Alex Mauri is the pseudonym of an American writer living in Europe.
When I moved to Italy for school in August 2022, I brought a three-month supply of testosterone, syringes and needles—the…
From the moment I began openly acknowledging my opioid use—often via self-deprecating jokes, at least to friends—people shamed me. This…
Drugs are not good or bad. They are simply morally neutral tools which can help or hurt, depending on context.…
Society tends to view banned drugs and their use in binary terms. People who disclose drug use are instantly assumed…
There exists a common misconception that if a person uses illicit drugs, all of their problems stem from their drug…
When I began using drugs, I didn’t have anyone I could safely go to for advice or help. Nobody in…
When I first began using opioids, in 2017 when I was 18, I knew nothing of harm reduction. My high…
In popular culture, people who sell drugs are stereotyped as remorseless monsters, like the loathsome Mikey Forrester from the book…
In May 2019 Louise Vincent, executive director of the Urban Survivors Union, urged privileged drug users to “come out” in…
Whether because of fentanyl adulteration or the present pandemic, buying drugs from the “dark web”—a term for sites in the…