Kathleen Cochran

The real crisis isn’t "fentanyl." It’s fear, stigma & misinformation. People who use substances deserve care, not judgement or constant attacks and punishment. It’s time to end the war on people and fight for truth, compassion, and real solutions.

#HarmReduction #EndTheStigma #SupportDontPunish

Why reclassification won’t solve the ketamine crisis A voice from the frontline. Ketamine, harm reduction and the increasing impact of prohibition.

Good piece from @anyoneschild.bsky.social on why reclassifying ketamine to Class A is the wrong approach. #drugpolicy #harmreduction #ketamine

anyoneschild.org/2025/05/why-...

Research Roundup: Incarceration can cause lasting damage to mental health Incarceration can trigger and worsen symptoms of mental illness — and those effects can last long after someone leaves the prison gates.

Great overview of the long-term mental health ramifications of incarceration, even post-release. Yet more reasons why jailing people for personal use drug offenses contradicts the purported goal of reducing harm. #addiction #harmreduction #recoveryposse
www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2021/05...

What’s new in essential harm reduction services across Europe?
We interviewed Iga Jeziorska, lead author of our latest report, to discuss key findings, emerging challenges, and the role of civil society in shaping better services.

Read here: 🔗 buff.ly/3PU16gj

#HarmReduction #MonitoringHREurope

Harm reductionist and friend of HRT Van Asher took a moment to talk about how he sees HRT.🤍 We aim to be a people-over-profit organization every single day. After all, people need to be saved, not profits. Thanks for your words, Van. 💪

Rhode Island's Response to the Overdose Crisis - Humans in Public Health This episode of Humans in Public Health features Professor Alex Macmadu, an epidemiologist who has spent her career studying the opioid and overdose cri...

LISTEN NOW🎙️ Professor @alexmacmadu.bsky.social is originally from West Virginia, the epicenter of the US overdose epidemic. She arrived at Brown in 2010 and has been working to prevent drug-related harms ever since. #harmreductionsaveslives humans-in-public-health.captivate.fm/episode/rhod...

Trump’s Focus on Punishing Drug Dealers May Hurt Drug Users Trying to Quit

"The president’s budget calls for ending grants for 'harm reduction,' a strategy to prevent disease transmission and keep drug users alive that has become largely accepted by mainstream addiction treatment providers."
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/h... #DrugSky #DrugPolicy

New article published in AJDAA by Andrew Ivsins, Christy Sutherland, Thomas Kerr, &Mary Clare Kennedy: "Early experiences and impacts of a fentanyl powder safer supply program in Vancouver, Canada: a qualitative study"

#HarmReduction works!! New study highlights the SAFER program in Vancouver: 72% of participants reduced unregulated drug use after accessing pharmaceutical-grade fentanyl powder—showing promise in tackling the overdose crisis. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Minnesota legislature modifies drug possession laws with new safety bill Minnesota bill decriminalizes small amounts of controlled substances in drug paraphernalia

Minnesota is taking a bold step towards reform by decriminalizing small amounts of controlled substances found in drug paraphernalia!

Click to read more!

#MN #HarmReduction #CriminalJusticeReform #MinnesotaDrugPolicy #PublicHealth #CitizenPortal

Weight of abandoned hope crushes one-time drug harm reduction hero - The Observer TWAIBU WAMALA once coordinated care for 180,000 drug users. Now he watches helplessly as the system collapses around him, writes GEOFREY SERUGO. In a humid Wednesday afternoon in Kampala’s Makindye su...

observer.ug/news/weight-...

#harmreduction

The alternative to naloxone (Narcan) for a fentanyl overdose outside a healthcare facility - where almost all of them in this country occur - is death. Dead people don’t recover. Fentanyl overdose is the leading cause of death for Americans 18-44. Every single fentanyl overdose death is preventable.

Dorsey measure that undermines harm reduction moves forward - 48 hills 'Nobody dies from harm reduction.' Yet, the measure passes 3-0.

48hills.org/2025/04/dors...

a measure that seeks to undermine #harmreduction as a city policy and push “ #abstinence-only” approaches—despite strong testimony from some medical professionals who said the plan would do far more harm than good.

Matt Dorsey, an abstinence-only voice for conservatives who wish it was still the 1980s #sfpolitics #recovery #harmreduction #housingfirst

NEW ODPRN study finds that BOTH Safer Opioid Supply (SOS) & methadone improve health outcomes and play important complementary roles in responding to Canada’s drug toxicity crisis.

odprn.ca/research/pub...

#HarmReduction #SaferSupply

We’re hearing dramatic claims about addiction & crime but many are plausible lies:
“Safe supply = free street drugs.”
“Fentanyl = dealer.”
“Encampments = choice.”
“Life sentences = solution.”
These sound tough, but don’t solve anything.
Evidence-based solutions do. #harmreduction #supportdontpunish

The Safer Bathroom Toolkit - University of Victoria For questions about or feedback on this toolkit, email saferbathrooms@uvic.ca...

As we continue to fill gaps in public health measures aimed at the drug poisoning crisis, the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research provides a Safer Bathroom Toolkit with practical resources to improve how we respond to overdoses in these settings. #harmreduction
www.uvic.ca/research/cen...

Exciting news to share:

I’m starting a new position as Research and Communications Intern (Volunteer) at @idpc.bsky.social.

This is the last chapter in my pursuit of a masters degree; I’m so grateful for the opportunity and excited to learn.

#drugsky

photo of trey helten from the attached article

The loss ... it is neverending and overwhelming.

I'm so very angry and so very sad for the DTES, for everyone in the relatively small #harmreduction community across the country.

vancouversun.com/news/obituar...

HRRC's Dr. Raagini Jawa spoke to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette to discuss a new adulterant in the PA drug supply, #medetomidine. Read the full article here: www.post-gazette.com/news/health/... #harmreduction #xylazine #pittsburgh

YouTube video by Social Justice in Mental Health Research Guiding Principles in Housing and Homelessness: Harm Reduction

Just released today - the next video in our series on the #BridgingTheTransitionFramework for #HomelessnessPrevention. This video focuses on the importance of #HarmReduction in housing and homelessness services. Share broadly in your networks!
youtu.be/idYOQd2Ki20?...

Our children didn’t die because they refused help or didn’t try; they died because of the toxic, unpredictable drug supply. All the treatment in the world can’t protect them from that if the supply remains poisoned. #harmreduction #regulatethestreetsupply

#abpoli #harmreduction

Especially now, it's important to think critically about what is fact and what is opinion. News outlets often include different voices, but that doesn't mean that one loud politician's opinion carries the same weight as a highly trained expert. For medical issues trust the medical experts.

#drugsky

Conclusion: Existing evidence suggests that risks to healthcare professionals from secondary illicit drug exposure can be mitigated. Rigorous research and evaluations on exposure risks would bolster the current literature and inform decision makers. Punishing PWUD fails to address stigma, fails to mitigate safety risks, and is ultimately a barrier to accessing healthcare. Instead of focusing on criminalization and compounding surveillance measures, there is an urgent need to embrace evidence-informed policies that foster collective safety for patients and providers. By shifting away from punitive policies and aligning with a harm reduction approach and evidence-informed practices, a healthcare system that upholds all individuals' dignity, safety, and well-being regardless of their substance use status or professional roles can exist. Harm reduction is healthcare.

By shifting away from punitive policies and aligning with a harm reduction approach and evidence-informed practices, a healthcare system that upholds all individuals' dignity, safety, and well-being regardless of their substance use status or professional roles can exist.

#harmreduction #drugsky

Our Recommendations: Overdose prevention sites (OPS) within or adjacent to hospitals are crucial for providing a safe space for patients to inject and inhale drugs, reducing the risk of overdose death. Implementation of these sites offer several key benefits that include:

Our Recommendations: • Providing a safe and supervised space for people to consume drugs to manage withdrawal symptoms while admitted to hospital • Reducing safety risks through increased environmental and relational controls • Allowing patients who use substances to remain in hospital, ensuring continued access to medical care and support services • Reducing the need for over-surveillance by directly addressing patient needs • Accommodating various methods of drug consumption, including injection and inhalation, addressing diverse needs • Promoting a harm reduction approach that prioritizes the health and well-being of individuals who use drugs

Our Recommendations: We also believe that PWUD and worker safety are not mutually exclusive. Staff have the right to a safe work environment, which is achievable through specific evidence-informed, person-centred strategies that include:

Our Recommendations: • Providing sterile equipment to PWUD, either directly or through the implementation of harm reduction vending machines, and ensuring staff are trained to work with clients on safe methods of administration, in line with established harm reduction knowledge and evidence. • Situating OPS in or adjacent to hospitals with the capacity to support inhalation. This would allow PWUD to consume their substances safely and decrease the need for consumption in common or public areas. • Avoiding making healthcare workers de facto enforcers of public safety. This leads to moral distress and moral injury when enforcing probationary polices that are not patient-centred.

We offer recommendations that that are rooted in evidence, not moral panic over illicit fentanyl. We resist false dichotomies presented as policy options.

See here for our full list of recommendations 👇

💔

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

Exactly what happened to my own daughter after placing her in a therapeutic boarding school as a teen. In for alcohol and came out using Herion and traumatized💔

We are looking forward to this upcoming event from @momsstoptheharm.bsky.social

See you all there??? 😄

#nanaimo
#drugsky
#harmreduction
#careisnotforced

Mexico’s ‘searching mothers,’ alone against the drug cartels and the authorities: ‘We live with more fear than ever’ Five women who are looking for missing family members across Mexico have denounced Claudia Sheinbaum’s failure to address the issue during her presidency. They accuse her of only taking action followi...

Thanks to the failed & deadly war on #drugs: #Mexico’s ‘searching mothers,’ alone against the drug #cartels and the authorities: ‘We live with more fear than ever’ - english.elpais.com/internationa... - #stopthewarondrugs #endprohibition #drugpolicy #harmreduction