Sydney Sauer

Sydney is a sociology PhD student at Harvard University. She is also the former director of operations at The SOAR Initiative, and has given a TEDx talk on harm reduction for beginners.

Secret Shoppers Struggle to Buy Naloxone, Syringes at Texas Pharmacies

Since the Food and Drug Administration approved over-the-counter (OTC) naloxone in 2023, pharmacies nationwide have stocked their shelves with the…

March 25, 2025

Community “Bad Batch” Alerts Contrast With Algorithmic OD Prevention

In 2020, Ohio-based nonprofit the SOAR Initiative launched a pioneering “bad batch” alert system. Its platform allows anyone to submit…

March 3, 2025

What’s in the Drug “Strips” Common in Prisons and Jails?

Over the past year, prisons in several states have banned physical mail for incarcerated people, replacing cherished handwritten communications with…

January 30, 2025

In Rural Areas, People Who Use Drugs Face Particularly Severe Housing Crisis

Compared to the media spotlight on urban homelessness and drug use, rural areas have received far less attention. While this…

January 6, 2025

BC Drug-Decrim Study Explores Problems With 2.5-Gram Threshold

Since the inception of British Columbia’s drug decriminalization policy, which took effect in January 2023, harm reduction advocates have debated…

November 25, 2024

Safer Drug Supply on the Dark Web? It’s Complicated, Researchers Find

Buying drugs on the dark web is often seen as a safer alternative to navigating an unpredictable, adulterated local supply.…

October 25, 2024

Obituaries Experiment Highlights Stigma Against Overdose Victims

Stigma is a powerful force working against the health and safety of people who use drugs. It reduces medical care…

September 10, 2024