OPC and ‘paraphernalia’ decrim bills miss key deadline in Maryland
The bills have failed to gain traction in the Democrat-controlled legislature despite ardent support from public health experts and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott.
Baltimore's open-air drug market problem is a 'public nuisance' it helped create
In this week's Redux Newsletter, it's important to set the record straight on open-air drug markets — why they're here and how they're addressed.
Cash rules everything in cities' responses to the OD crisis
For this week's Redux Newsletter, I spent seven hours in a courtroom listening to pharma bro lawyers defend massive opioid distributors — and survived.
Baltimore’s first overdose response chief endorses OPC and safe supply
Sara Whaley praised the important work being done by the city’s existing harm reduction infrastructure. However, she emphasized there is more that can be done to save lives.
Harm reductionists flood Annapolis to push for drug policy reform
For this week's Redux Newsletter, I spent a whole day shadowing harm reduction advocates in Annapolis. They're a rowdy bunch.
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Lived experience is crucial in guiding Baltimore’s overdose crisis response, new board members say
Mayor Brandon Scott swore in 20 members of the city’s new Opioid Restitution Advisory Board last week, eight of whom were chosen because of their personal history with substance use disorder and overdose.
Petty politics in the epicenter of the OD crisis
Welcome to the first edition of the Mobtown Redux newsletter. Let's talk about some political theater.
Introducing Mobtown Redux, a Baltimore-based harm reduction newsletter
This marks a new chapter of harm reduction journalism in the epicenter of the overdose crisis.
Baltimore OD deaths plummeted in 2024, but Black residents still bear the brunt of crisis
Data released by the Maryland Department of Health last week showed Baltimore recorded 680 deaths in 2024, a 35% decrease from the year prior.
Baltimore harm reduction orgs fear funding cuts, ramped-up drug war under Trump
“All of the moves this administration is talking about implementing spell death for the people we serve,” said Candy Kerr, spokesperson and policy advocate for the Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition.
Maryland Health Department approved for pre-release SUD treatment through Medicaid
The move allows the state to begin providing targeted Medicaid services for incarcerated individuals who have substance use disorders or serious mental illnesses.