11/12/2025
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949875925002085?asam.org
Abstract
Despite overwhelming evidence supporting medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for substance use disorders (SUDs), stigma persists within recovery communities—particularly in some circles of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA)—that view MAT as incompatible with sobriety. This perspective piece explores the tension between life-saving pharmacologic interventions such as medications for opioid use disorder (MOUDs) and deeply held beliefs within 12-step fellowships. Through the lens of a clinically grounded, narrative-driven, and first-person perspective we examine the origins of this stigma, including the historical ambivalence toward psychiatric medication in AA's founding literature. We also examine contemporary NA literature especially as it relates to the term “clean.” While many 12-step programs have increasingly accepted medications like antidepressants, MOUD remains stigmatized despite its proven effectiveness in reducing cravings, relapse, and overdose deaths. We argue that this resistance—often reinforced by sponsors, literature, and group norms—places patients at risk and undermines recovery. We use our personal experience as physicians and people in long-term recovery to call for a renewed interpretation of fellowship principles that embrace evidence-based treatment and affirms each individual's path to recovery. True sobriety should not require choosing between medication and belonging.
