Overdose Archives

11.07.2018 Heroin, a lighter, and a straw on tinfoil

Undercounting Heroin

Heroin lasts in the human body for just a few minutes before being converted into morphine and other compounds. This complicates the task of a medical examiner trying to identify the substance that caused an overdose death.

Guest Authors Joshua M. Sharfstein, Isabelle Horon

10.22.2018 Black and white photo of bars with a person's silhouette behind them

Opioid Overdose Deaths among the Formerly Incarcerated

The United States has underutilized prevention and treatment strategies in its response to opioid overdose death in people with a history of incarceration.

Guest Author Shabbar I. Ranapurwala

10.04.2018 A box of Narcan (naloxone)

Is There a Risk to Naloxone?

Naloxone is a life-saving intervention used to reverse drug overdose, but critics argue that it increases crime and promotes drug use. Ostrach and colleagues disagree, arguing that withholding it is immoral.

Guest Authors Nathan Mullins, Hillary Brown, Bayla Ostrach

01.16.2018 Black, white, and orange skull candies coming out of a prescription bottle

The Opioid Crisis: Implications for Addiction Management

Prescribing practices cannot fully explain the opioid crisis. An examination of the communities most affected over time suggests a process driven by severe economic strain.

Guest Author Emily Thorn

09.15.2017 Two open handcuffs and key

Chronically Ill and Incarcerated

Recently released inmates are at a high risk of death. The Transitions Clinic Network (TCN) assists former inmates with medical care, mental health and substance use treatment, housing, food, and employment.

Fellow Qing Wai Wong

07.15.2017 "Prepping a rig" - preparing heroin for injection

Moralism, Public Health, and Supervised Injection Facilities

Leonard Glantz compares two health policy decisions based on moralism that led to a failure in harm reduction, arguing that moralism undermines the efforts of public health.

Guest Author Leonard Glantz

07.13.2017 a star shaped badge with a bear

SIFs: The Wrong Message About Drug Use

PHP Fellow Qing Wai Wong spoke with Cory Salzillo, Legislative Director of the California State Sheriffs’ Association, about AB 186, which proposes allowing for the creation of supervised injection facilities in California.

Fellow Qing Wai Wong

07.12.2017 A brick wall with the word addiction written in chalk

We Can Do Better

In the debate on the value of SIFs in the United States, questioning their value must be part of the discussion. Are SIFs enabling drug users, or simply giving up hope on them?

Guest Author Brianne Fitzgerald

07.10.2017 Insite, the first legal supervised injection facility in North America. Photo courtesy Vancouver Coastal Health.

Supervised Injection Facilities: The Time is Now

Senator William Brownsberger, sponsor of a bill to create a framework for the legal operation of supervised injection facilities (SIFs) in Massachusetts, writes the first article in our week-long debate on SIFs.

Guest Author William N. Brownsberger

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