Harm Reduction for Fentanyl Is Now Everyday Life

People who use drugs have started dying from accidental drug overdoses. For many of them, they believed they were taking Molly, Oxycontin, or another pill bought from an online drug dealer. Sadly, just one pill has led to many overdose deaths. People have begun to gather in person; overdoses seem to have accelerated. Many concerned parents and community members now carry Narcan to help reverse an overdose in progress. And now, in New York, determined drug users test their drugs to see if they’re tainted with fentanyl.

Fentanyl Is In Almost Every Street Drug

The pandemic has hung over an increasingly unsettled population for the past three years. The pandemic brought about economic issues and inflation. Some people lost members of their families. News stories are still permeated about how COVID has reshaped us. This includes how people buy …

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Gov. Newsom Vetoes Safe Injection Sites Bill

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This week, Governor Newsom vetoed a bill that would have legalized “safe injection sites” in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland.  The program would have provided space, employed clinical workers, and provided harm reduction supplies and services for people who use injected drugs like heroin.

The centers would also offer a pathway to recovery, with information on drug treatment, access to MAT, and other necessary addiction recovery resources.

What Would The Injection Site Legislation Entail?

The legislation would have legalized supervised injection sites in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland. The program, meant to provide safety and help prevent overdoses, would have been in place through 2027, when the bill would need to be passed again. Fentanyl, a drug that has caused the bulk of overdoses throughout the past few years, could have been tested for at the sites.…

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Fentanyl Overdoses Among The Young Are Killing

Young people are getting back together in real life, and with that socializing comes new experiences. Kids are being kids, pushing boundaries, partying, and rebelling. Snapchat, TikTok, and other apps put things like Molly pills and other club drugs in their hands overnight. Many of the drug dealers drop off packages in mailboxes at night. And the drug users, aged as young as fourteen or as old as in their 30s, don’t have the experience or know-how to test their drugs for fentanyl. And due to their lack of opioid exposure, this leads to overdoses – and death. Teens and young adults are overdosing at record rates.

Why Are Drugs Tainted With Fentanyl?

Nobody knows just one reason for drugs being tainted with fentanyl. Often the powder for club drugs and opioids comes from overseas. Drug dealers may mix the …

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Biden Allocates $30 Million To Harm Reduction Efforts

The Department of Health and Human Services recently announced a federal grant focused on community-based harm reduction services, supporting groups that help provide Naloxone and other vital tools to people with substance use disorder.

The grant, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is the first of its kind. Conservatives have been skeptical of the usefulness of harm reduction efforts. The funds, meant to help prevent overdoses and needle-spread diseases, have come under scrutiny almost as soon as they were announced. There is still much stigma and misunderstanding surrounding addiction and recovery.

What Is Harm Reduction?

Typically, harm reduction efforts are focused on the deadliest drugs, such as fentanyl and heroin. When targeting opioid users, the focus is on preventing death and disease. Some efforts, like needle exchange programs, have been around for ages. Unfortunately, many …

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