it's a good thing when someone shoots up with a clean needle.
it's a good thing when someone carries Narcan, whether they use drugs themselves or not.
it's a good thing when someone switches from using laced drugs to clean drugs.
it's a good thing when someone starts using only one drug at a time.
it's a good thing when someone goes on medication assisted treatment like suboxone, methadone, or amphetamines.
it's a good thing when someone reduces their spending on substances, or the frequency of their drug use.
it's a good thing when someone gets regular tests for STIs.
it's a good thing when someone is using with friends instead of using alone.
people who use drugs don't have to be abstinent to take better care of ourselves. any positive change we make around our substance use should be encouraged and accepted, never stigmatized or dismissed!
After decades of devastating increases driven by fentanyl and other toxic street drugs, overdose deaths are dropping sharply in much of the
"For the first time in decades, public health data shows a sudden and hopeful drop in drug overdose deaths across the U.S.
"This is exciting," said Dr. Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute On Drug Abuse [NIDA], the federal laboratory charged with studying addiction. "This looks real. This looks very, very real."
National surveys compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already show an unprecedented decline in drug deaths of roughly 10.6 percent. That's a huge reversal from recent years when fatal overdoses regularly increased by double-digit percentages.
Some researchers believe the data will show an even larger decline in drug deaths when federal surveys are updated to reflect improvements being seen at the state level, especially in the eastern U.S.
"In the states that have the most rapid data collection systems, we’re seeing declines of twenty percent, thirty percent," said Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta, an expert on street drugs at the University of North Carolina.
According to Dasgupta's analysis, which has sparked discussion among addiction and drug policy experts, the drop in state-level mortality numbers corresponds with similar steep declines in emergency room visits linked to overdoses.
Dasgupta was one of the first researchers to detect the trend. He believes the national decline in street drug deaths is now at least 15 percent and could mean as many as 20,000 fewer fatalities per year.
"Today, I have so much hope"
After years of wrenching drug deaths that seemed all but unstoppable, some researchers, front-line addiction workers, members of law enforcement, and people using street drugs voiced caution about the apparent trend.
Roughly 100,000 deaths are still occurring per year. Street drug cocktails including fentanyl, methamphetamines, xylazine and other synthetic chemicals are more poisonous than ever.
"I think we have to be careful when we get optimistic and see a slight drop in overdose deaths," said Dan Salter, who heads a federal drug interdiction program in the Atlanta-Carolinas region. "The last thing we want to do is spike the ball."
But most public health experts and some people living with addiction told NPR they believe catastrophic increases in drug deaths, which began in 2019, have ended, at least for now. Many said a widespread, meaningful shift appears underway.
"Some of us have learned to deal with the overdoses a lot better," said Kevin Donaldson, who uses fentanyl and xylazine on the street in Burlington, Vermont.
According to Donaldson, many people using fentanyl now carry naloxone, a medication that reverses most opioid overdoses. He said his friends also use street drugs with others nearby, ready to offer aid and support when overdoses occur.
He believes these changes - a response to the increasingly toxic street drug supply - mean more people like himself are surviving.
"For a while we were hearing about [drug deaths] every other day. When was the last one we heard about? Maybe two weeks ago? That's pretty few and far between," he said.
His experience is reflected in data from the Vermont Department of Health, which shows a 22 percent decline in drug deaths in 2024.
"The trends are definitely positive," said Dr. Keith Humphreys, a nationally respected drug policy researcher at Stanford University. "This is going to be the best year we've had since all of this started."
"A year ago when overdose deaths continued to rise, I was really struggling with hope," said Brad Finegood, who directs the overdose crisis response in Seattle.
Deaths in King County, Washington, linked to all drugs have dropped by 15 percent in the first half of 2024. Fatal overdoses caused by street fentanyl have dropped by 20 percent.
"Today, I have so much hope," Finegood said.
-via NPR, September 18, 2024. Article continues below with an exploration of the whys (mostly unknown) and some absolutely fucking incredible statistics.
Why the sudden and hopeful shift? Most experts say it's a mystery
While many people offered theories about why the drop in deaths is happening at unprecedented speed, most experts agreed that the data doesn't yet provide clear answers.
Some pointed to rapid improvements in the availability and affordability of medical treatments for fentanyl addiction. "Expansion of naloxone and medications for opioid use disorder — these strategies worked," said Dr. Volkow at NIDA.
"We've almost tripled the amount of naloxone out in the community," said Finegood. He noted that one survey in the Seattle area found 85 percent of high-risk drug users now carry the overdose-reversal medication.
Dr. Rahul Gupta, the White House drug czar, said the drop in drug deaths shows a path forward.
"This is the largest decrease on record and the fifth consecutive month of recorded decreases," he said.
Gupta called for more funding for addiction treatment and healthcare services, especially in Black and Native American communities where overdose deaths remain catastrophically high.
"There is no way we're going to beat this epidemic by not focusing on communities that are often marginalized, underserved and communities of color," Gupta said.
"Overdose deaths in Ohio are down 31 percent"
Indeed, in many states in the eastern and central U.S. where improvements are largest, the sudden drop in drug deaths stunned some observers who lived through the darkest days of the fentanyl overdose crisis.
"This year overdose deaths [in Ohio] are down 31 percent," said Dennis Couchon, a harm reduction activist. "The deaths were just plummeting. The data has never moved like this."
"While the mortality data for 2024 is incomplete and subject to change, Ohio is now in the ninth consecutive month of a historic and unexpected drop in overdose deaths," said the organization Harm Reduction Ohio in a statement.
Missouri is seeing a similar trend that appears to be accelerating. After dropping by 10 percent last year, preliminary data shows drug deaths in the state have now fallen roughly 34 percent in the second quarter of 2024.
"It absolutely seems things are going in the right direction, and it's something we should feel pleased about," said Dr. Rachel Winograd, director of addiction science at the University of Missouri St. Louis, who also noted that drug deaths remain too high.
"It feels wonderful and great," said Dr. Mark Levine, head of the Vermont Health Department. "We need encouraging data like this and it will help sustain all of us who are actively involved in trying to have an impact here."
Levine, too, said there's still "plenty of work left to do."" ...
Dasgupta, the researcher at the University of North Carolina, agreed more needs to be done to help people in addiction recover when they're ready.
But he said keeping more people alive is a crucial first step that seemed impossible only a year ago.
"A fifteen or twenty percent [drop in deaths] is a really big number, an enormous impact," he said, calling for more research to determine how to keep the trend going.
"If interventions are what's driving this decline, then let's double down on those interventions."
What are your thoughts on the "make america fentanyl free" ads? Theyre clearly not based in reality, but do you have any thoughts on them?
Thank god Trump has cracked it. He's figured it out. He's tried the solution that no one has tried before. It's pure innovation, there's no other word for it. Who else could have thought of the idea of increasing sentencing penalties for fentanyl? It's such a bold idea that thirty-three states in America actually followed Trump's example before he even did anything. Incredible! I'm sure his act of "making it so fentanyl adds over 9000 points to federal sentencing guidelines" is clear enough that every criminal will get the message.
I also admire his courage in completely ignoring the fact that America's draconian drug laws are the direct cause of the existence of Mexican drug cartels. If America had not enforced its drug-prohibition views on the rest of the world by straight-up diplomatic bullying and threatening economic sanctions, probably huge parts of the rest of the world never would have had the war on drugs, which after all was masterminded by one guy who took over the Bureau of Narcotics after Prohibition and was scared that his job would go away. That one guy was just as brave as Trump, and spent much of his life silencing doctors and scientists who told him he was a fucking crazy asshole according to their actual data on drug use. He also killed Billie Holiday as surely as if he shot her in the head, by making it his personal job to destroy her via the actions of the criminal justice system. It sounds like I'm probably exaggerating. I'm not.
Everywhere drugs have been returned to the hands of doctors who can write prescriptions for them (even for the illness of "being addicted to that substance"), cartels, gangs, and smugglers have instantaneously lost all their power and influence. Drug cartels do not want legalization. Drug cartels want big scary prison sentences because they can upcharge. Granted, they don't love huge violent enforcement actions, as a rule... but do you know who benefits, ultimately? The lower-ranking people in drug cartels, who are able to quickly take over the most wildly profitable criminal scheme in the world when their bosses are arrested or killed by police.
(Fun fact: Big law enforcement drug busts actually increase gang violence in the short-run for exactly this reason.)
So it's so innovative and interesting for Trump to take measures that are directly helpful to cartels in order to try and intimidate them into not selling this incredibly cheap and easy high that is so easy to overdose on. Those cartels right now are like "uh okay don't threaten me with a good time?" and then they'll go on horrifically beheading their rivals and dismembering innocents because horror movie violence lets them claim more market share.
I'll also add that fentanyl is actually a real problem and it is in goddamn everything these days, including illicit marijuana, somehow. Many, many of my clients have overdosed. Most are still alive. How? Why? What incredible miracle was it that saved them? Did the police storm in at the last second and put life-saving cuffs on their wrists and haul them to a nice safe jail where they can detox without pesky medical intervention in a cell?
Fuck no. It was Narcan. Narcan is a miracle upon the human race. Narcan is an angel of mercy. Narcan is so easy to use it sounds fictional. Narcan doesn't hurt people who aren't overdosing. Narcan stops an overdose for long enough to get to the hospital. Narcan is an example of the human race being Good.
Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my new(ly repurposed) Patreon!
1. A beam of hope for North America’s most endangered sparrow
“Dozens of conservationists, gathered some distance away to avoid spooking the skittish sparrows, celebrated the [release of the 1000th captive-raised sparrow] in an unprecedented recovery program that in only a few years has doubled the bird’s wild population, from a mere 80 five years ago to some 200 today. […] “What we have achieved is the best case scenario.””
2. U.S. overdose deaths plummet, saving thousands of lives
“"In the states that have the most rapid data collection systems, we’re seeing declines of twenty percent, thirty percent," said Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta, an expert on street drugs at the University of North Carolina. […] According to Donaldson, many people using fentanyl now carry naloxone, a medication that reverses most opioid overdoses. He said his friends also use street drugs with others nearby, ready to offer aid and support when overdoses occur.”
3. Propagated corals reveal increased resistance to bleaching across the Caribbean during the fatal heat wave of 2023
“”[… Y]oung corals bred for restoration are a lot more resistant to bleaching under extreme levels of heat stress than the prevailing corals on the reef." [… Unlike with the previous propagation strategy, fragmentation, e]very time a population reproduces, new offspring receive newly mixed sets of genes through recombination, making them different from their parent colonies and thus enabling adaptation.”
4. Habitat Management Helps At-Risk Butterflies
“For a number of at-risk butterflies in the United States, habitat management can play an important role in keeping them from going extinct. [… “In] places where people are actively engaged with ways to manage the habitat, the butterflies are doing the best,” said Cheryl Schultz, a professor of conservation biology at Washington State University[….]”
5. Study: Protecting the ocean helps fight malnutrition
“[The study] found that fish catches in coral reefs could increase by up to 20 percent by expanding sustainable-use marine protected areas — that is, areas where some fishing is allowed with restrictions[, … and] that sustainable-use marine protected areas have on average 15 percent more fish biomass than non-protected areas. […] “Allowing regulated fishing in marine protected areas can support healthy fish populations, while also having a positive impact on the quality of life of surrounding communities.””
6. [FWS] Advances Effort to Create Urban Conservation Footprint in Tucson
““We want to continue to work together to create an urban footprint to improve access to nature, conserve habitats, and improve air and water quality.” […] The area provides habitat for several federally listed species, including southwestern willow flycatcher, western yellow-billed cuckoo, and Mexican garter snake. If protected, the area will also help connect critical habitat for jaguar and Chiracahua leopard frog.”
7. ‘Exciting’ solar breakthrough means energy can be kept in sustainable batteries that don’t overheat
“The technology is based on a specially designed molecule of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen that changes shape when it comes into contact with sunlight. These are common elements - providing an alternative to other technologies relying on scarce materials like lithium. […] A unique feature of the system is that the molecules also provide cooling in the photovoltaic cell[, which can store solar energy “for up to 18 years.”]”
8. Sea turtles make big comeback on sandy beaches at 2 British military bases in Cyprus
“[… The] number of nests surpass[ed] last year’s record count by nearly 25%, environmentalists said Tuesday. […] “The steep increase in turtle nests has been the result of a consistent, systematic ‘hands-off’ approach, together with enforcement efforts to minimize illegal, damaging activities on nesting beaches[….” D]aily patrols by volunteers ensure that aluminum cages set atop the nests remain in place to protect the turtles from predators like foxes and dogs.”
9. First ever photograph of rare bird species New Britain Goshawk
“The last documented scientific record of the bird is from 1969[….] Working closely with [“the Indigenous Mengen and Mamusi peoples”], WWF hopes to support local stewardship to safeguard the future of these incredible biodiversity hotspots through community-led conservation.”
10. Hospitals begin offering breakthrough radiation therapy for metastatic cancer tumors
“[First,] a patient is injected with a radioactive glucose (or sugar) tracer. The machine picks up the tracer in real time and in bright colors, [… then] reads a signal from the cancer cells breaking down the tracer. [… “The] machine is automatically and autonomously reacting and responding to those signals by shooting radiation back to their source[….]””
September 8-14 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)
Abstinence is not the only form of recovery. AA/NA doesn’t work for everyone. Sometimes people choose to use instead of meeting other needs, which is valid. Some people use for recreational purposes. Some people use for medicinal purposes. Some people who use have substance abuse disorder. Treatment looks different for everyone. Not everyone needs or wants treatment, for various reasons. The only thing Naloxone enables is breathing. Active use is not shameful. People who use drugs often also deal drugs. People in recovery should not shame active users. Active users deserve love. Active users deserve someone to check in on them, get them safer use supplies, and get them pizza. Active users deserve to be listened to. They deserve better than to have that be the first time anyone ever treated them as human since they began using.
What Where When: Narcan is a mini zine that explains what Narcan (naloxone), opioids, and overdose are, and when to intervene. Unfolding the zine reveals a list of places to get Narcan for free in Seattle. I encourage you to download this zine to educate yourself on Narcan even if you don't live around Seattle.
What Where When: Narcan is a mini zine that explains what Narcan (naloxone), opioids, and overdose are, and when to intervene. Unfolding the
If you would like to add a list of distributors in your city, please download and make a copy of this google doc:
to put your locations on the backside. Once you do so, I would appreciate it if you could email me your version at [email protected].
I would love to collect versions of this for every city. This google doc features the info side in just the right spot to be printed well and not cut off, so I recommend not moving that image until you print a test zine.
This zine is free to download, but if you like what I do and want to support me, feel free to purchase this at whatever price you want to give. I do not currently receive any funding for this project, though I would really like to. I want to be able to distribute this across Seattle on a wider scale.
