As fentanyl-related overdose deaths soar to new heights, and with fentanyl found in stimulants, tranquilizers, and other recreational drugs obtained in the black market, it makes sense to let drug users use a simple test that detects fentanyl in products they are about to consume. But cruel and irrational drug paraphernalia laws in 42 states make it illegal for them to do so.
harm reduction
In what may be the dumbest anti-vaping story ever published, The Guardian just highlighted a parent who gave his teenage son cigarettes to help him quit vaping. There's so much wrong here.
The media reports the results of sloppy vaping research, then quickly forgets them. We do not. What follows is a list of many of the low-quality studies that have investigated the alleged health risks of e-cigarette use. We'll regularly update this catalog of bad studies as necessary.
Cato Institute's Dr. Jeffrey Singer (also an ACSH advisor) published an opinion piece in The Detroit News arguing that laws that restrict drug paraphernalia do more harm than good. "If states want to get serious about reducing the risk of harm from using illegal drugs, lawmakers should repeal their drug paraphernalia laws." We couldn't agree more. Harm reduction is one of the central tenets of ACSH.
Has the FDA lost its mind or just the ability to use it? ACSH advisor Dr. Jeffrey Singer discusses banning of Juul e-cigarettes.
The evidence clearly shows that vaping helps many smokers quit cigarettes. Naturally, federal regulators and state legislators are trying to kill the e-cigarette industry.
Multiple studies have shown that vaping can help smokers give up cigarettes if they want to quit. But research is beginning to show that vaping may actually incentivize smokers to quit, even when they have no plans to stop.
Wanna hear something crazy? Fentanyl test strips are FDA-approved to quickly test for the presence of the dangerous drug in the urine in overdose cases. They can also be used to check for fentanyl in street drugs and counterfeit pills. But in more than 40 states, this is illegal (!). Why? Because they are considered to be drug paraphernalia. Seriously. Good luck finding any policy or law dumber than this.
Given the unabated rise in drug overdoses, the idea of safe injection sites has once again been raised. Dr. Jeffrey Singer of the Cato Institute (and also an advisor for ACSH) writes in the Providence Journal about Rhode Island's “overdose prevention sites.” It's all about harm reduction.
While developments will emerge, right now there’s not much information available about apparent problems at the Taishan nuclear power plant. Let's review what is known, and also consider its background, so we have a fuller context. And here are some educated guesses as to what might happen next.
There is no safe way to inject heroin. Narcan (naloxone) may not save your life. Your friends may not be able to, either.
Like ACSH itself, ACSH advisor Dr. Jeffrey Singer is a proponent of harm reduction. Here's his take on a report, issued by the health and medicine panel of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM), titled "Opportunities to Improve Opioid Use Disorder and Infectious Disease Services." Not surprisingly, Dr. Singer calls for needle exchange, methadone use, and the use of prescribing pre‐exposure HIV prophylaxis (PrEP) and post‐exposure prophylaxis (PEP).