the Opioid Crisis, Vice, 9/16/19
Weed Is Way Stronger Than It Used to Be. That’s Why It Should Be Legal, Vice, 9/12/19
Democrats Are Racing to Look Progressive on Drugs, Vice, 8/30/19
Johnson & Johnson Twisted the Truth. Here Are the Facts., The New York Times, 8/29/19
291: Maia Szalavitz – A Different Lens on Addiction – Re-Release, The One You Feed, podcast, 7/30/19
Remembering Mark Kleiman, a Relentlessly Thoughtful Scholar of Drug Policy, The Intercept, 7/28/19
An Unprecedented Drop in Overdose Deaths Is Sadly Not Reason to Celebrate, Vice, 7/22/19
Media Frame: Fentanyl Panic Is Worsening the Overdose Crisis, with Zachary A. Siegel, The Appeal, 7/16/19
Facebook Is Censoring Posts That Could Save Opioid Users’ Lives, Vice, 7/2/19
Encore: Is Addiction a Learning Disorder with Maia Szalavitz, Beyond Addiction Show with Dr. Josh King, interview, 6/13/19
The Mysterious Consequences of Repeatedly Overdosing on Opioids, Vice, 6/5/19
After Leaving Thousands in Agony, the CDC Is Finally Clarifying Its Painkiller Restrictions, Vice, 4/25/19
Fentanyl Speedballs Are the Latest Disturbing Trend in America’s Opioid Crisis, Vice, 4/25/19
Big Pharma’s Millions Won’t Solve the Opioid Crisis, Tonic/Vice, 4/10/19
Compassion Not Contempt: Interview with Maia Szalavitz, interview with Adi Jaffe, Ph.D., Psychology Today, 3/18/19
How One Group Is Expanding Access to Overdose-Reversing Drugs Through the Mail, Tonic/Vice, 3/1/19
A Tale of Two Cities in the Grips of the Opioid Crisis, The Nation, 2/21/19
The Deadly Worst Case Scenario for America’s Xanax Obsession, Vice, 2/13/19
When the Cure Is Worse Than the Disease, The New York Times, 2/9/19
Treating Addictions with Compassion, podcast interview, Ruthless Compassion with Dr. Marcia Sirota, 1/31/19
What makes addiction a disease?, interview, WHYY, 1/11/19
The dos and don’ts of helping a drug-addicted person recover, Big Think, interview, 1/16/19
All the Things the New Anti-Weed Crusade Gets Horribly Wrong, Vice, 1/14/19
Addictive Drugs Should Not be Marketed, Period, Tonic/Vice, 1/18/19
We could cut the opioid death rate by 50% – but we’re not, Big Think, interview, 1/8/19
19-01 Segment 1: Personality and Drug Abuse, Radio Health Journal, 1/6/19 – 1/12/19
What’s worse than drug addiction? The cruelty of drug treatments, Big Think, interview, 12/16/18
An Influential Think Tank Suggested That Harm Reduction Doesn’t Work, Tonic/Vice, 12/13/18
Insurance Is Supposed to Cover Addiction Treatment, But It’s Still a Nightmare, Tonic/Vice, 12/10/18
Drug prevention advice for parents, Big Think, interview, 12/10/18
This Is How to Get Health Insurance to Cover Treatment for Opioid Addiction, Tonic/Vice, 11/6/18
Net Worth v Self Worth: Do We All Need Inequality Therapy?, Inequality.org, 11/2/18
Public Workshop of the Committee on Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, presentation, 10/30/18
Deep Systemic Change: My 10 Steps to Transform Addiction Treatment, Filter, 10/8/18
If a Woman Drinks, It’s Her Fault. If a Man Drinks, It’s an Excuse, Vice, 9/24/18
Let’s Not Overstretch Neuroplasticity, Medium, 9/21/18
Big Pharma’s Opioid Greed Was Even Worse Than We Thought, Vice, 9/13/18
Addiction Doesn’t Always Last a Lifetime, The New York Times, 8/31/18
Forcing Pain Patients Off Their Meds Won’t End the Opioid Crisis, Tonic/Vice, 8/21/18
These Drug Users Don’t Want Their Dealer Prosecuted if They OD, Vice, 8/20/18
What the Media Gets Wrong About Opioids, Columbia Journalism Review, 8/15/18
What Makes You Vulnerable to a Gambling Addiction?, Addiction Help, 8/8/18
Labeling People Video Game ‘Addicts’ Could Be a Massive Mistake, Vice, 7/23/18
There’s No Rational Way to Justify America’s Drug Laws, Tonic/Vice, 7/13/18
Drug Truth Network, interview, 7/12/18
Doctors Should Be Handing Out Addiction Meds On Demand, Tonic/Vice, 6/26/18
The Link Between Childhood Trauma and Addiction, Tonic/Vice, 6/20/18
This Is Why Xanax Is Blowing Up in America, Vice, 6/12/18
The Feds Are Raiding the Offices of Doctors Who Prescribe Addiction Medication, Tonic/Vice, 6/6/18
Episode 82: The Unbroken Brain with Maia Szalavitz, Healing Paths, interview, 5/21/18
Walmart’s Dumb New Opioid Policy Could Cost Lives, Vice, 5/8/18
Just Because You Can’t Stop Taking Antidepressants Doesn’t Mean You’re Addicted, Vice, 4/25/18
What Happened When a Writer Who Idolized Drunk Authors Got Sober, Vice, 4/5/18
The White House Is Hosting a Tasteless Opioid Crisis Memorial, Vice, interview, 4/4/18
New Opioid Memorial Demeans People Who Died From Painkiller Overdoses, Vice/Tonic, 3/29/18
Why Trump’s Opioid Plan Will Harm More People Than It Will Save, Self, 3/28/18
Why it’s not ‘enabling’ to make drug use safer, The Washington Post, 3/13/18
What makes you vulnerable to a gambling addiction?, Big Think, video, 3/10/18
Understanding addiction: Why your brain gets hooked on gambling, Big Think, interview, 3/10/18
Why we’re psychologically hardwired to blame the victim, The Guardian, 2/27/18
Why These People Took Drug Combinations That Nearly Killed Them, Vice, 2/21/18
Rhode Island Cut Post-Prison Overdose Deaths in Half, Tonic/Vice, 2/14/18
Women Are Leading the Fight Against the War on Drugs, Vice, 2/5/18
What’s behind rich people pretending to be self-made?, The Guardian, 1/29/18
What Can I Do to Help People With Opioid Addiction?, interview, NHPR, 1/25/18
The Wrong Way to Treat Opioid Addiction, The New York Times, 1/17/18
Episode 119, HOME Podcast, interview, 1/16/18
Forced Rehab Isn’t the Solution, Tonic/Vice, 1/9/18
Going After Weed in the Middle of a Deadly Opioid Crisis Is Insane, Vice, 1/9/18
Last updated 7/8/21