This podcast will help listeners to understand better the finer details pertinent to the topic of substance misuse disorder and dependence. Listeners will be taken through some of the relevant historical, clinical, epidemiological, humanistic and other interdisciplinary themes. The aim is to allow a more positive formulation of how the problems caused by, or as a consequences of substance misuse can be understood – without stigmatising the individual or population involved. The interview explores understandings and misunderstandings of substance misuse, and the possibilities for helping misusers against a background of rapid changes in society, medical provision, and the proliferation of substances.
Alex Baldacchino is Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry and Addictions at the University of St Andrews, Clinical Lead and Consultant in Addiction Psychiatry, NHS Fife and NHS Fife Research and Development Director.