Gift link. "Taxes should be high enough to deter excessive use, on the scale of dollars per joint, not cents. (Federal alcohol taxes, which have failed to keep pace with inflation since the 1990s, should rise, too.)" www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/o...

"The US military on Thursday said it killed two alleged drug traffickers in a strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific, bringing the death toll from Washington’s campaign to at least 128." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

New from NDARC: Injecting drug use and infectious diseases in prisons: The high burden of systemic failures www.youtube.com/watch?v=aifZ...

The cost of chaos: A cracking windshield on substance use in the US www.brookings.edu/articles/the...

Our Words Matter: Advancing Inclusive Language & A Human-Rights Based Approach to Criminal Justice. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTmC...

BREAKING: Scientists and Policy Experts Barred From “Good Drug Policy Summit” in Washington, D.C. ssdp.org/blog/breakin...

Rights and Protections for Harm Reduction Programs & Clients in an Increasingly Hostile Environment www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mqy...

Ten Years After UNGASS, a Resurgent Global Drug War filtermag.org/ten-years-af...

"This analysis of drug harms in Canada found that alcohol causes the most harm overall, with a cumulative weighted score of 79. It was followed by tobacco (45), nonprescription opioids (33), cocaine (19), methamphetamine (19), and cannabis (15)."

"The officials leading the meeting told participants that anything that could be construed as encouraging drug use is now prohibited for funding recipients." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

New at the Journal of Psychopharmacology: Drug harms in Canada: A multi-criteria decision analysis journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Indiana’s needle exchanges are on the chopping block Lawmakers will decide whether to continue a program curbing infections and overdoses. mirrorindy.org/indianapolis... #INPol #INLeg #HarmReduction

‘Humanitarian crisis’: Sober living home scandal widens with criminal charges, lawsuits More than 100 people have now been charged with fraud and thefts that could reach into the billions of dollars ictnews.org/news/humanit...

Once again for the folks in the cheap seats, here are legendary Atlanta attorney Bruce Harvey's three rules of police: 1: Cops lie. 2: Cops *always* lie. 3: Cops *always* lie about drugs. To which I propose this addition: 4: Cops *always* lie about immigration enforcement.

We know that language can enhance or dismantle stigma and our handy guide is available on our website. If you want to read more about the importance of using non-stigmatising language, Psychology Today has published a new article on this: zurl.co/keyUZ What phrases do you use?

Discontinued Canadian Safe Supply Program Was Working, Study Shows filtermag.org/canada-safe-...

Participants in an Ontario safe supply program experienced huge reduction in overdose risk, in line with other research. But the program was discontinued due to lack of funds—amid national rollback that study author attributes to moral panic. Sydney Sauer reports:

Maryland Scrubs the Term “Harm Reduction” From Key Grant Program filtermag.org/maryland-scr...

"Official notice of grant restoration began reaching organizations Thursday morning." www.npr.org/2026/01/15/n...

"Just when you think there’s a line they won’t cross, sure enough, President Donald Trump and his administration prove none of the above is true." www.poynter.org/commentary/2...

An unauthorized anonymous administration source told NPR that the decision is being reversed and the grants are being restored. Got to wonder what strings will be attached when/if it all happens. www.npr.org/2026/01/14/n...

NEW: The Trump admin unexpectedly canceled almost $2 billion in funding for substance use and mental health. Organizations today are forced to lay off staff and scale back lifesaving services, like opioid reversal medications for first responders. My latest: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Here's the kicker: January 2026 is Substance Use Disorder Treatment Month. www.npr.org/2026/01/14/n...

BREAKING The Trump administration just terminated funding for as many as 2,000 substance abuse programs across the country As much as $2B worth of cuts, bc programs supposedly don't align w/priorities -- though not clear why www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-take...

"And while the full scope of the cancellations is not clear, people in the field whom I consulted said the number of affected organizations could reach 2,000." www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-take...

Winnipeg police officer convicted of trafficking would often 'fairy dust' partiers with drugs: former friend Woman describes drug-dealing by disgraced former constable Elston Bostock as 'open secret' www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

This is Carter’s first appointment to public office. Her reporting for Fox News and other primarily right-wing outlets has focused on transnational drug-trafficking organizations, work she's described as “mapping the enemy.”

After rates of youth substance use dropped dramatically at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then leveled off in 2021, they never crept back up—even as pandemic-era restrictions were gradually lifted.

Gift link. New Dietary Guidelines Abandon Longstanding Advice on Alcohol Now the government’s recommendation is to “limit” drinking, without specifying safe amounts for men and women. The guidelines no longer warn of risks like cancer. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/h...

Senate Confirms Fentanyl Conspiracy Theorist Sara Carter as “Drug Czar” filtermag.org/senate-confi...

"Cloaked in the rhetoric of justice, Murder Inc. is once again official US policy in Latin America." www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ja...

Gift link. Justice Dept. Drops Claim That Venezuela’s ‘Cartel de los Soles’ Is an Actual Group www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/u...

this American mom expresses how I felt after my son died, and why I am in advocacy. “My son died because I believed in systems that were never designed to protect him. Worse, those systems convinced me that punitive drug policies were keeping him safe when they were actively putting him at risk. “

"When fentanyl is framed as a weapon of war, the policy response shifts toward fear—militarization, surveillance, arrests and incarceration—instead of interventions that keep people alive." filtermag.org/fentanyl-wea...

New at Harm Reduction Journal: US drug policy does not align with experts’ rankings of drug harms: a multi-criteria decision analysis link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Colombia calls for emergency UN, OAS meetings after US air strikes in Venezuela colombiareports.com/colombia-cal...

World reactions to the US strikes on Venezuela Leaders and citizens speak out following Washington’s military aggression against the Latin American country english.elpais.com/internationa...

A scorched boat washed ashore on a remote beach in Colombia. Then mangled bodies. And then empty packets, a few with marijuana traces. We matched the physical and digital evidence to a U.S. airstrike — and found a fishing community terrified to go to sea. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/w...

Inside the US’s psychedelic church boom, where taking drugs is legal Religious groups using banned drugs are increasingly testing the limits of faith and law – and winning www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

We publish journalism by incarcerated writers. Your support helps us continue this work. Give a gift today. Your donation is tax deductible, and your gift is matched.

The outsized prison death count extends beyond overdoses, and more than half the deaths have been preventable. With 25 total in-custody deaths for the year, the state outpaces every neighbor but Iowa. Part of a new series from the Searchlight team: via @southdakotasearchlight.com

‘It’s made things worse for everyone’: Philadelphia grapples with rise of new street drug Medetomidine has extreme and fast-acting withdrawal symptoms – and the detox centers that help patients are struggling with how best to cope www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Nearly half of all Americans have an immediate family member who has been incarcerated – that's millions and millions of people who have been plagued by the wide-reaching effects of mass incarceration.

PJP contributors asked people in their prisons what holidays are like behind bars. Here’s what one person had to say.

Children across the U.S. are grieving the loss of a parent to drug overdose. Join IRETA and HopeHQ for a free webinar on the data, research, and strategies to support affected children and families. 🗓 Jan 21 | 1:30–3 PM ET Register here: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/f26ba7...

Hi friends! So we've done a bit of data crunching with our BFFs at DISC Trust and NZ Drug Foundation to find out what to expect this summer ✅ 80% were as presumed ❌ 5% WEREN'T as presumed 🥴 3% were partially as presumed ❓7% were unknown when brought in 🤷‍♀️ 5% of samples were inconclusive 1/3

On Monday, Trump signed an executive order declaring illicit fentanyl a “weapon of mass destruction,” in an escalation of the rhetoric on the nation’s opioid crisis. Then, on Thursday, Trump signed another order directing federal agencies to loosen some federal restrictions on marijuana.

The ‘narcoterrorism’ threat: Exploring avenues to uphold human rights amidst a new 'war on drugs' www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zJ-...

Two more bombings yesterday. These numbers remain high: the illegal policy of high-seas murder may not even be deterring small-craft drug trafficking. People murdered per day, monthly average: - September 0.6 - October 1.5 - November 0.7 - December (1-18) 1.2 www.wola.org/2025/11/us-m...

The Stop the Deaths conference in Glasgow brings together families, experts, lived-experience voices and policymakers to confront the overdose crisis and push for real change. Watch Drugreporter's new documentary! drogriporter.hu/en/stop-the-...