Greetings Readers,

It is that time of year again when media organizations put out their “Best of …” publications in hopes of bringing a joyful sense of cohesion to the past year. In the field of addiction medicine it has again been quite a year, not all joyful, but there’s been a lot to talk about; major headlines, increased advocacy, passage of bipartisan legislature, important peer-reviewed publications… the list could go on. With all that has and is going on in the addiction-news cycle, here at ASAM Weekly (aka the Weekly) it sometimes feels like we are a quasi-news group; we have our deadlines, we follow the headlines and every now-and-then we have those “hot-off-the-presses moments”.  We even surveyed our readers this year to get a better sense of what you guys really like or dislike about the publication and we’ve appreciated your comments. At last count our readership has grown to more than fifty seven thousand so we must be doing something right?…right??

Even though we are a field driven by evidence (or as a quasi-news group driven by marketing theory) there is always something intangible about engaging readers and keeping them engaged. It really is the Holy Grail of media organizations and here at the Weekly I like to say that our intangible “it” factor is Bill’s Editorial Comments. It’s been a pleasure over the past two years working closely with the team (Luke, Bill, and a list of other great people) while getting a behind-the-scenes look at how Bill has created in a way, a voice* for the publication. Our readers have come to expect this and for good reason. Bill’s Editorial Comments span the fields of medicine, history, and social science; maintain clarity of purpose and dedication to addiction; and blend it all with just the right touch of wit. Until a social media algorithm or AI can replicate that I think we’ll be able to keep our readers engaged through 2019 (no guarantees on 2020).

So thank you to Bill for his tireless writing and we hope you will enjoy a collection of the most read and our favorite Editorial Comments from 2018.

Have a safe and Happy Holidays.

- Nick Athanasiou, MD, MBA

ASAM Weekly, Senior Editor