Recovering Hope Blog
Strength in Stories, Hope in Resources, and Knowledge in Words
Vaping around babies and children isn’t harmless. In this article, Sadie Broekemeier, MA, LADC, LPCC, explains how secondhand and thirdhand vape exposure can affect children’s health, why developing lungs and brains are especially vulnerable, and what caregivers can do to reduce risk and keep kids safe.By Carmichael Finn, MA, LMFT, LADC, AADCR-MN | Recovering Hope Executive Director
Decades of alcohol use don’t just form habits—they reshape the brain systems that regulate reward, impulse control, and stress. This article translates a complex neuroscience study on alcohol use disorder and the endocannabinoid system into practical, clinician-friendly insight, explaining why motivation alone often fails, why relapse risk rises under stress, and why structure matters more than willpower early in recovery.
By Carmichael Finn, MA, LMFT, LADC, AADCR-MN | Recovering Hope Executive Director
At Recovering Hope, we believe saving lives must always come before ideology. In this piece, Carmichael Finn examines the troubling return of “moral hazard” thinking in overdose prevention—and why discouraging messages like “never use alone” puts people at greater risk, not less. Grounded in evidence, ethics, and real-world clinical experience, this article makes a clear case for harm reduction as an act of care, dignity, and responsibility. It speaks directly to professionals, families, and communities who understand that connection, not stigma, is what keeps people alive long enough to recover.
At Recovering Hope, we believe saving lives must always come before ideology. In this piece, Carmichael Finn examines the troubling return of “moral hazard” thinking in overdose prevention—and why discouraging messages like “never use alone” puts people at greater risk, not less. Grounded in evidence, ethics, and real-world clinical experience, this article makes a clear case for harm reduction as an act of care, dignity, and responsibility. It speaks directly to professionals, families, and communities who understand that connection, not stigma, is what keeps people alive long enough to recover.
In this article, Carmichael McKinley Finn, Executive Director at Recovering Hope, licensed therapist, addiction counselor, and adjunct faculty member, examines the federal government’s decision to designate illicit fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction. Drawing on frontline clinical and leadership experience, the piece explores why this framing raises deep concerns within behavioral health, how it risks repeating past policy failures, and where it could, if applied with clear guardrails, shift accountability toward the supply chains that profit from addiction rather than the people who need care.
In this article, Carmichael McKinley Finn, Executive Director at Recovering Hope, licensed therapist, addiction counselor, and adjunct faculty member, examines the federal government’s decision to designate illicit fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction. Drawing on frontline clinical and leadership experience, the piece explores why this framing raises deep concerns within behavioral health, how it risks repeating past policy failures, and where it could, if applied with clear guardrails, shift accountability toward the supply chains that profit from addiction rather than the people who need care.