NEW DATA: This briefing provides updates to key data from our flagship report, The Global State of Harm Reduction. The update also summarises funding and policy developments since the 2024 report.

www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790228... "This is not just a book - it's a reckoning, exposing how too many methadone clinics have failed their patients in the service of the imperatives of market medicine, racial capitalism, and the carceral state." –Samuel Kelton Roberts PREORDER NOW!

Florida officials are now actively suspending the medical marijuana registrations of patients and caregivers with certain drug-related charges, reports Tom Angell. It's currently unclear if the new law will impact only current cases or also prior records:

“There are people who light up rooms, but Louise set them on fire.” Harm reductionists pay tribute to the inspirational activism of Louise Vincent, a leader in the drug-user rights movement and Filter contributor, who died this month. By @helenredmond.bsky.social:

"Must-read whistle-blower" details the cruelty and exploition of rehabs and sober living homes, giving "understanding of how treatment fails people—not the other way around," writes @helenredmond.bsky.social. She asks author Shoshana Walter for her takeaways:

It’s a monumental moment for The Lever. We just published our first book: Master Plan — The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America. It exposes the never-before-told story of how corporate power rewrote the rules of democracy. 📘 Out now → www.levernews.com/get-the-book...

I wrote about why socialist mayoral candidates should not be moderating on the police or apologizing for telling the truth: police *are* a threat to public safety. www.currentaffairs.org/news/now-is-...

"We will blow you out of existence ... Each boat we sink carries drugs that would kill more than 25,000 Americans." Amid Trump's ludicrous claims as his Caribbean killings continue, the US is further destabilizing the region, reports @tganeva.bsky.social:

Lenacapavir, approved by the FDA in June, requires only two shots a year. US insurers don't cover it, but access will soon increase abroad.

I wrote about why "talk to your doctor" is one of the most awful things politicians and other can say at a time when so many Americans can't even afford healthcare. open.substack.com/pub/selectal...

I wrote about how the new autism treatment approval by the FDA amounts to a real-time experiment on US children selectall.substack.com/p/new-fda-ap...

"Over time, the agency gotten a bit more creative with its approach to scheduling fentanyl analogs under the Controlled Substances Act."

🎧LEVER TIME: Robert Reich recounts his experience working with presidents & seeing the Dem Party’s capitulation to corporate power — which he says helped create conditions for Trump’s rise. He discusses how to fight corruption & save the country. www.levernews.com/robert-reich...

Just 17 percent of the discarded cigarette packs the researchers collected had the NYC tax stamp. "This is another version of the so-called 'balloon effect' familiar to veterans of the drug war," writes @helenredmond.bsky.social. Meanwhile New York is arresting people over vapes:

“They say they want to protect Americans from drugs, but their policies don’t match these words,” says Hanna Sharif-Kazemi as the administration talks up more drug-war strikes. A new tracker helps quantify the damage to people who use drugs of domestic cuts, reports @tganeva.bsky.social:

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Louise Vincent. A fearless harm reduction leader, her voice carried truth, compassion and hope for people who use drugs.  Watch her powerful words here:

“This is for the pursuit of better mental health and well-being for millions.” Current European momentum includes a new psilocybin access program in Germany, the UK easing psychedelic research barriers and impending Czech legalization of psilocybin therapy, reports Sarah Sinclair:

Little bit of tranquility from the Cape

"With drone strikes looking like a real possibility, more fentanyl cooks will be constantly on the move, using short-term labs and makeshift equipment. It's not hard to guess whether that will end the supply or make it more chaotic."

Two doctors urge a reevaluation of India's 2019 vape ban, amid high rates of smoking- and tobacco-related death. "They have courageously taken this position despite the All India Institute of Medical Sciences' unwavering support for the ban," writes @helenredmond.bsky.social:

📊 A 2022 study in The Lancet found that universal coverage could prevent 68,000 (!!) deaths each year in the U.S. Medicare for All would save lives by making care accessible before it’s too late. #MedicareForAll #HealthEquity #LivesOverProfits

"Tobacco bans made prison gambling all but vanish—for a while. Post-COVID, certain games are making a comeback."

“We have slums here. We’re getting rid of them.” As troops deploy on DC streets, false claims about violent crime in the capital are Trump's pretext for a sweeping assault on unhoused residents, reports Alexander Lekhtman:

Demand persists and many retailers still sell disposable vapes—reflecting what advocates say was always an ill-conceived ban. "Introducing policies without working out the tangible impacts screams of lip service," one consumer tells @kiransidhu41.bsky.social:

"The immense power of the Juul-triggered teen-vaping frenzy had a host of catastrophic knock-on effects," writes Helen Redmond, "creating an Orwellian world of disinformation and doublethink."

filtermag.org/seeking-meth... I think we know how stressful it is for people seeking methadone....#freemethadone

filtermag.org/methadone-pi... “When we handed them the bottle of methadone with a label on it, which looked like a drug-store bottle of anything, some of the patients would cry.” #freemethadone #abolishOTPs @mountsinainyc.bsky.social @vitalstrategies.org