heroin

Six Years Ago, My Cousin Overdosed. What Could Have Saved Her Life?

This is the worst phone call of my life. It wakes me before 7 am on the Tuesday after Labor…

December 17, 2019

Heroin Pipes: How the “Hammer” Was Built for Harm Reduction

A common misconception about people who use heroin is that they all want to get as high as possible, that…

November 25, 2019

Almodóvar and Portman’s New Films Illuminate Love, Heroin and Addiction

Two current films wonder about the nature of addiction—one involving obsessive love, the other heroin use without the usual addictive…

October 10, 2019

Watch: “Not One More!” Harlem Residents on Overdose Deaths

To mark International Overdose Awareness Day, I went out on the streets of Harlem and asked people for their thoughts…

August 31, 2019

NYC Syringe Programs Successfully Serving the Most Vulnerable New Yorkers

New York City's syringe service programs (SSPs) are successfully getting harm reduction resources into the hands of the most vulnerable…

June 19, 2019

NYC Jail Deprived Trans Women of MAT for Years

Between 2015 and 2018, transgender women incarcerated in New York City’s first-of-its-kind Transgender Housing Unit (THU) were deprived of access…

June 13, 2019

Safe Consumption Site in Philly Has 90 Percent Support Among Locals

Communities most impacted by the overdose crisis are more likely to back groundbreaking interventions like safe consumption sites (SCS) in…

June 7, 2019

Vietnam Vets Proved That Addiction Is a Product of Life Circumstances

For most people addiction is situational and of limited duration. In some cases, such as people in war zones, the…

June 5, 2019

I Chose Functional Heroin Use. Here’s How It Works for Me.

Recovery from addiction is different for everyone. In my case, abstinence from heroin didn’t work. Neither did medication. Anonymous meetings,…

May 23, 2019

It’s Time for People With Privilege to Come Out About Their Drug Use

I had a counselor look me in the eye the other week and say, “No drug user can be a…

May 13, 2019