Jack Shuler

Fentanyl doesn’t come from Venezuela and other truths in front of your nose – Matter News Since early September, the Trump administration has ordered nine attacks in international waters, killing at least 37 people on boats that authorities claim without evidence are carrying drugs to be t...

Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that “killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military.”

But U.S. officials saying fentanyl comes from Venezuela doesn’t make it so writes @jackshuler.bsky.social.

matternews.org/voices/fenta...

Fentanyl doesn’t come from Venezuela and other truths in front of your nose – Matter News Since early September, the Trump administration has ordered nine attacks in international waters, killing at least 37 people on boats that authorities claim without evidence are carrying drugs to be t...

Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that “killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military.”

But U.S. officials saying fentanyl comes from Venezuela doesn’t make it so writes @jackshuler.bsky.social.

matternews.org/voices/fenta...

Trump’s Orders Targeting Antifascism Aim to Criminalize Opposition Purporting to go after “domestic terrorism,” the president presents an imagined left-wing conspiracy and authorizes punishments for even tenuous connections to speech the administration doesn’t like. 

If the government carries out Trump’s orders targeting antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization,” it would violate free speech rights. Here’s why: bit.ly/4330Su2

Be bold. Be brave.: Lessons from a visit to the Resistance Museum – Matter News The catalog of harm keeps growing, with new pages added every day. But we are not afraid.

"Do what you can where you are. Look to the institutions around you and participate in them. Be present at local government meetings. Help the vulnerable if you can. And when you are called to do so, protest."

New from @jackshuler.bsky.social.

matternews.org/voices/be-bo...

Be bold. Be brave.: Lessons from a visit to the Resistance Museum – Matter News The catalog of harm keeps growing, with new pages added every day. But we are not afraid.

"Do what you can where you are. Look to the institutions around you and participate in them. Be present at local government meetings. Help the vulnerable if you can. And when you are called to do so, protest."

New from @jackshuler.bsky.social.

matternews.org/voices/be-bo...

How a secret recording of a gender identity lecture upended Texas A&M Officials have struggled to detail the exact reasons for the A&M professor’s termination, citing a technical issue with her course description. Faculty say the move was politically motivated.

The new reality that is emerging in Texas is that certain topics or ideas are simply off the table in the classroom.

The censorship of academic speech and entire fields of knowledge in service to an ideology poses an unprecedented danger to the future of higher education.

#AcademicFreedom

How the poor die – Matter News The story of the overdose crisis is also a story about health care and what happens when people have limited or no access to it.

The story of the overdose crisis is a story about health care, including harm reduction, and what happens when people have limited access to it. It’s a story about what happens when the response to overdose is more often rooted in morals than science.

New from @jackshuler.bsky.social

How the poor die – Matter News The story of the overdose crisis is also a story about health care and what happens when people have limited or no access to it.

The story of the overdose crisis is a story about health care, including harm reduction, and what happens when people have limited access to it. It’s a story about what happens when the response to overdose is more often rooted in morals than science.

New from @jackshuler.bsky.social

A different justice: The HALT Fentanyl Act traffics in fear, not fact – Matter News ‘We know that prohibition itself is what's causing the crisis.’

Susan Ousterman used the word “performative” when describing the HALT Fentanyl Act. ... The law criminalizes more people and spreads stigma and fear of people who use drugs, she said, adding, “We know that prohibition itself is what’s causing the crisis.”

New from @jackshuler.bsky.social.

A different justice: The HALT Fentanyl Act traffics in fear, not fact – Matter News ‘We know that prohibition itself is what's causing the crisis.’

Susan Ousterman used the word “performative” when describing the HALT Fentanyl Act. ... The law criminalizes more people and spreads stigma and fear of people who use drugs, she said, adding, “We know that prohibition itself is what’s causing the crisis.”

New from @jackshuler.bsky.social.

Political choices, political crimes: Harm reduction faces pushback around the world – Matter News Machteld Busz said the ‘tough on crime’ narrative works on voters in the Netherlands, too, despite the country’s long embrace of harm reduction practices.

When I asked Busz directly what she thought of the US approach to substance use in recent years, I got a very direct Dutch reply. “I think it’s a political crime what’s been happening there,” she said. “All these people that died, it’s all preventable.”

New from Jack Shuler.

We have to find each other: Surviving and resisting fascism through communal narratives – Matter News Garth Mullins' new memoir, ‘Crackdown: Surviving and Resisting the War on Drugs,’ avoids the toxic self-made-man myth and embraces the power of community. There are strong lessons in it for this socia...

I just read @jackshuler.bsky.social 's amazing, thoughtful, political review of my book "Crackdown". I'm happy it resonates in USA, particularly at this political moment. Our movements must be international - harm reduction has no country. Ty for the kind words, Jack. matternews.org/voices/we-ha...

We have to find each other: Surviving and resisting fascism through communal narratives – Matter News Garth Mullins' new memoir, ‘Crackdown: Surviving and Resisting the War on Drugs,’ avoids the toxic self-made-man myth and embraces the power of community. There are strong lessons in it for this socia...

Garth Mullins' new memoir, "Crackdown: Surviving and Resisting the War on Drugs," avoids the toxic self-made-man myth and embraces the power of community. There are strong lessons in it for this social and political moment writes @jackshuler.bsky.social.

matternews.org/voices/we-ha...

We have to find each other: Surviving and resisting fascism through communal narratives – Matter News Garth Mullins' new memoir, ‘Crackdown: Surviving and Resisting the War on Drugs,’ avoids the toxic self-made-man myth and embraces the power of community. There are strong lessons in it for this socia...

Garth Mullins' new memoir, "Crackdown: Surviving and Resisting the War on Drugs," avoids the toxic self-made-man myth and embraces the power of community. There are strong lessons in it for this social and political moment writes @jackshuler.bsky.social.

matternews.org/voices/we-ha...

The human cost of cynicism – Matter News Nothing is more cynical than using the passing of people who have died from an overdose as an excuse to launch trade wars while at the same time gutting agencies that support people who use drugs or w...

Nothing is more cynical than using the passing of people who have died from an overdose as an excuse to launch trade wars while at the same time gutting agencies that support people who use drugs or who are addicted.

New from @jackshuler.bsky.social.

matternews.org/voices/the-h...

The human cost of cynicism – Matter News Nothing is more cynical than using the passing of people who have died from an overdose as an excuse to launch trade wars while at the same time gutting agencies that support people who use drugs or w...

Nothing is more cynical than using the passing of people who have died from an overdose as an excuse to launch trade wars while at the same time gutting agencies that support people who use drugs or who are addicted.

New from @jackshuler.bsky.social.

matternews.org/voices/the-h...

Uncertainty around federal funds may hamper efforts  to reduce overdose deaths - The Reporting Project - Covering Licking County, Ohio U.S. has seen a significant drop in overdoses in recent years – but advocates say that could change if feds reduce financial support.

Despite news that overdose is down, harm reduction workers are anxious about how cuts to federal funding will shape the future. #HarmReduction

Uncertainty around federal funds may hamper efforts  to reduce overdose deaths - The Reporting Project - Covering Licking County, Ohio U.S. has seen a significant drop in overdoses in recent years – but advocates say that could change if feds reduce financial support.

Despite news that overdose is down, harm reduction workers are anxious about how cuts to federal funding will shape the future. #HarmReduction

Crowds turn out in drizzle and rain across central Ohio to protest Trump policies and budget cuts - The Reporting Project - Covering Licking County, Ohio A national day of protest in the 50 capitals of the 50 states – including in Columbus – spilled into cities and towns across the country, including in central Ohio. […]

All around Central Ohio, The Reporting Project was there!

Ugh

Life outside of Rat Park – Matter News Overcoming addiction is not always just about finding a community, but the environment certainly can play a crucial role.

Researchers have, of course, critiqued the Rat Park studies. One concern is that they foster a focus on environmental factors above all else. Overcoming addiction is not always just about finding a community. But the environment certainly can exacerbate addictions.

New @jackshuler.bsky.social

Life outside of Rat Park – Matter News Overcoming addiction is not always just about finding a community, but the environment certainly can play a crucial role.

Researchers have, of course, critiqued the Rat Park studies. One concern is that they foster a focus on environmental factors above all else. Overcoming addiction is not always just about finding a community. But the environment certainly can exacerbate addictions.

New @jackshuler.bsky.social

Okay. Hear me out: White House Motors.

Hold on federal funds hits Licking County agencies serving the most vulnerable - The Reporting Project - Covering Licking County, Ohio A pause on federal funding could prevent Licking County agencies from distributing emergency aid to people in need. Money distributed through the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) – a […]

In my own reporting, I've encountered folks who have needed this funding in order to get their family into a hotel for a few nights, to cover the gaps. In the grand scheme of things, it's not a lot of money. But it's an important safety net program that supports folks through vulnerable moments.

Hold on federal funds hits Licking County agencies serving the most vulnerable - The Reporting Project - Covering Licking County, Ohio A pause on federal funding could prevent Licking County agencies from distributing emergency aid to people in need. Money distributed through the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) – a […]

In my own reporting, I've encountered folks who have needed this funding in order to get their family into a hotel for a few nights, to cover the gaps. In the grand scheme of things, it's not a lot of money. But it's an important safety net program that supports folks through vulnerable moments.

What a drug war leaves behind – Matter News Headed by the Trump administration, a reinvigorated drug war will certainly lead to more people in prisons, more militarized law enforcement in the U.S., and more military interventions abroad, but it...

The policies we’ve fostered in this country have harmed not only people who use drugs and their communities but also people in those places where the militaristic opposition to drug trafficking is greatest. And right now, that’s Mexico.

New @jackshuler.bsky.social

matternews.org/voices/what-...

What a drug war leaves behind – Matter News Headed by the Trump administration, a reinvigorated drug war will certainly lead to more people in prisons, more militarized law enforcement in the U.S., and more military interventions abroad, but it...

The policies we’ve fostered in this country have harmed not only people who use drugs and their communities but also people in those places where the militaristic opposition to drug trafficking is greatest. And right now, that’s Mexico.

New @jackshuler.bsky.social

matternews.org/voices/what-...

the military is more in touch with values and reality than a lot of us give em credit for

I owe a debt to HEMA (swordfighting world) for introducing me to a bunch of folks who serve, it’s been eye opening

Walks of Honor: Adam McDaniel’s death leads Maranda Osborne to pursue life-saving work with Adam’s Legacy – Matter News McDaniel’s decision to register as an organ donor helped save three lives in the aftermath of his overdose death. Osborne hopes his story can help save many more.

“When you look and you read who they are ... and [remember] the light that they brought into the world, I feel like it makes a difference. Because when you humanize, it helps to reduce the stigma surrounding drug use. And when we reduce the stigma, we increase the initiative to change things.”

Walks of Honor: Adam McDaniel’s death leads Maranda Osborne to pursue life-saving work with Adam’s Legacy – Matter News McDaniel’s decision to register as an organ donor helped save three lives in the aftermath of his overdose death. Osborne hopes his story can help save many more.

“When you look and you read who they are ... and [remember] the light that they brought into the world, I feel like it makes a difference. Because when you humanize, it helps to reduce the stigma surrounding drug use. And when we reduce the stigma, we increase the initiative to change things.”