healthcare

We Are Nurses, Not Police. The US Methadone System Expects Otherwise.

Recent public attention to police brutality, systemic racism and oppression has brought calls for changes to a policing structure that…

October 7, 2020

“We Will Strap You Down”—A Hospital Illegally Forced Me Into a Detox Ward

It will go easier on you if you cooperate with them," said the nursing assistant sitting beside my bed. Clearly,…

September 30, 2020

Lacking Access to Clean Needles, I Caught a Life-Threatening Blood Infection

A few months ago I caught a life-threatening blood infection from a dirty needle. Well, probably. I don't know that…

September 14, 2020

Canadian Drug Users Need Us Doctors to Step Up With Safe Supply

The tennis player Arthur Ashe once said that to take on a challenge, “start where you are, use what you…

August 24, 2020

Methadone Patients’ Data Poised to Be Entered Into PDMPs

Starting August 14, methadone patients face the very real possibility that their long-protected privacy will be gone. The Substance Abuse…

August 12, 2020

“Trail of Death”—A Short Film About COVID, Nicotine and Racism

This short documentary, concerning COVID-19, smoking, vaping and racism in America, was co-directed by Filter Senior Editor Helen Redmond and…

August 3, 2020

British Columbia’s Troubling Bid to Detain Young People Who Overdose

On June 23, the provincial government of British Columbia announced the first reading of Bill 22, a proposed amendment to…

July 27, 2020

Nursing Homes Discriminate Against Opioid Use Disorder Patients at Alarming Rate

In 2018 alone, nearly four in ten people who were hospitalized in Massachusetts for their opioid use disorder (OUD) were…

July 22, 2020

Navigating the Baffling Systems of Care That Failed My Son

[The following article is excerpted from two chapters of Cover My Dreams in Ink, the author's account of the journey…

July 22, 2020

New Spike in Coronavirus Cases Could Further Worsen Overdose Crisis

As many US jurisdictions have eased pandemic restrictions, new coronavirus cases have been spiking again. At the same time, regions…

June 30, 2020