September is National Recovery Month — a time when we lift up the stories of courage, healing, and resilience from those reclaiming their lives from addiction. It’s a month to honor and celebrate the work it takes to overcome those addictions.

But here’s the hard truth we must face together: while we’ve made progress in treatment and understanding, old prejudices still lurk in the shadows—shaping how our country responds to substance use, especially in Black communities.

When the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) declared September National Recovery Month back in 1989, it marked a real turning point, a serious paradigm shift. For decades, drug use had been treated as a crime, not a health issue. SAMHSA took the lead in the fight for evidence-based recover

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