opioids

Methadone Clinics Angry at Bad PR, But Not Afraid of SAMHSA

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) wants to revise outdated guidelines for methadone clinics. The agency issued…

April 4, 2023

Pliny the Elder’s Ancient But Refreshing Take on Opium

Pliny the Elder, a Roman statesman and writer, lived during the 1st Century CE. He died, famously, during the eruption…

March 31, 2023

“Lawmakers Have to Google It”: Inside the Struggle to Regulate Kratom

Dozens of legislatures across the United States are currently weighing how to regulate or ban kratom, a plant with mild…

March 28, 2023

SAMHSA Eyes Budget Boost—and Cutting “Abuse” From Its Name

President Biden has released his budget request for fiscal year 2024, including funding increases for harm reduction programs. It would…

March 15, 2023

Alberta Revokes Pharmacy Access for “High-Potency” Safe Supply Opioids

People with opioid use disorder in Alberta can no longer pick up safe supply medications like hydromorphone from pharmacies, following…

March 7, 2023

How We’re Building Collective Harm Reduction Power in South Carolina

Most harm reduction work plays out in legal gray areas, but in South Carolina that's all we know. There’s no…

March 2, 2023

They Call Me a Drug Seeker. Here’s What Their Opioid Policies Did to Me.

My life changed in a matter of seconds, when in 2010 I sustained a serious spinal injury in a tree-cutting…

February 27, 2023

Canada Claims We Have “Safe Supply.” Here’s What That Actually Looks Like.

I started injecting morphine in 2004. It made my face painfully flushed, and what people often experience as a prickling…

February 13, 2023

As Decriminalization Begins in British Columbia, Activists Watch Warily

British Columbia has officially become the first first province in Canada to decriminalize possession of small quantities of opioids, cocaine,…

January 31, 2023

Heroin Nasal Spray Increases Harm Reduction Options in Switzerland

Back in the 1990s, Switzerland pioneered heroin-assisted treatment—successfully addressing HIV and overdose crises by offering an early form of safe…

January 17, 2023