The Addiction Consult Community is to improve care for patients with substance use disorders admitted to inpatient hospitals by facilitating collaboration of consult medical directors, sharing of tools and protocols and serving as a platform for advocacy.

The ASAM State Advocacy Learning Community is an informal network comprised of advocates from state chapters that facilitates connections among peers for the purposes of sharing state advocacy opportunities/challenges, discussing strategic responses to state policy issues, and providing input on other areas of interest to ASAM’s Advocacy and Government Relations department.

The charge of the Behavioral Addictions Community is to connect professionals and researchers involved in treating various behavioral addictions, including but not limited to gambling, gaming disorder, and food addiction. Our aim is to foster collaboration, share insights, and advance the field through collective expertise and support.

The mission of the Cannabis and Pregnancy Community is to discuss the complications of cannabis and pregnancy and to provide a space for communication and shared resources among ASAM members.

The charge of the Child & Adolescent Addictions Community is to promote the prevention, education and treatment of childhood and adolescent addiction disorders.

The charge of the Criminal Justice  Community is to serve as a venue for sharing of information about the health care needs of criminal justice-involved persons with substance use disorders (SUD).  Possible topics include data about the availability and quality of medical care for incarcerated persons with SUD, the preparedness of correctional health care staff to care for patients, availability of treatment including medications for opioid use disorder, post-incarceration plans for continuing care, and addiction treatment opportunities for individuals with SUD within community corrections.

The purpose of the Forensic Addiction Medicine Community is to educate ASAM members about the interface of Addiction Medicine and the Law, to provide a space for our ASAM community members to communicate, and to advance the practice of forensic addiction medicine.

The charge of the Harm Reduction Special Interest Group is to promote the philosophy of harm reduction throughout the work of the organization and to provide a space for communication and shared resources among ASAM members.

The charge of the Integrative Behavioral Health for Addiction Community is to provide education and collaboration for the expansion of clinical interventions and research efforts in the application of integrative health interventions for the treatment of patients with SUD and other addictions.

The charge of the International Addiction Medicine Community is to interact and network with addiction physicians, clinicians, scientists and experts throughout the globe involved with the science, academics, policy and advocacy related to addiction medicine.

The charge of the LGBTQ+ Community is to cultivate an affirming and safe environment for self-identified and allied addiction medicine professionals to collaborate and build community, and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in addiction medicine.

We envision a coalition of health professionals that advance the care for people who use substances in the LGBTQ+ community, through novel research, patient-centered advocacy, multidisciplinary collaboration, community engagement, and unique attention to the nuances of substance use among LGBTQ+ persons.

This community brings together professionals in medical toxicology who are committed to addressing addiction within clinical practice. It serves as a collaborative space to explore the intersection of toxicology and addiction medicine, discuss emerging trends, share clinical insights, and exchange best practices. Members can connect with peers to advance knowledge, enhance patient care, and stay informed on issues impacting the field.

The charge of the Nicotine & Tobacco Community includes the following:

1. To develop and help ASAM implement policy on nicotine and tobacco.
2. To conduct educational programs on nicotine and tobacco.
3. To conduct focused data gathering activities (ad hoc on nicotine and tobacco).

 

The charge of The Opioid Treatment Program Community is to advance the treatment and understanding of opioid treatment programs (OTP).

The charge of the Pain and Palliative Community is to provide a forum for sharing of tools, protocols, and resources, as well as provide a forum for supporting advocacy surrounding the care of patients with pain and serious illness. Current guidelines and data often exclude recommendations for malignant or complex pain of serious illness in the context of concurrent substance use disorders.

For patients near the end of life, the balance of safe prescribing with harm reduction and safe supply becomes more important. This SIG focuses on the SUD care and the symptom management of these patients across all care settings - inpatient, outpatient, medical and mental health facilities, geriatrics, as well as hospice and palliative care settings.

The Physicians Health Community oversees issues related to identification, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of physicians and other healthcare professionals with substance use disorders and to assure leadership by organized medicine in programs involving health, well-being, and impairment of physicians and other professionals.

This community brings together professionals working in primary care and family medicine who are dedicated to addressing addiction in their clinical practice. It serves as a collaborative space to discuss emerging trends, share challenges and best practices, and explore innovative approaches to integrating addiction medicine into primary care settings. Join your peers in advancing the conversation around the evolving needs and solutions for patients impacted by addiction.

The charge of the Psychedelic Medicine Community is to educate its members on the current best evidence in the field of psychedelic medicine used in the treatment of addictive disorders and mental illness.

The mission of the Science Initiative Community is to create open channels of regular communication between ASAM members involved in research; and provide support to ASAM members engaged in scientific research or who want to become engaged in research.

The charge of the Telehealth Community is to use telemedicine and other healthcare advancements to provide low-barrier entry or continuing access to evidence-based, life-saving medications for patients with substance use disorder. 

The charge of the Twelve-Step Recovery Community is to develop a knowledge base and recommend actions to the ASAM Board regarding (1) options for improved education and research on the role of Twelve-Step programs in addiction recovery; (2) ways to help bridge the gap that often arises between the Twelve-Step rehabilitation community and bio-medically-oriented practitioners.

The Withdrawal Management Community is to discuss best practices, operational issues, and improve care for withdrawal management patients.

Women have unique experiences across all ages, life stages and trajectories of substance use due to gender-distinct expectations, biology, and socio-cultural roles. The group strives to promote expertise and sensitivity to the varying life stages of women as they relate to the prevention, screening, and treatment of substance use disorders. Furthermore, we place an emphasis on all reproductive stages of women and substance use disorders, including the antenatal, prenatal, and post-partum periods, as well as parenting. These reproductive stages are critical to the propagation of addiction, alcoholism, substance use disorders, and the consequences thereof, across generations. The threshold for harm is often lower during these stages, thus requiring different standards and goals for screening and treatment.