Media + Culture

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

Everyone in Prison Needs a Hustle. For a Small Fee, I’ll Help You Find Yours.

When you enter the men's prison system in Tennessee, you receive two blue, smock-like shirts and two matching pairs of…

September 9, 2024

Fentanyl Doomsday Prepping

On August 26, pharmaceutical manufacturer Indivior announced that it had begun supplying the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)…

August 27, 2024

The DEA Is Using Matthew Perry’s Death to Fuel Its Drug War

The Drug Enforcement Administration says it will be heavily scrutinizing doctors who prescribe ketamine for mental health purposes in the…

August 27, 2024

Everyone I Know on Parole Is Vaping

Nobody ever really talked about cigarette alternatives in prison. Tobacco is abundantly available to anyone in Georgia Department of Corrections…

August 21, 2024

The Headlines Doing Fentanyl Math Will Always Be Wrong

Back when I was at the science desk at Newsweek, they used to bring in young reporters on $38,000 a…

August 6, 2024

Social Media Bill Passed by Senate Threatens Harm Reduction and More

Senate Democrats and Republicans came together to decisively approve the “Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act.” Proponents describe it as a…

August 6, 2024

SAMHSA’s National Drug Use Survey Still Has a Fentanyl Problem

On July 30, the Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration released its annual survey on substance use, mental illness,…

July 31, 2024

Joe Camel Wasn’t Why I Started Smoking. Or Even Smoking Camels.

In the late 1980s, Joe Camel was my guy. My first incentive to smoke Camels was economic. I hadn't preferred…

July 30, 2024

Child Drug Exposure Cases, and the Vilification of Parents Who Use Drugs

The woman, flanked by detectives in the video, hangs her head as they cuff her. “It never should have happened,”…

July 22, 2024