By TARA PARKER-POPE
Share this post :In this week’s “A Piece of My Mind” column in The Journal of the American Medical Association, a specialist in addiction offers a riveting tale of his own tragic drug habit.
Clinton B. McCracken of Baltimore is a biomedical scientist who built a career exploring the neuroscience of addiction. He writes that his experience serves as a cautionary tale for highly educated professionals, particularly health care workers, who may “intellectualize their drug use.” As he explains, their own intelligence and expertise about addiction leads them to overestimate their ability to stay in control of a drug habit.
Dr. McCracken confesses to a daily, decade-long marijuana habit and three years of abusing opioids injected intravenously. But because of his extensive knowledge of addiction, he was able to convince himself that his drug use was not a risk. He continued to function at a high level at work and in his personal life.
But then tragedy struck. His fiancée lost her life after injecting a contaminated drug, which resulted in a severe allergic reaction.
While waiting for the paramedics to arrive I tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate her. Despite heroic efforts, neither the paramedics nor the emergency department physicians were able to revive her. As a consequence of her death, our house was searched by police, who then discovered the ongoing marijuana cultivation. I was immediately arrested, jailed, and charged with a number of felonies; then, in the space of a few days, my employment as a postdoctoral fellow was summarily terminated and I was evicted from my residence.
In addition to losing the woman he loved, Dr. McCracken faced jail time and an uncertain future.
Reputation is critical in my field, and mine is likely to be damaged for the foreseeable future….I have now been convicted of a felony, which will undoubtedly have a severely negative effect on any future job prospects and international travel. Finally, as a Canadian citizen, my ability to live in, work in, and even visit the United States, my home for the last ten years, is also compromised; I face imminent deportation with almost no hope of reentry in the future.
The transition from my drug use having no apparent negative consequences, to both my personal and professional life being damaged possibly beyond repair, was so fast as to be instantaneous, highlighting the fact that when it comes to drug use, the perception of control is really nothing more than illusion.
The essay, “Intellectualization of Drug Abuse,” is at The Journal of the American Medical Association Web site, although the full article requires a subscription.
Source: well.blogs.nytimes.com
Clinton B. McCracken of Baltimore is a biomedical scientist who built a career exploring the neuroscience of addiction. He writes that his experience serves as a cautionary tale for highly educated professionals, particularly health care workers, who may “intellectualize their drug use.” As he explains, their own intelligence and expertise about addiction leads them to overestimate their ability to stay in control of a drug habit.
Dr. McCracken confesses to a daily, decade-long marijuana habit and three years of abusing opioids injected intravenously. But because of his extensive knowledge of addiction, he was able to convince himself that his drug use was not a risk. He continued to function at a high level at work and in his personal life.
But then tragedy struck. His fiancée lost her life after injecting a contaminated drug, which resulted in a severe allergic reaction.
While waiting for the paramedics to arrive I tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate her. Despite heroic efforts, neither the paramedics nor the emergency department physicians were able to revive her. As a consequence of her death, our house was searched by police, who then discovered the ongoing marijuana cultivation. I was immediately arrested, jailed, and charged with a number of felonies; then, in the space of a few days, my employment as a postdoctoral fellow was summarily terminated and I was evicted from my residence.
In addition to losing the woman he loved, Dr. McCracken faced jail time and an uncertain future.
Reputation is critical in my field, and mine is likely to be damaged for the foreseeable future….I have now been convicted of a felony, which will undoubtedly have a severely negative effect on any future job prospects and international travel. Finally, as a Canadian citizen, my ability to live in, work in, and even visit the United States, my home for the last ten years, is also compromised; I face imminent deportation with almost no hope of reentry in the future.
The transition from my drug use having no apparent negative consequences, to both my personal and professional life being damaged possibly beyond repair, was so fast as to be instantaneous, highlighting the fact that when it comes to drug use, the perception of control is really nothing more than illusion.
The essay, “Intellectualization of Drug Abuse,” is at The Journal of the American Medical Association Web site, although the full article requires a subscription.
Source: well.blogs.nytimes.com
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