Alex Kral

We’ll never be able to keep drugs out of neighborhoods.

Better to focus on helping people be their best selves.

Homeless Sweeps Can Be More Humane, Experts Say. It Isn’t Easy Some localities are addressing street homelessness with a new approach, which experts say can clear encampments while protecting the health of people who are forced to move.

Some localities are addressing street homelessness with a new approach, which experts say can clear encampments while protecting the health of people who are forced to move.

Collaboration, conversation, and community — exactly what makes #AMERSA2025 so special.

Prevalence and Predictors of Staff Burnout and Shortages among Syringe Services Programs in the United States, 2023 High levels of burnout have been a persistent experience of healthcare workers, which can have cascading impacts of staff turnover and shortages. We e…

Our new article showing the immense problem of staff burnout and shortages among US SSPs. 58% and 43% of US SSPs reported staff burnout and shortages, respectively. Law enforcement harassment associated with burnout and shortages.
@alexkral.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

What with all this newfound efficiency through technology, increasing unemployment, and more money in pockets of corporations’ leadership, seems like a SHORTER WORKWEEK and more PTO are in order!

SB 829: California Institute for Scientific Research: CalRx Initiative: vaccines. | Digital Democracy Digital Democracy overview of bill SB 829: California Institute for Scientific Research: CalRx Initiative: vaccines.

calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202...

Sadly lost me before I could dig into this piece. Love the general sentiment. Not here for “geriatric” and “felon” derogatory bullets. Let’s en-courage everyone.

What’s the poison?

Drug decriminalization policy under the microscope in the United States: crime data considerations to inform future research When voters passed the 2020 Ballot Measure 110 (M110), the U.S. State of Oregon changed course from a criminal legal system response to a health-cente…

Our new article led by @hopesmileymcd.bsky.social in IJDP on using crime data to evaluate drug policies like partial drug decriminalization in Oregon @barrotlambdin.bsky.social Pam Lattimore Ian Silver Mark Pope Sean Wire www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

4/4 Medical examiners and coroners need more funding to ensure our nation’s death data are valid. Follow @hopesmileymcd.bsky.social for her vital research in this area.

Toxicology Testing in the United States: What the 2018 Census of Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices Tells Us Abstract. In 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) published results for the 2018 Census of Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices (CMEC) that pr

3/4 At a time when the overdose mortality crisis was hitting its stride in 2018, over one in 10 MECs reported not having access to toxicology services, suggesting a key gap in death and early drug surveillance data. academic.oup.com/jat/advance-...

Technology use among the nation’s medical examiner and coroner offices: Data from the 2018 Census of Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices Technology uses among medical examiner and coroner (MEC) offices in the United States are not well characterized, yet technology is essential to job-p…

2/4 MECs are increasingly asked to participate in state & national surveillance programs yet only 43% of MECs have a computerized recordkeeping system & 25% lack office Internet access. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The impacts of governing agency: A comparison of resources in the patchwork of medicolegal death investigation systems In the United States, medical examiners and coroners (MECs) fill critical roles within our public health and public safety systems. These professional…

Governments at all levels make decisions based on medical examiner/coroner (MEC) data. A national study showed that these offices had an annual median budget of $68K. A thread - 1/4 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Headshots of plenary presenters, Hillary Kunins, Md, MPH, MS; O'Nesha Cochrane-Dumas, AAS, BSW, CRM, PSS; Dan Hoover, MD; and Alex Kral, for the Measure 110 session

Planning is well underway for another exciting AMERSA conference this year! Join us on Thursday, 11/13 for the opening session on Oregon's Measure 110 featuring insights from experts across disciplines. Conference registration opens in June. amersa.org/annual-confe... @alexkral.bsky.social

Lombardo seeks to turn back time on criminal justice reforms • Nevada Current Lombardo's bill is introduced on the heels of the revelation that the Nevada Department of Corrections has a $53 million budget deficit.

The bill’s introduction comes on the heels of the revelation that the Nevada Department of Corrections has a $53 million budget deficit.

“You take care of people, people will take care of you”: Moral Economies and an Unpredictable Drug Market Introduction Fentanyl is the leading cause of opioid-related overdose deaths in the United States. Given the exogenous market shock of fentanyl and subsequent transition in the illicit opioid supply, ...

Checkout this new manuscript at PLOS: dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour... by Erin Gould, Siddhi Ganesh, Anthony DiMario, Jimi Huh, Rachel Carmen Ceasar and @rnbluthenthal.bsky.social Shows how #fentanyl disrupts efforts among people who use drugs to support each other.

Man Spends Afternoon Volunteering Opinions About The Homeless

Man Spends Afternoon Volunteering Opinions About The Homeless
theonion.com/man-spe...

S.F.’s response to drug dealing could lead to more overdoses A new study suggests drug seizures lead to more overdoses. Should this change SF’s approach to the crisis on our streets?

NEW for @sfchronicle.com: A study dropped today showing that in San Francisco, overdoses increase in areas where police have seized drugs. We're seeing this in real time: As law enforcement efforts have ramped up in recent months, fatal overdoses have risen. That's not a coincidence. (gift link)

At the National AIDS Memorial Grove this evening in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

NIH Grants Fueled $95 Billion In FY 2024 Economic Activity, Finds New Report National Institutes of Health grants generated almost $95 billion in economic activity nationwide in FY 2024 according to a new report by United for Medical Research.

New report shows that NIH grants fueled $95 billion in economic activity and 407,782 jobs in 2024.

That's not to mention the countless lives that biomedical research has saved.

Show me a better investment than that.
www.forbes.com/sites/michae...

NIH funding delivers exponential economic returns — Harvard Gazette Report finds all 50 states reap gains in patient health, job creation, research resources, business development.

In fiscal year 2024, the report found, NIH awarded more than $36.9 billion to researchers, supporting more than 408,000 jobs and generating over $94.5 billion in new economic activity nationwide.

news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Housing assistance among people who are unstably housed and use drugs in Oregon: a cross-sectional study - PubMed We found a large gap in housing assistance for people who use drugs in Oregon and identified several factors associated with obtaining housing assistance. Our findings can inform future interventions ...

“We found a large gap in housing assistance for people who use drugs in Oregon” @estherchung.bsky.social @morgangodvin.bsky.social @barrotlambdin.bsky.social in BMC Pub Health pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39988688/

“Recriminalizing”

The article lays out the long history well. And the influx of money. It falls a little short in considering what may have impacted this recent surge, which is the main stated topic. I agree with prioritizing serious felony cases. Also curious about the sociodemographics of people on waitlist.

Would have been enlightening to see if there is a link to HB4002, decriminalizing possession of drugs, which has burdened the system even more by increasing arrests hugely since September 2024.

If the drug war was succeeding, then drug seizures would be getting smaller and smaller until they disappeared entirely.

Instead the size and value of drug seizures always continues to grow. This is an obvious sign of complete failure.

Providing safer smoking supplies is about engaging more people in needed health services

Association of safer smoking supply distribution with participant encounters and naloxone distribution from syringe services programs: Findings from the National Survey of Syringe Services Programs in... In response to the recent and growing shift from injecting heroin to smoking fentanyl, an increasing number of syringe services programs (SSPs) in the…

Our new study found 44% of syringe services programs (SSPs) distributed safer smoking supplies in 2022. SSPs distributing supplies had more participant encounters and naloxone distribution. Safer smoking supplies are a key tool to connect people who use drugs to life-saving services.

Infographic outlining job & compensation of an incarcerated fire crew member

Infographic explaining the danger of being an incarcerated fire crew member

As wildfires blaze in California, we're reminded of the incarcerated people who are deployed to fight them – an extremely dangerous job that pays just dollars per day.

Kinda gotta depend on how long between vet visits.