Maia Szalavitz

New York

Freelance Neuroscience Journalist at Freelance

Contributing Opinion Writer at The New York Times

Contributing Opinion Writer, New York Times. OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK: Undoing Drugs. Award winning neuroscience journalist. Quit cocaine & heroin in 1988.

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Articles

Behind the curve

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Maia Szalavitz

Lisa Lee remembers when fentanyl first hit Reno. Lee, a founding member of the Northern Nevada Harm Reduction Alliance, was distributing the overdose antidote naloxone out of the back of her silver SUV to the street encampments near downtown, which she visits regularly. Just a day or two after she’d provided 30 kits of naloxone, someone called desperate for more, which was unusual.
Embracing Vaping Will Save Lives Lost from Smoking

2 months ago | nytimes.com | Maia Szalavitz

Nearly 29 million Americans regularly smoke cigarettes, a drastic decline from 1964 when more than 40 percent of all adults smoked, and the surgeon general first linked tobacco to cancer. Still, that's a lot of people hooked on nicotine.
What Kennedy's Approach to Addiction Gets Wrong

Dec 22, 2024 | nytimes.com | Maia Szalavitz

Mr. Kennedy, however, seems to think I need a work farm to end my Prozac "addiction." He has even spoken out against Ozempic and similar drugs, which have recently shown promise in reducing substance misuse and overdose risk. Mr. Kennedy's opposition to medication comes from a well-founded skepticism of the pharmaceutical industry.
Why Drug Overdose Deaths Are Dropping for Some, Rising for Others

Dec 2, 2024 | nytimes.com | Maia Szalavitz

Drug overdose deaths fell by an estimated 14.5 percent from June 2023 to June 2024 - the most significant decline recorded in the 21st century. When I first heard the news, however, I was saddened. Like many others, I feared this might reflect what epidemiologists call a depletion of susceptibles, a grim term that can describe the waning of an epidemic because the most vulnerable people have perished.
Addiction: Yet another health problem Ozempic and other weight loss drugs might help address

Nov 14, 2024 | geneticliteracyproject.org | Maia Szalavitz

Maia Szalavitz | New York Times | November 14, 2024 [Dr. Steven Klein is an] addiction medicine fellow at the nonprofit Caron Treatment Centers’ residential treatment facility in Pennsylvania.
El medicamento innovador para vencer la adicción: ¿Ozempic?

Nov 8, 2024 | almendron.com | Maia Szalavitz

A fines de 2016, Steven Klein se dio cuenta de que había perdido el control sobre su consumo de alcohol y estimulantes. Ese diciembre, alcanzó la sobriedad con la ayuda de reuniones de 12 pasos. Pero también luchaba con el comer en exceso, lo que considera otra adicción. El estrés provocado por la pandemia le hizo engordar más de 18 kilos durante su residencia médica.
Opinión: El medicamento innovador para vencer la adicción: ¿Ozempic?

Nov 6, 2024 | es-us.noticias.yahoo.com | Maia Szalavitz

LOS PRIMEROS DATOS SUGIEREN QUE LOS FÁRMACOS GLP-1, CONOCIDOS POR SU CAPACIDAD PARA AYUDAR A PERDER PESO, PODRÍAN TENER UN PODEROSO EFECTO EN EL TRATAMIENTO DE LA ADICCIÓN. A fines de 2016, Steven Klein se dio cuenta de que había perdido el control sobre su consumo de alcohol y estimulantes. Ese diciembre, alcanzó la sobriedad con la ayuda de reuniones de 12 pasos. Pero también luchaba con el comer en exceso, lo que considera otra adicción.
El medicamento innovador para vencer la adicci├│n: ┬┐Ozempic?

Nov 6, 2024 | nytimes.com | Maia Szalavitz

A fines de 2016, Steven Klein se dio cuenta de que había perdido el control sobre su consumo de alcohol y estimulantes. Ese diciembre, alcanzó la sobriedad con la ayuda de reuniones de 12 pasos. Pero también luchaba con el comer en exceso, lo que considera otra adicción. El estrés provocado por la pandemia le hizo engordar más de 18 kilos durante su residencia médica.
Opinion | Why We May Soon Use Ozempic to Treat Addiction - The New York Times

Oct 19, 2024 | nytimes.com | Maia Szalavitz

Early data suggests GLP-1 drugs, renowned for their ability to assist in weight loss, may have a powerful effect on treating addiction.
Addiction Is Often Rooted in Trauma. New Treatments Offer Hope for Both

Sep 17, 2024 | scientificamerican.com | Maia Szalavitz

When I entered rehab at 23, I learned that trauma was a thread woven into most addiction stories. Many people in my program described horrific neglect or maltreatment, including sexual abuse, they had experienced as children. Still, few seemed to realize how traumatizing those things had been. The traces of trauma in my own life were not then obvious to me, either, perhaps because my parents had suffered so much worse.