Groups trying to reduce overdose deaths and the spread of infectious diseases are using vending machines to get clean needles, pipes, wound care kits, Narcan and other safety supplies to drug users.
Harm reduction, aimed at keeping people safe and alive, is one piece on the spectrum of addiction care that the state is ready to fund through settlements with major drug manufacturers.
Louise Vincent has used drugs since she was 13. Research shows millions of Americans like her aren't ready or able to stop. Vincent believes it's time people accept that.
Narcan is now available in drug stores without a prescription. The nasal spray can save a life by stopping an opioid overdose. But will people pay the price and ask for it by name?
Festival promoters are allowing lifesaving medication as fentanyl deaths surge, but volunteers are often left to distribute it, and more controversial forms of harm reduction aren't openly allowed.
With opioid overdoses surging, harm-reduction groups are calling on the FDA to change naloxone's prescription-only status. This would make it easier to get the lifesaving drug to people at risk.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is rolling out a new plan to slow drug deaths, which he says will include controversial measures such as clean needles and fentanyl test strips.
Researchers know how to curb the risks of overdose and disease among drug users, but policymakers are reluctant to allow public health measures that include needle exchanges and access to safer drugs.
A federal appeals court ruled the effort by nonprofit Safehouse to open a "supervised injection site" to prevent overdose deaths is laudable but illegal under the so-called federal crack house law.
