Use + Harm Reduction

Baltimore Harm Reduction Grapples With the Crisis

Last week, Baltimore City Councilmember Leon Pinkett saw the usual scene surrounding West Baltimore’s Pennsylvania Ave. and North Ave. The…

March 30, 2020

Estimated 15,000 NYC Methadone Patients to Be Isolated. How Will They Get Meds?

There are about 30,000 methadone patients in New York City, all taking methadone on a daily basis for opioid use…

March 26, 2020

Drug Users in Study: Mixing Meth and Heroin Reduces Comedowns, Boosts Pleasure

Polydrug use is the norm, not the exception. Increased risks are associated with certain combinations, but it matters to understand…

March 26, 2020

A New Jersey Drug Market Falls Silent Amid the Pandemic

There’s an eerie calm as I step off the bus on the corner of Broadway and Straight in Paterson, New…

March 26, 2020

It Took a Pandemic to Improve Some People’s Access to Opioid Addiction Meds

“I’m great! I’m having so much fun!” Bill Kinkle tells me on the phone. His happiness is jarring. After hours…

March 25, 2020

A Canadian Province Doesn’t Want Meth Users at Safe Consumption Sites

In Alberta, Canada, a committee for the provincial Ministry of Health expressed opposition to the province's legal safe consumption sites…

March 24, 2020

PA Liquor Store Closures Put Heavy Drinkers at Risk: Here’s How to Taper

All Pennsylvania liquor stores were closed at 9 pm on March 17 as part of the state’s coronavirus response—in contrast…

March 23, 2020

When Methadone Clinics Support Patients Who Use Marijuana

Methadone patients face many harsh restrictions. Among them, clinics frequently test for and punish cannabis use, including by withdrawing services—even when…

March 23, 2020

How Harm Reduction Is Responding to the Pandemic

In the two weeks since the first coronavirus cases were confirmed in New York City, the harm reduction landscape here…

March 19, 2020

So Alcoholics Anonymous Is “Proven” to Work After All? Not So Fast

Alcoholics Anonymous and its 12 Steps, with their prescription of abstinence, have dominated America’s response to addiction for a half-century…

March 18, 2020