Ju Park, PhD

An Invisible Crisis: Brain Injury From Non-Fatal Overdose People who survive overdoses are far more likely to have a brain injury than the general population. I've been wondering if that includes me.

Definitely understudied!

Trump signs bill with harsher penalties for dealers of fentanyl variants The legislation does not extend to addiction treatment, which the Trump administration has cut in its broader quest to curb federal spending.

President Trump signed into law bipartisan legislation permanently classifying fentanyl-like substances among the most dangerous drugs — an effort to increase punishments for drug traffickers and curb the opioid epidemic.

With this vote, Congress makes ICE the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency in history, with more money per year at its disposal over the next four years than the budgets of the FBI, DEA, ATF, US Marshals, and Bureau of Prisons combined.

Opinion | How to Wreck the Nation’s Health, by the Numbers The administration's cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services are going to do irreparable harm to the nation’s health.

“While Robert F. Kennedy Jr., America’s health secretary, makes a spectacle of his plans to make America healthier (a laudable goal), in actuality, the administration is kneecapping the very infrastructure that would make that feasible and is instead enacting policies that will compromise health.”

An Interview With A Terminated Analyst At The Substance Abuse And Mental Health Administration | Defector Joy Binion learned that she had lost her job as a social science analyst at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, on April 1. So she posted on Facebook that she…

An interview with a terminated analyst at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: defector.com/an-interview...

Medicaid cuts would devastate mental health, substance use treatment services in red states Though behavioral health conditions do not discriminate between Democrats and Republicans, the Medicaid cuts may be particularly damaging for residents of red states.

Medicaid’s the largest payer of addiction and mental health services in the U.S. and used at higher rates in red states. Trump's budget bill put these communities at greater risk of losing these lifesaving services at a time when they’re needed most. www.statnews.com/2025/06/12/m...

Behind a blurred image of a woman’s face is a stylized sign of a man’s face and the word KILMAR. A headline reads: "Abrego Garcia Is Returned to U.S. From El Salvador." Photo by Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times.

Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the man at the center of a legal maelstrom after the Trump administration mistakenly deported him to El Salvador, has returned to the U.S., Attorney General Pam Bondi said. https://trib.al/d3PBfr0

Help Us Free Paige! Help 901 Harm Reduction reach their goal by donating or sharing with your friends.

Help us free Paige!
She is a wonderful PhD student and harm reduction worker in TN. Please donate if you are able

www.paypal.com/donate?campa...

Harvard Sues Trump Administration Over Move to Bar International Students

Harvard has just sued the Trump administration less than 24 hours after losing the ability to enroll foreign students. They are seeking a temporary restraining order immediately.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/23/u...

Super concerning news

US drug overdose deaths saw an unprecedented drop in 2024, but federal cuts could threaten momentum | CNN Drug overdose deaths in the United States made an unprecedented drop to the lowest they’ve been in five years, according to a new federal government estimate released Wednesday.

US drug overdose deaths dropped last year by 27%, but experts warn federal cuts could threaten that progress

@pphcollective.bsky.social @drugpolicy.org @defendpublichealth.bsky.social @brownmedicine.bsky.social @brownpublichealth.bsky.social

A screenshot of the termination notice showing "Outstanding Investigator Grants"

A screenshot of the termination notice with "This award is terminated effective the date of this award, due to unsafe antisemitic actions that suggest the institution lacks concern for the safety and wellbeing of Jewish students." highlighted

Yesterday, the NIH R35 “Outstanding Investigator” grant to fund scientists in my lab studying antibiotic resistance was terminated for reasons not related to the content of the science, or any actions taken by me or members of my lab

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

Thank you Jan Hoffman for featuring our letter in your story!
@drugpolicynerds.bsky.social
@chadsabora.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/h...

Opinion | I Came to Study Aging. Now I’m Trapped in ICE Detention.

America is intentionally squandering our global scientific advantage by persecuting academics and researchers. There is beauty and wonder in the quest for scientific understanding, and we should be helping that curiosity bloom, not crushing it under jackboots.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/o...

@pphcollective.bsky.social

@amersa.org

@chriskahlerphd.bsky.social

Experts warn Congress cuts to addiction funding will mean more overdose deaths A broad coalition of addiction experts wants Congress to maintain healthcare funding for the nation's response to fentanyl and other street drugs.

This Open Letter from addiction and mental health experts was sent late Monday evening to congress! Major to SAMHSA, CDC and HRSA are unacceptable #fentanyl
@jencarroll.bsky.social @chadsabora.bsky.social @brownpublichealth.bsky.social
@defendpublichealth.bsky.social
www.npr.org/2025/05/13/n...

Tufts student detained by US immigration authorities must be released, judge rules A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to release a Tufts University student from Turkey who has been held for over six weeks in a Louisiana immigration detention facility after she co-wrote an opinion piece criticizing her school's response to Israel's war in Gaza.

Justice prevails!
www.reuters.com/world/us/tuf...

Baltimore Banner wins Pulitzer Prize for coverage of overdose crisis The Baltimore Banner was awarded the Pulitzer Prize on Monday for groundbreaking local journalism that exposed Baltimore as the deadliest large city in the nation for drug overdoses.

Go Baltimore Banner! @thebaltimorebanner.com

www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/lo...

Research Builds Our Future With discoveries in areas ranging from health and medicine, to science and technology, to security, engineering and economics, researchers at Brown generate real solutions for real people today and in...

I am extremely proud to be a member of the Brown community 💛

www.brown.edu/brown-research

Test Strips Do Tell You If Xylazine Is Present, But Prone to False Positives Researchers find that xylazine test strips are powerful harm reduction tools, but have some significant limitations to be aware of.

"All 7 test strips reliably detected the presence of xylazine, even at very small doses and under extreme conditions," reports Sydney Sauer of a new study.

"However, they also frequently produced false positives when exposed to a range of common drugs."

Sign the Petition Free Rumeysa Ozturk Now!

www.change.org/p/free-rumey...

Mohsen Mahdawi wearing a keffiyeh scarf as he stands atop a platform, surrounded by people. The text reads: "Columbia Student Who Was Arrested at Citizenship Interview Is Freed." Photo by Bing Guan for The New York Times.

Breaking News: Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student and organizer of the pro-Palestinian movement, was freed from federal custody on Wednesday after ICE tried to rescind his green card and deport him. nyti.ms/4iGIa0m

Trump budget draft ends Narcan program and other addiction measures.

Let’s not lose the hard-won progress of the past four years. #naloxone is a lifesaving and cost-effective intervention 🙏

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/04...

Why Has America Ignored Its Best Addiction Treatment? Buprenorphine can stop cravings for opioids, yet its uptake in the U.S. has stagnated.

I love it when family and friends share interesting articles on #opioid addiction with me! Keep them coming!

www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...

Van Hollen’s demand: Bring back deported Maryland father or I’m going to El Salvador The senator’s declaration comes on the heels of news over the weekend from Trump officials confirming that the man, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, remains confined in a prison in El Salvador.

Van Hollen’s demand: Bring back deported Maryland father or I’m going to El Salvador www.thebaltimorebanner.com/politics-pow...