Helen Redmond

Helen is Filters senior editor and a multimedia journalist. Her debut book is Liquid Handcuffs: Policing and Punishment in Methadone Clinics and the Future of Opioid Addiction Treatment. She is also a filmmaker; her two documentaries about methadone, Liquid Handcuffs and Swallow THIS, have screened nationally and internationally. Helen is an adjunct assistant professor at New York University.

“Consider Tapering”—SAMHSA Turns Against Long-Term Methadone Use

Beware a “Dear Colleague” letter from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that offers “updated guidance” on…

May 20, 2026

Psilocybin Shows Growing Potential for Smoking Cessation

Quitting smoking is hard, and anything that might help should be thoroughly explored, particularly when we know different options work…

May 12, 2026

People Who Vape Are Lab Rats, Says California “Public Health” Campaign

Clockwork Orange-like images show a sweating, terrified young man in a dark laboratory with a black metal contraption on his…

April 30, 2026

Federal Bill Would Roll Back Modest Progress on Methadone Access

When it comes to methadone treatment for opioid use disorder, Representative Erin Houchin, a Trump-supporting Republican from Indiana, wants to…

April 13, 2026

Oklahoma Prisoners Can Now Buy “Jail Puff” Vapes and Pouches

Oklahoma has just begun allowing prisoners to purchase safer nicotine products—vapes and pouches—at commissary. Some jails already permitted this, as…

March 30, 2026

Methadone Clinics to Blame for Unacceptable Drop-Out Rates

Given what the methadone clinic system subjects them to, is it really a surprise that people who take the medication…

March 19, 2026

Commission to Look at Methadone Regs, But Don’t Hold Your Breath

A new National Methadone Access and Quality Commission has been created by the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE). It…

March 9, 2026

“Would You Want to Live Next to a Clinic?”—Methadone NIMBYism

The speeches at the press conference in Harlem were a distillation of stigmatizing ideas about methadone, clinics and patients that…

March 2, 2026

Beyond the Panic: A Harm Reduction Lens for Teen Drug Use

Adolescent drug use often triggers moral panics, fear-mongering and the passage of draconian laws to “keep the kids safe” by…

February 25, 2026

How to Dispose of the Environmental Argument Against Vapes?

One of the many controversies around vaping nicotine is the impact on the enviroment—particularly of disposable, single-use vapes. When this…

February 10, 2026