Chelsea L. Shover, PhD

Cities Move Away From Strategies That Make Drug Use Safer

Drug Checking Los Angeles makes a guest appearance in this great piece in the NYT today about the misguided war on harm reduction, where the casualties will be your kids and neighbors. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/h...

Officials’ calculations about millions of potential deaths are generally based on the amount of fentanyl that would likely be lethal to someone who had no acquired tolerance for the drug. But “the people buying and using fentanyl mostly have a tolerance” because “most people who use illicitly manufactured fentanyl do so on purpose, repeatedly,” said Chelsea Shover, an epidemiologist who is associate professor-in-residence at the University of California, Los Angeles medical school. So while some Americans do die from accidentally consuming fentanyl while trying to use other substances, Shover said in an email, the quantity of fentanyl required for most users to fatally overdose is “much higher” than the supposed lethal dose officials tend to use in their “enough to kill” math.

Back at it w/ the REAL basic quotes. Got to tell CNN:

“Most people who use illicitly manufactured fentanyl do so on purpose, repeatedly."

edition.cnn.com/2025/10/08/p...

Health Canada issues its position on acetaminophen-during pregnancy. recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-rec...

Use of paracetamol during pregnancy unchanged in the EU | European Medicines Agency (EMA) Paracetamol medicines can be used in pregnancy, in accordance with official recommendations

Paracetamol remains an important option to treat pain or fever in pregnant women.

Following rigorous assessment of the available scientific data, we find no evidence that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children.

Read more 👉 www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/use-...

I'm gonna need anyone who has not been pregnant to lay off telling pregnant people to "tough it out"

Thank you, everyone who came out to hear the brilliant @maxjordan.bsky.social, @morgangodvin.bsky.social @chelsealshover.bsky.social, and me chat about #LiberateMethadone. It shouldn't be easier to get the poison than the cure. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/781015...

Tonight! LA friends, come see us for what promises to be a fun night of harm reduction discussion! @melodyglenn.bsky.social @morgangodvin.bsky.social @maxjordan.bsky.social

Got promoted - as of today I'm an Associate Professor!

Reflecting on the decade since I started working as an epidemiologist and how dramatically global public health has changed in that time.

WHAT!!! Who is this? Mine is Peaches

And congratulations to @josephrfriedman.bsky.social for winning a poster award.

And then Drug Checking Los Angeles today: awesome project director @caitlinmolina.medsky.social and superstar collaborator @josephrfriedman.bsky.social had posters on the odd things we've been seeing in illicit drugs. Quetiapine (Seroquel) in heroin...Local anesthetics ('caines) in the fentanyl.

Had a great time yesterday giving an opening talk at ASAM 2025 for the Pain & Addictions Common Threads course.

Very proud to announce the Department of Health will now process all requests to change gender designation on birth certificates within three business days. Previously, there was as much as a 10 month wait.

‘One of the larger mysteries I’ve ever seen’: Industrial chemical found in illicit fentanyl | CNN The drug supply is constantly evolving, and some experts suggest that a “fourth wave” of the opioid epidemic is underway, in which illicit fentanyl is more frequently mixed with other drugs.

Drug Checking Los Angeles and yours truly are in CNN today, talking about the sudden, baffling appearance of an industrial chemical in the fentanyl supply. www.cnn.com/2025/02/12/h...

UV Stabilizer BTMPS in the Illicit Fentanyl Supply in 9 US Locations This study characterizes the presence of bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl) sebacate (BTMPS) in the illicit fentanyl supply in 9 US locations.

Over just a few months, a puzzling new adulterant popped up in the fentanyl supply.

Today in @jama.com, our drug checking results show the sudden (and much-despised) appearance of BTMPS.

Not a spoiler: It’s a great mystery of my career! ja.ma/4hsgRqW

Figure. Percentages of Samples Sold as Fentanyl That Contained BTMPS

Bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl) sebacate (BTMPS), a chemical not approved for human consumption, was frequently detected in illicit fentanyl samples across 9 US locations.

ja.ma/4hsgRqW

#MedSky

Got (most of) the lab together for annual health services symposium! @morgangodvin.bsky.social @caitlinmolina.medsky.social

Best thing about being a PI is building a team. Bright moment in a dark week for US science.

🚨🚨 Abstract deadline for #ISSDP2025 extended to January 31

Many thanks to those who have already submitted. Am impressed with so many of these abstracts!

For those who haven't submitted, please consider joining us. Scholarships available 👇

One of the best experiences of my life was doing a working holiday in New Zealand in my early 20s. Easy visa to get online, a year, and other countries also have, usually for ppl under 30. Always down to chat answer what questions I can about the process.

Holly jolly, folly

Now, with co-infection, he is having some of the exact outcomes the vaccine reduces. So anyway, here's my public health pitch to help not have more kids go through this!

Last fall, when the vaccine was finally in stock (I was calling places repeatedly, ha) and we scheduled an appointment, sure enough, had to cancel because he had RSV. This fall, he was older and not high risk...plus he had it once last year. But risk calculation is imperfect.

My kiddo has been previously healthy, through daycare gamut of colds and even RSV last year. And this is so scary, sad, and disruptive. I was so excited when RSV vaccine got approved, but I **just** missed it for pregnancy and it wasn't in stock anywhere when my kid was under 8 months.

At the moment, my family is on day-5 of toddler being hospitalized w/ RSV & parainfluenza. It's terrible. He's having a rough time. Improving, but still on supplemental oxygen and a bunch of other meds. (Photo from right before we trialed coming down from high flow).

Friendly neighborhood epidemiologist reminding you that babies, some toddlers, and older adults can and should get an RSV vaccine!

NIDA Workshop on Innovative Applications of Geospatial Data Science in Drug Use Research This workshop’s goal is to bring together research communities in the forefront of leveraging geospatial data science to present and discuss opportunities to apply geospatial data science to improve o...

Had the wonderful opportunity earlier this week to talk about our R01's overdose/services mapping work in Los Angeles at a NIDA geospatial methods workshop
videocast.nih.gov/watch=55462

My bit starts at 3:05.

Scientists, academics, researchers: We’re excited to share that @altmetric.com is now tracking mentions of your research on Bluesky! 🧪

California's protections for transgender care could be tested under Trump Donald Trump's return to the White House could undermine access to gender-affirming care in California, advocates and others say, despite vows by lawmakers to protect it.

California’s protections for gender-affirming care for transgender people could be tested under a second Trump administration. Here’s what experts and advocates are anticipating: www.latimes.com/california/s...

A hairless cat reclines gorgeously

Not enough hairless cats on my timeline tbh

Drug Overdose Deaths Are Declining Due to Changes in the Drug Supply Experts are puzzling over which interventions are saving lives. The evolving illicit supply itself may hold important clues.

Drug Checking Los Angeles in @nytimes.com article on how changes to the illicit drug supply may be (part of) the reason US overdose deaths declined in 2023

www.nytimes.com/2024/11/21/h...

#harmreduction #drugchecking #drugpolicy