UPDATE: A commenter provided the link that is broken on NPR�s
article, here. [6] Some negative commenters have alleged we are
in error, but in reviewing the study our central point is still
correct: contingency management, even within the context of
these studies, is not what works by itself. It works only in
conjunction with other methods. [7] The NPR story is still in
error and nothing in this study indicates our original reporting
on this matter was wrong.

Almost every study says that �contingency management� makes a
small positive impact on addicts staying clean for a few extra
weeks, NPR exaggerates to say that paying addicts works and
should be tried everywhere
Link NPR provides to the study backing up their wild claims is
laughably broken
Left-wing worldview once again at odds with actual science and
what studies actually say, pretty obvious unethical reporter
didn�t even bother to read them
OUR RATING: Major Negligence. MSNBC-level basic journalistic
negligence

Indicted Outlet: April Dembosky | National Public Radio | Link |
Archive | 9/30/21

If you notice anything with NPR, it is that they only things
they consider are those that fit their extreme left views, and
they very conspicuously avoid thoughts and consequences to the
contrary. NPR is constitutionally incapable of considering
alternative views, and that is once again clear in their recent
article discussing California�s plan to pay drug addicts not to
do drugs.

It�s kind of the perfect neoliberal meme, so you know it�s all
make-believe: if only the too-little-taxed rich gave more of
their evil money to the needy deserving poor, they wouldn�t be
using drugs to cope with their existential angst about late-
stage capitalism.

Too bad all the studies involved show that the impact is
marginal or minor at best, but you�d never know that from
reading April Dembosky�s article.

Major Violations:

Opinion as Fact
Unbalanced
Misrepresentation
Statistics Abuse
Missing Context
Exaggeration
Here�s what Reporter Dembosky writes in NPR:

As overdoses and public health costs related to meth and cocaine
continue to spiral in California, state officials are desperate
for more effective treatment options and are pursuing
legislation and appealing to federal regulators to make
contingency management more widely available. Washington,
Montana, and West Virginia are also exploring similar strategies.

Because studies show contingency management works. The
principles of the treatment � positive reinforcement techniques,
primarily � are used widely in weight loss, fitness programs,
and in families, as parents coax their children into adopting
good behaviors, rather than punishing them for poor behaviors.

Research shows contingency management is the most effective
treatment for meth or cocaine addiction, especially when
combined with other behavioral therapy.

The key phrase here is �contingency management� when it comes to
influencing behaviors. Another way of saying it that sounds less
academic is to say positive consequences.

But part of the missing context is that those positive
consequences don�t have to be financial in nature, that�s just
part of the legislative lobbying that is also a part of this
piece.

Lobbyist/Reporter Dembosky makes her motives pretty plain on the
legislative front:

�state officials are desperate for more effective treatment
options and are pursuing legislation and appealing to federal
regulators to make contingency management more widely available.
Washington, Montana, and West Virginia are also exploring
similar strategies.

No doubt she�s been contacted and fed this story by someone
looking to push and advance these stories. Probably a public
relations flak for one of the treatment center chains that
contracts with the government and stands to make out handsomely
with new contracts.

The link to the supposed study that proves Dembosky�s point?
Wait wait, don�t tell me: yea, that link�s as broken as her
ethics. [1]

It�s the most central claim in her article and the link doesn�t
work. I wish I was making this up.

Research shows contingency management is the most effective
treatment for meth or cocaine addiction

Click it for yourself and see!

THE MOST EFFECTIVE TREATMENT is a link that IS COMPLETELY BROKEN.

*This* is NPR.

I dug into the studies and literature myself and tried to find
answers on the efficacy of �contingency management� on meth
addiction.

Here�s again the standard that NPR set on the topic:

�studies show contingency management works.

Now, this method might positively impact weight loss, or
smoking, or addiction, but it seems a bit too strong to just say
it �works� because that implies that other methods do not work
and it also suggests that these methods work completely.

When you say or write that something works, you usually don�t
mean that it works a little bit. Or that it works to improve
things a tad. Or that it makes a small impact on the margins. To
write that a particular thing works is to say that it solves the
problem at hand. It �works� by being the solution to the problem.

The literature suggests that NPR Reporter Dembosky either does
not understand the science and studies, or she was radically
dishonest in her description of it.

*This* is NPR.

Here are some of the relevant studies as they relate to meth
addiction:

The American Journal of Psychiatry in 2006 tested 113 people who
were diagnosed with meth, and those who received a small benefit
stayed in treatment and stayed off drugs for 5 weeks instead of
the 3 weeks that was normal. [2]

A 2007 literature review said that contingency management was a
�good candidate for inclusion� and still noted that other non-
financial similar practices were deployed to be positive
feedback for not using drugs, and that there had not been
relevant long-term studies. [3]

This 2019 study in Malaysia interviewed 7 meth addicts and asked
them for about 45 minutes each whether they liked receiving free
stuff when they didn�t do meth. They all said they liked the
free stuff. [4]

A 2020 literature review surveyed 27 studies. 20 of the 21 that
reported their findings in a useful way found that there was a
positive impact of �contingency management� on outcomes. The
extent of that benefit was not provided. [5]

So the extent of the benefit of contingency management on meth
addiction? Instead of addicts lasting just three weeks without
relapsing, they might last two extra weeks. Meth is a horrible
drug and that�s great and all, but that�s not nearly the same as
what NPR wrote when they exaggerated saying that it works and
exists as a standalone treatment to solve addiction.

NPR wrote the left-wing fantasy of poor vulnerable drug addicts
being helped by the big sweet neoliberal unicorn tooth fairies
providing benevolent tax dollars to alleviate the stresses of
capitalism, as backed up by the science which has spoken and is
now closed to debate from anyone especially evil-bad
conservatives!

But once again, the mainstream media lied to us. It�s almost as
though they don�t know how to do anything else, they�re
compulsively dishonest, deceitful, and unethical. NPR and April
Dembosky are addicted to lying in order to advance a political
agenda.

OUR RATING: Major Negligence. MSNBC-level basic journalistic
negligence

Bibliography:

1 ] This is the link as provided by NPR�s article. We realize
the link is broken. The point we are making is that the NPR
article makes one central claim: that contingency management
works, and then their own link does not work. So, this link is
broken, but it is provided as evidence of what NPR provided
their readers: https://storage.googleapis.com/plos-corpus-
prod/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002715/1/pmed.1002715.pdf?X-Goog-
Algorithm=GOOG4-RSA-SHA256&X-Goog-Credential=wombat-sa%40plos-
prod.iam.gserviceaccount.com%2F20210929%2Fauto%2Fstorage%2Fgoo
g4_request&X-Goog-Date=20210929T232600Z&X-Goog-Expires=86400&X-
Goog-SignedHeaders=host&X-Goog-
Signature=8ba0451331864aa0a608d
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cb88ab1cd31b9d94fecb10bcb04531e
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31a060199ec8c367378ba7a307aa405
2a6918f894eb8ecd4c365f1a14e49ad
0542a8492a9514cf6e73f0db0f9faa1
d76b8a5aeae8414aa583705837f1570
0bd2f775c1f23cd8a8fee87a111dc35
589bc511b5d3b286a5bdb6d82b9ce98
05dae8aa1d1e625da68a93a69bc05a1
f912e1122188f1581aab89412f8c58d
7b7acf37791f58986c5abe48d2af8f8
e680049df1828ec0f7f06c363743b96
f24f487da86f2acfb898052eb6991eb
32a542c03d2f02ee7292197125f28ee4a7fcdb4033b7f3ee3a79ee0ef
2 ]
http
s://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.1176/ajp.2006.163.11.1993
3 ] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1360-
0443.2006.01774.x
4 ] http://www.ijepc.com/PDF/IJEPC-2019-31-06-02.pdf
5 ] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33007699/
6 ]
http
s://
jour
nals
..plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002715
7 ] https://storage.googleapis.com/plos-corpus-
prod/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002715/1/pmed.1002715.g004.PNG_L?X-
Goog-Algorithm=GOOG4-RSA-SHA256&X-Goog-Credential=wombat-
sa%40plos-
prod.iam.g
serviceaccount.com%2F20211006%2Fauto%2Fstorage%2Fgoog4_request&X-
Goog-Date=20211006T224652Z&X-Goog-Expires=86400&X-Goog-
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