Media + Culture

Dose Makes the Poison: The “Chemicals” Smear Against Vaping

In 1997, a shocking headline in the Washington Post proclaimed, “DIHYDROGEN MONOXIDE: UNRECOGNIZED KILLER.” The article correctly noted that “DHMO”…

September 22, 2023

No “Epidemic,” But CDC Delivers New Dose of Youth-Vaping Alarmism

Just in time for the new school year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is not letting a…

September 18, 2023

Why I Won’t Celebrate National Recovery Month

It’s National Recovery Month. But I won’t be evangelizing about my recovery, taking the first or any other step on…

September 14, 2023

A Daughter’s Life and Death, Seen Through a Harm Reduction Lens

The book Addicted and Convicted: Letters from a Lost Daughter, published in August, tells the story of how Elizabeth Elliot…

September 6, 2023

Inside a Dutch Smartshop’s Harm Reduction Approach

Three 18-year-old kids shuffle into Herbal Spirit, a smartshop in The Hague, on the Netherlands coast. One of them, clearly…

September 5, 2023

If Fentanyl Were in Fake Adderall Pills, the DEA Would’ve Proved It by Now

On August 25, the New York Office of Public Safety held a briefing ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day. It…

August 28, 2023

Learning to Do HIV Peer Education in the ’90s, by Unlearning What to Say

In the summer of 1992, a few weeks after I'd learned I had HIV, I was down at the local…

August 24, 2023

“We Need Full Legalization”: WI Senator Publishes Marijuana Zine

The top Democrat in the Wisconsin Senate has released a marijuana policy “zine” featuring information and cartoon illustrations about the…

August 22, 2023

Re-Queering Harm Reduction Means Reclaiming Its Grassroots Spirit

When the harm reduction movement emerged, survival was front of mind: Policymakers were leaving drug users, sex workers and queer and…

August 15, 2023

Watch: Former Methadone Clinic Director Slams Culture of Cruelty

One of the most intriguing emails I have ever received hit my inbox in 2021. This, in part, is how…

August 7, 2023