Since I first learned about and became interested in harm reduction — they virtually happened simultaneously some three years ago — I’ve long sought out a manual on building harm reduction (HR) infrastructure: Harm Reduction for Dummies, if you will. I still haven’t found it. Grassroots harm reductionists and fledgling HR-related organizations in places without […]
Why We Need “The Big Book of Harm Reduction” Read More »
Here in Tennessee, we ain’t got shit in the way of harm reduction. We’ve got six syringe services programs (SSP). And other than the often-exclusionary 12-step programs, the outdated rehabs, and the entirely-bullshit drug courts, probation, and parole programs, that’s about it. But why? Why is Tennessee — and much of the South, particularly the
Why Tennessee Lacks a Harm Reduction Infrastructure Read More »
When I used to regularly browse Reddit’s r/Opiates subreddit, I’d sometimes see posts titled “Fentanyl Warning: (City, State).” Even though the site isn’t that active in hosting such warnings, sharing reports on drug forums like fentanyl warnings is an effective harm reduction practice. The most recent fentanyl warning on r/Opiates is three months old. Looking
How Online Drug Reporting Yields Better Harm Reduction Read More »
People who use drugs, especially their often-problematic counterparts, are given a bad name. Here in the United States, a campaign against drugs and drug users alike has been going strong for some 100 years — if not longer. We’ve been painted as — especially non-White and otherwise-disadvantaged people — “dirty junkies” by much of society
Where Drug Users’ Unions May Fall Short Read More »
In recent years, harm reductionists have pushed to call drug users “people who use drugs” as opposed to “drug abusers,” “substance abusers,” or “drug addicts,” among other labels that hold considerable negative connotations. “People who use drugs,” or PWUD for short, is an example of person-first language, a self-explanatory convention that places people before things
“People Who Use Drugs”—Slow Your Roll on Person-First Language Like This Read More »
If you’re reading this, chances have it you probably support harm reduction or drug policy reform, if not both. While you likely wish things were different, there’s only one way to actively accelerate social change other than the inevitable passage of time — advocacy. Google defines “advocacy” as “public support for or recommendation of a
What Can You Do to Advocate for Harm Reduction and Drug Policy Reform Here in Tennessee? Read More »
We’ve all heard heard dozens of fellow users spout countless inaccuracies, misleading statements, and flat-out incorrect assertions about drugs, drug use, and drug laws as if they were all fact. There’s no way this article could even hope to cover a half of a percent’s worth of the myths, half-truths, and facts we’ve heard
Proving Facts and Dispelling Myths About Drugs Read More »
People like San Francisco’s Tracey Helton and organizations like New York City’s NEXT Distro have long distributed syringes, naloxone, and other harm reduction supplies via mail. Mail-based supply distribution (MBSD) is so very helpful for people who live in areas where there isn’t much, if any, access to harm reduction supplies, drug-related education, or drug user health
How Mailing Syringes to Drug Users Helps — The Merits of Mail-Based Supply Distribution Read More »
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has long been one of the heroin hotspots of the United States. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports have long indicated that Philly has the highest-quality heroin in the nation. Philly has been hit quite hard by the opioid epidemic. Fortunately, state and municipal governments in places like New England, the Pacific Northwest, and
Uproar Follows Philadelphia’s Supervised Injection Site—But Is It Well-Placed? Read More »
In some places, such as Tennessee, possessing syringes after they’ve been used to inject drugs is illegal. As someone who’s lived in rural Tennessee his entire life, I understand that some people—think people who are devout, stubborn Christians, largely-right-leaning political ideology holders, those who believe problem drug use is caused by a moral deficiency—look at
How to Properly Dispose of Syringes and Other Drug-Related Equipment Read More »