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filtermag.bsky.social
Filter | harm reduction journalism
@filtermag.bsky.social
Coverage of drug use, drug policy and human rights from a dedicated nonprofit.

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Reposted by Filter | harm reduction journalism
"I hate this goddamn place,” one officer told Filter. “I don’t hate the inmates. I hate the assholes who bully and manipulate the staff who are in the trenches, risking our lives while they sit in offices and leave at 4 every day.”
"Your Life Is Over": Prison Guards on 16-Hour Shifts With No Backup - Filter
Three decades ago when I began my prison sentence, corrections officers worked eight-hour shifts. Some did the work well and ...
filtermag.org
January 6, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by Filter | harm reduction journalism
"Prevention is where we still have a chance to spare other families the moment I lived through."

It's concerning, then, writes @skipscorner.bsky.social, that tobacco gets just two brief mentions in the WHO report on eliminating cervical cancer:
Smoking Should Not Be a Footnote in Cervical Cancer Prevention - Filter
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women. In 2022, there were an estimated 660,000 diagnoses and about ...
filtermag.org
January 6, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Reposted by Filter | harm reduction journalism
My brother died from a fentanyl overdose and its no weapon of mass destruction filtermag.org/fentanyl-wea... @filtermag.bsky.social
Fentanyl, Involved in My Son’s Death, Is No “Weapon of Mass Destruction” - Filter
In December, the federal government announced it would classify illicit fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction.” Having buried my ...
filtermag.org
January 6, 2026 at 5:28 PM
"I hate this goddamn place,” one officer told Filter. “I don’t hate the inmates. I hate the assholes who bully and manipulate the staff who are in the trenches, risking our lives while they sit in offices and leave at 4 every day.”
"Your Life Is Over": Prison Guards on 16-Hour Shifts With No Backup - Filter
Three decades ago when I began my prison sentence, corrections officers worked eight-hour shifts. Some did the work well and ...
filtermag.org
January 6, 2026 at 4:42 PM
"Prevention is where we still have a chance to spare other families the moment I lived through."

It's concerning, then, writes @skipscorner.bsky.social, that tobacco gets just two brief mentions in the WHO report on eliminating cervical cancer:
Smoking Should Not Be a Footnote in Cervical Cancer Prevention - Filter
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women. In 2022, there were an estimated 660,000 diagnoses and about ...
filtermag.org
January 6, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Reposted by Filter | harm reduction journalism
"My son was not an enemy combatant, nor a victim of war waged by foreign adversaries," writes Susan Ousterman.

"When fentanyl is framed as a weapon of war, the policy response shifts toward fear, instead of interventions that keep people alive."
Fentanyl, Involved in My Son’s Death, Is No “Weapon of Mass Destruction” - Filter
In December, the federal government announced it would classify illicit fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction.” Having buried my ...
filtermag.org
January 5, 2026 at 3:36 PM
"I'm innocent," ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro told a federal judge at his first court appearance January 5. "I’m not guilty. I am a decent man."
"I'm Innocent": Maduro Pleads Not Guilty to Drug-Trafficking Charges - Filter
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro pled not guilty to drug trafficking charges in a federal district courthouse in Manhattan on ...
filtermag.org
January 5, 2026 at 5:22 PM
"My son was not an enemy combatant, nor a victim of war waged by foreign adversaries," writes Susan Ousterman.

"When fentanyl is framed as a weapon of war, the policy response shifts toward fear, instead of interventions that keep people alive."
Fentanyl, Involved in My Son’s Death, Is No “Weapon of Mass Destruction” - Filter
In December, the federal government announced it would classify illicit fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction.” Having buried my ...
filtermag.org
January 5, 2026 at 3:36 PM
"Nick Reiner’s mental state at the time of the killings has not yet been determined, and such an assessment will likely take months. But unsubstantiated conclusions have gone viral."
Media Exploitation of Reiner Family Tragedy Pushes the Carceral Agenda - Filter
After director Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home December ...
filtermag.org
December 31, 2025 at 6:38 PM
"This is the fourth temporary extension. It will expire in one year, a time frame the DEA feels is short enough that it will not, amid an ongoing overdose crisis, risk the public gaining too much access to lifesaving medication."
Feds Extend COVID-Era Bupe Telemedicine Flexibilities, Again - Filter
On December 31, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services issued an extension of the ...
filtermag.org
December 31, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Filter | harm reduction journalism
"In 2021, Harm Reduction Michigan began using streetside newspaper-style boxes to station naloxone kits in outdoor spaces."

"184 boxes across more than half the counties in the state."

"HRMI box costs around $500, a fraction of [..] a naloxone vending machine."
#Michigan #USA #Drugs #Healthcare
Naloxone Boxes: New Strategy Makes OD Antidote Accessible 24/7, for Free
More harm reduction organizations are beginning to implement the naloxone box model in free clinics, college campuses and other community spaces.
filtermag.org
December 31, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Streetside newspaper-style boxes are easier to install than naloxone vending machines, and significantly less expensive; Harm Reduction Michigan got some of theirs for free.
Naloxone Boxes: New Strategy Makes OD Antidote Accessible 24/7, for Free - Filter
In 2021, Harm Reduction Michigan (HRMI) began using streetside newspaper-style boxes to station naloxone kits in outdoor spaces where the ...
filtermag.org
December 30, 2025 at 3:55 PM
"Gizmo is our Fix-It Guy. There are many Gizmos in many prisons across the country, and their hustle is an honorable one. DOC profits off selling us electronics at a markup, so it’s no surprise that they offer no way to fix anything."
Fixing Electronics in Prison - Filter
There are few soft surfaces in prison, so when one of us drops a pair of glasses or a radio ...
filtermag.org
December 29, 2025 at 6:32 PM
"DOJ could potentially finalize the May 2024 proposed rule," stated the Congressional Research Service, "or issue a new proposed rule."

By @kylejaeger.bsky.social:
Whether DOJ Reschedules Marijuana "Remains to Be Seen," Per CRS Report - Filter
In the days since President Donald Trump signed an executive order on marijuana rescheduling earlier in December, there’s been some misreporting ...
filtermag.org
December 29, 2025 at 3:14 PM
About half of survey respondents said they “pre-game” before holiday family gatherings. Alcohol is the most common choice at 51 percent, but cannabis now comes in second at 31 percent—including 43 percent of Gen Z and millennials.

By @kylejaeger.bsky.social:
One in Three US Adults Use Weed to Pre-Game Holiday Gatherings, Per Poll - Filter
About one in three United States adults have a holiday “pre-game” routine that involves using marijuana, according to a new ...
filtermag.org
December 23, 2025 at 4:30 PM
"We hold the distinction of being the first state to develop a comprehensive tobacco control plan. Minnesota was also the first state to fund a media campaign encouraging its citizens not to smoke, and here we see the root of the problem."
In Minnesota, We Refuse to Apply Harm Reduction to Tobacco Use - Filter
Minnesota has a reputation as a national leader in both tobacco control and harm reduction. But as 2026 approaches, and ...
filtermag.org
December 23, 2025 at 3:09 PM
The new report mostly reiterates DEA findings without quite confirming them, but this appears to be the first time GAO has gone undercover as someone looking to buy drugs online.
GAO Went Undercover to Almost Prove That Drugs Are Sold Online - Filter
On December 18 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on fentanyl and methamphetamine sales by Mexican transnational drug-trafficking ...
filtermag.org
December 22, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Earlier this month Suely Castro posed a question to an audience at the United Kingdom’s Parliament in London:

“If safer alternatives can save lives, what responsibility do we have to science, to fairness and to the people we serve?”

By @kiransidhu41.bsky.social:
A Rare Case of Open Debate on Tobacco Harm Reduction  - Filter
“If safer alternatives can save lives, what responsibility do we have to science, to fairness and to the people we ...
filtermag.org
December 22, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Reposted by Filter | harm reduction journalism
Oklahoma is one of only a handful of states with a “Good Samaritan” overdose law that does not offer legal immunity from drug possession charges to the person who overdosed—only to the person who called for help.
Oklahoma Bill Would Require EMS to Call the Cops After Reversing an OD - Filter
Oklahoma legislators will consider a proposal requiring first responders to notify law enforcement if they reverse an overdose. House Bill ...
filtermag.org
December 19, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Oklahoma is one of only a handful of states with a “Good Samaritan” overdose law that does not offer legal immunity from drug possession charges to the person who overdosed—only to the person who called for help.
Oklahoma Bill Would Require EMS to Call the Cops After Reversing an OD - Filter
Oklahoma legislators will consider a proposal requiring first responders to notify law enforcement if they reverse an overdose. House Bill ...
filtermag.org
December 19, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by Filter | harm reduction journalism
Marijuana will be federally rescheduled, after long delays to the process begun by the Biden administration. Trump signed the executive order today.

It's not legalization, but will ease research barriers among other impacts, reports Kyle Jaeger:
Trump Signs Executive Order to Move Marijuana to Schedule III - Filter
Marijuana will be federally rescheduled under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on December 18. The directive also ...
filtermag.org
December 18, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Marijuana will be federally rescheduled, after long delays to the process begun by the Biden administration. Trump signed the executive order today.

It's not legalization, but will ease research barriers among other impacts, reports Kyle Jaeger:
Trump Signs Executive Order to Move Marijuana to Schedule III - Filter
Marijuana will be federally rescheduled under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on December 18. The directive also ...
filtermag.org
December 18, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Filter | harm reduction journalism
“These wounds weren’t being addressed.”

The bipartisan Freedom to Heal Act would expand the 2018 Right to Try law, to give eligible patients legal access to psychedelics.

Noah Daly reports on advocates' hopes, and their caveats around implementation:
Federal Bill Would Give Some Patients "Right to Try" Psychedelics - Filter
The final weeks of 2025 have brought overlapping psychedelic drug policy efforts in Washington. Since early December, advocates have presented ...
filtermag.org
December 18, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Reposted by Filter | harm reduction journalism
#harmreduction applies to #alcohol too. Interesting project on this front at Rice University:
filtermag.org/student-alco...
“Balance Your Buzz”—A Student-Led Alcohol Harm Reduction Initiative
Some schools impose zero-tolerance policies. Rice University students got faculty buy-in for harm reduction events with free alcohol.
filtermag.org
December 18, 2025 at 1:51 PM
“These wounds weren’t being addressed.”

The bipartisan Freedom to Heal Act would expand the 2018 Right to Try law, to give eligible patients legal access to psychedelics.

Noah Daly reports on advocates' hopes, and their caveats around implementation:
Federal Bill Would Give Some Patients "Right to Try" Psychedelics - Filter
The final weeks of 2025 have brought overlapping psychedelic drug policy efforts in Washington. Since early December, advocates have presented ...
filtermag.org
December 18, 2025 at 3:21 PM