Opioids

A recent Instagram post and a Reddit thread have sparked online conversation about fentanyl. On July 3, the CDC shared an image on Instagram showing the difference between a positive and negative result on a fentanyl test strip. The post received 3,269 likes as of July 11. In the...

On June 22, a post on X warned that “Narcan is less effective when put in high temperatures and exposed to sunlight,” and encouraged readers to keep their Narcan “somewhere cool and shady.” The post received 45,000 views; 1,800 likes; and 1000 shares as of June 27. In...

Maine Access Points, a harm reduction program in Maine, is facing criticism on news websites and on social media after promoting safer consumption practices. The nonprofit recently shared information online and in safer consumption kits explaining a practice colloquially known as “boofing,” in which a drug is consumed through the...

Last week, the New York Times and the Baltimore Banner reported that Black men in their “mid-50s to early 70s” in Baltimore account for nearly 30 percent of overdose deaths, despite making up just seven percent of Baltimore’s population. According to the New York Times article, “Black men of...

After Philadelphia's mayor proposed cutting funding for the city’s syringe services programs (SSPs), the CDC sent a letter to the director of the Penn Center for AIDS Research warning that cutting funding to SSPs could result in an HIV outbreak. In response to a social media post...

Last week, multiple media outlets reported that overdose deaths in the United States have declined slightly for the first time in five years, according to preliminary data from the CDC. This news prompted discussion across multiple social media platforms. Some social media users celebrated the decline in overdose deaths and...

On a recent episode of the late-night television show Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver discussed opioid settlement funds. Oliver argued that local governments are not using these funds in the most effective ways and said the funds should be used to support harm reduction services such as overdose prevention...

Last week in Austin, Texas, police launched an investigation after widespread overdoses due to opioids and other drugs resulted in multiple deaths and hospitalizations. Local news stations reported that after the overdose surge, police seized cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana laced with fentanyl. In response to the overdoses, community health care...