Sober spaces in Baltimore are thriving
From coffee shops to music venues, these spaces play an important role in Baltimore as more people experience the city’s unique culture through a sober lens.
Booze-free holidays and the normalization of harm reduction
It's Sober October, and what may seem like a silly holiday is actually a sign of the normalization of harm reduction. Whether it's periods of abstinence or simply cutting back, these campaigns indicate we're getting one step closer.
Advocates call for state regulation of homeless shelters after survey emphasizes inhumane conditions
Complaints cited in the survey included infestations of bedbugs, cockroaches, mice, and rats. There were also reports of brown-colored water coming from showers, toilets and faucets, as well as expired or moldy food and a lack of wheelchair accessibility.
A deeper look into Baltimore's crackdown on its most vulnerable residents
As long as the city disregards the livelihoods of vulnerable residents while fueling drug-war policing and encampment sweeps, death will be the one constant in their communities. And that is unacceptable.
As compassion in Baltimore wavers, support harm reduction journalism
Harm reduction journalism is more important than ever as the media and city officials disregard the livelihoods of those who use drugs.
Harm reduction or drug war? Baltimore wants to have it both ways
Baltimore is reckoning with an unprecedented overdose crisis, but its leaders have failed to embrace harm reduction instead of punitive drug policy. Its reliance on drug-war policing is a recipe for disaster.
Baltimore Overdose-Crisis Meeting Hosts Plan to Arrest More Drug Users
The strategy depicted by BPD's top brass runs contrary to a consensus among public health experts and harm reduction advocates. For decades, they've warned that targeting drug users is futile and potentially deadly.
The Art of Relapse: Shame, Hopelessness and Suicidality
From the moment I used drugs, I knew I'd love them until I died. Yet I never thought I would weaponize them to escape my anguish through irreversible acts of desperation.
International Overdose Awareness Day is a day of remembrance — and a call to action
Tomorrow is not just about those who have died. It's also about those who are currently using in the face of an increasingly lethal drug supply, and what we can do to keep them alive.
Baltimore to distribute naloxone to neighborhood and community associations to curb in-home overdoses
Public health experts have said that naloxone was an important factor in the city’s historic drop in overdose deaths last year, and officials said on Thursday their goal is to get it into the hands of as many people as possible.
Expansion of life-saving medications for opioid use disorder in prisons delayed as access remains a public health threat
There are already concerns that the program, which allows opioid-use disorder medications to be covered by Medicaid, won’t go far enough. The program only covers the medications, which include methadone and buprenorphine, 90 days prior to release.
New data on Baltimore's OD crisis underscores the absurdity of local response
New state data on Baltimore's drug supply and fatal overdoses provides the latest insight into the city's crisis. Deaths are on the decline, yet the cops have opted to crack down — and the drug supply continues to evolve.