"Well-funded community-based programs, with Black & Native leadership, providing harm reduction resources, naloxone, & MOUD in the context of comprehensive, culturally appropriate healthcare & other services, represent the highest priority interventions to decrease inequalities."

Major win for #harmreduction in Vermont! Today, the legislature voted to override the veto and pass H.72, which enables an overdose prevention pilot site. Thank you to the 104 Representatives and 20 Senators who voted to save lives! #vtpoli #OPC

NEW: Ever wondered what the inside of an overdose prevention center looks like? We partnered up with OnPoint NYC to take you inside their East Harlem location via a video tour! Step inside at opcinfo.org/tour!

Join Safer Inside for an overdose awareness candlelight vigil outside San Francisco City Hall on Thursday, August 1, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Please consider attending and help remember and celebrate the lives of those we have lost to the overdose crisis.

Excellent piece by @drugpolicyorg’s Kellen Russoniello on overdose prevention centers as an evidence-based response to the overdose crisis in the United States, their effectiveness, where progress is being made, and barriers to expansion.

Overdose prevention centers (OPCs) are not just about preventing overdoses—they're lifelines for connection, support, & safety. OPCs offer a proven, health-based solution that saves lives and fosters community. It's time to make these services accessible to people who need them.

Yesterday, health experts & advocates kicked off Overdose Prevention Center Solidarity Week with a virtual press conference making the case for OPCs. Speakers included Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Brandon Marshall Brown University School of Public Health, San Francisco Safer Inside Coalition member Laura Thomas, and more!

Starting now! We’re gathered near Governor Kathy Hochul’s office ready to march for all those lost to preventable overdose. The Governor has NO plan, outside of cutting funding and increasing penalties. That won’t save lives! #IOAD #HarmReduction

Professor Brandon Marshall stresses the importance of overdose prevention centers ahead of #IOAD2024. "We know the more frequently someone uses an OPC, the more likely they are to enter substance use disorder treatment," he says. People, Place & Health Collective (PPHC) marijuanamoment.net/congresswoman-…

Check out this must-read piece by Dr. Leslie Suen, a primary care & addiction medicine specialist, & assistant professor at UC San Francisco, on why OPCs are a crucial part of a patient’s continuum of care. 🧵 #OPCSolidarity

Always proud to see a Safer Inside member in print! Check out this powerful op-ed by the respected Dr. Leslie Suen Leslie Suen, MD, MAS via Filter | harm reduction journalism, "Overdose Prevention Centers Are Health Care: Treat Them as Such." filtermag.org/overdose-preve…

Another great piece on OPCs during Drug Policy Alliance's Overdose Prevention Center National Solidarity Week, this one by Mike Ludwig ✍️! "OPCs face intense stigma and political pushback despite plenty of evidence that they save lives and reduce public drug use." truthout.org/articles/overd…

Harm reduction activists in Denver stood up a pop-up Overdose Prevention Center today at Civic Center Park, joining similar actions across the country as part of #OPCSolidarity Week. (🙏 to Anusha Roy at 9NEWS Denver for your sensitive coverage of this important topic!) (1 of 5)

So happy that this year we honor those we lost from overdoses as we prepare to open an Overdose Prevention Center in Burlington, VT which will help reduce the amount of people we have to remember next year. #IOAD24 #IOAD #BTV #HarmReduction vtdigger.org/2024/08/30/ann…

Via Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Ricky N. Bluthenthal+RTI International examine structural racism & inequities in drug user health. "Preventing HIV & HCV outbreaks, & overdose deaths requires addressing community level factors that influence SSP implementation & accessibility." sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

'I wouldn't be here': Ontario supervised consumption site users speak out on closures thestar.com/news/gta/i-wou… via @torontostar

🧵In 2021 Oregon became the first state to decriminalize drugs. It recriminalized last week, after three years. There were many reasons; one was because overdoses rose sharply. Our new study finds, critically, this was *not* a result of decriminalization. jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman…

When Oregon decriminalized drug possession in 2021, fatal drug overdoses increased. This study found the potent opioid fentanyl saturated Oregon's unregulated drug market at the same time, which likely accounted for the increase, not decriminalization. ja.ma/47jN1jV