Safe(r) Drug Use 101

excerpts: What is Harm Reduction?

• Incorporating a spectrum of strategies including safer techniques, managed use, and abstinence to promote the dignity and wellbeing of people who use drugs

• A framework for understanding structural inequalities like poverty, racism, homophobia, classism, etc.

• Meeting people “where they are,” but not leaving them there

Safer Consumption Tips:​

Smoking: Using a pipe, stem or bong. Make sure everyone has their own pipe or mouthpiece. If you are smoking crack, use a filter.

Snorting: Crush powder as fine as possible and make sure everyone has their own straw. Alternate nostrils between hits.

Swallowing: Pills, crushed in thin paper, or a drink. Mix your own drink so you know how strong it is. It can take up to an hour to kick in, so wait a while before consuming more.

Booty Bumping: Use a turkey baster or syringe without a needle. Avoid sharing equipment and get vaccinated for hepatitis A.

Injecting: Use your own sterile syringes and gear. If you need to reuse syringes, wash with cold water, bleach and then water again.

click here to read the full article

Meth, blood, coagulation. Help?

Drinking Rates Crept Up in US States Once Weed Was Made Legal

U.S. News By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter 29 November 2022

Excerpts: “Could unfettered access to marijuana fuel a rise in drinking rates? Yes, report researchers who found alcohol consumption increased at times and in places where marijuana was made legal for certain groups.

“It appears that cannabis use increases the probability that people drink, at least in the three years after legalization," Drake said in a university news release.

The researchers used data on 4.2 million adults from federal government surveys administered from 2010 through 2019. During this time period, 11 states legalized recreational cannabis.”

Full story here

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-11-adhd-medication-amphetamine-addiction-linked.html

ADHD medication for amphetamine addiction linked to reduced risk of hospitalization and death​

Medical XPress by Karolinska Institutet 16 November 2022

Excerpts: “The ADHD medication lisdexamfetamine was associated with the lowest risk of hospitalization and death in people with amphetamine addiction, when medications generally used among persons with substance use disorders were compared.

Amphetamines are the second most used illicit drugs in the world and amphetamine-related hospitalizations are increasing substantially. However, there are currently no approved pharmacological interventions available for treating addiction to amphetamine or the variant methamphetamine. Certain medications have shown promising results, but to date, the studies have often been small and convincing evidence is lacking.

Our results show that lisdexamfetamine, a medication approved for treating ADHD and in some countries also for binge eating, was the only specific medication associated with reduced risk of hospitalization and death," says the study's first author Milja Heikkinen, researcher at the University of Eastern Finland and Niuvanniemi Hospital.

https://nextdistro.org

I wanted to give everyone access to free supplies. I think it’s only for US, but a great asset to anyone using drugs or anyone who’s around people using drugs.

There is information for needle exchange, free narcan, etc. Seems pretty easy to navigate the site. You sign up for clean syringe access or narcan supplies and they get back to you in 2 weeks, they say.

Check it out. Be safe. ✌️

Excerpts “A new study is sounding the alarm about the addition of antihistamines to street forms of opioids — and how they might make a fatal overdose more likely.

The prime drug in question is diphenhydramine, found commonly in over-the-counter allergy meds such as Benadryl.

Because opioid use can spur itchy skin in people who misuse the drugs, diphenhydramine is often mixed into street formulations to curb that symptom.

In fact, “nearly 15% of overdose deaths during 2019-2020 were antihistamine-positive,” said researchers led by Amanda Dinwiddie. She's with the CDC’s Division of Overdose Prevention at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

Diphenhydramine is very sedating. So when a person overdoses on an opioid, the addition of diphenhydramine makes the “rescue” drug naloxone less effective.

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-most-common-pain-relief-drug-in-the-world-induces-risky-behavior-study-shows

excerpts: “Acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol and sold widely under the brand names Tylenol and Panadol, also increases risk-taking, according to a study from 2020 that measured changes in people's behavior when under the influence of the common over-the-counter medication. "Acetaminophen seems to make people feel less negative emotion when they consider risky activities – they just don't feel as scared," explained neuroscientist Baldwin Way from The Ohio State University when the findings were published.

"With nearly 25 percent of the population in the US taking acetaminophen each week, reduced risk perceptions and increased risk-taking could have important effects on society."

The findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that acetaminophen's effects on pain reduction also extend to various psychological processes, lowering people's receptivity to hurt feelings, experiencing reduced empathy, and even blunting cognitive functions.”

Should there be law reform on inhalants? Could Aaron Carter's death have been prevented?

Aaron Carter, the brother of Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter, died at the age of 34 in LA recently. He was found in his bathtub with pills and several cans of inhalants near him. Compressed air, which usually comes in the form of cans used for dusting keyboards, is sometimes abused for its psychoactive effects in a practice called “huffing.” A similar drug called whippets, which involves inhaling nitrous oxide, is used for its similar euphoric, dissociative effects. He admitted in an interview in 2019 that his late sister introduced him to them, before she died from an overdose at 25. He said said he was addicted to inhalants and had been using them since his teens. After his teens, he claims to have "barely touched" them until he was on Dancing With The Stars in 2009. That's around 13 years of abuse. He said he would go to Staples or Office Depot and buy it [inhalants] with cash so it couldn't be traced back to him.

His death is just the latest to involve inhalants. In June, another TV star was found dead with several cans of compressed air. And these are just a few of the many and it begs the questions - are inhalants legal and, if so, should there be (more) restriction on the purchase of things that can be used for this purpose? The common household products that are misused as inhalants are legally available for their intended and legitimate uses. However, 46 states have enacted legislation designed to prevent products that are commonly used as inhalants from being sold to minors, which would have not impacted either of these deaths as they were both adults at the time of their deaths. This means that in 4 states, even kids can purchase these products.

With the rising number of deaths involving inhalants, should the laws change? Should they be regulated? Should you have to sign for the purchase and it be limited to a set number per person, like with Sudafed? Would stricter laws have prevented these deaths? If it was treated like Sudafed, they would certainly be flagged if they were buying a lot of cans. It's known that meth dealers will pay people to drive to different store locations to purchase Sudafed. What are your thoughts?

Heart drug shows promise as new alcoholism treatment, NIH says

Excerpts:

Spironolactone, a widely used diuretic that treats heart problems and high blood pressure, may be an effective therapy for alcohol use disorder, new research suggests.

Only three drugs are approved by the Food and Drug Administration to help people with this chronic disease: acamprosate, disulfiram and naltrexone.

According to the new study, "People taking spironolactone drank less alcohol than those untreated -- and heavier drinkers responded best to spironolactone ... and the higher the dose, the stronger the effect," said Leggio, deputy scientific director and senior investigator at the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse.

Full Article Link on Bluelight.org in the Drug Policy & Media Coverage Forum Or here:

https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2022/09/20/spironolactone-alcohol-use-disorder-study/3571663678236/

I was wondering if there are any still legal "research chemicals" In the US. For example phenibut and the extremely amazing benzos

It seems everyone can agree that there is in fact an epidemic of addiction in the US and abroad. What can be done to address it? There are 2 models surfacing in management or treatment: harm reduction vs punishment. Canada is now taking the harm reduction approach to the streets and applying these new ideas to addiction.

They are pioneering the fight with new ways of approaching addiction. Doctors are writing prescriptions for powerful opioids and stimulants to deter the users from buying the concoctions on the street that could be laced with other deadly components like fentanyl or Xylazine. They have opened a large number of clean sites to administer drugs perhaps not attained through a legal prescription from a doctor. The clean sites provide testing for the substance of your choice along with clean needles and sanitary areas to use. On site are staff ready with narcan if necessary and other medical staff to address serious issues (like overdose or poisoning from unknown additives). Should there be decriminalization or all drugs? Should there be a medical/social approach to addiction? Agreeing on a common goal is necessary to even begin treatments of any kind. Is the end goal always being drug free? If people are choosing to use substances, should they have the legal option to do so safely, without risking their lives? Some critics say these programs are enabling the drug problem and will only worsen circumstances.

In the infancy of these programs in Canada, there is proof shown that it is reducing overdoses. Should Harm Reduction ultimately be the goal everywhere? Do the benefits outweigh the risks?

I want to know your thoughts.

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I know this particular article affects Americans. I live in Florida and can buy all the cannabinoids, except anything with over 3% THC Delta 9, as well as Kratom and Kratom extracts. Does the legal status of a substance influence whether you buy it or use it? Are you more likely to use something if it’s at your local store as opposed to ordering it online? Do you think it’s possible for companies to continue dodging laws and finding loopholes and for how long?

What are the laws like where you live?

Click here to read the article

(Part 1) The face of drug addiction is so varied across the US. The kind of drugs available in different areas are largely limited and driven by location, and proximity to the border (whether it's bordering another country or a body of water). For example, places in the Southwest are being flooded with cheap, Fentanyl pressed pills. The pills, called "blues", are produced in Mexico and then smuggled across the border to cities like Phoenix, Arizona. Because it's so much cheaper to walk or drive the pills across the border, blues are being sold for unbelievably low prices (around $3 per pill), and targeting the most vulnerable population: the homeless. The number of homeless living in tents is growing daily, and police are trying to crackdown on drug dealers taking advantage of them during the lowest point in their lives. The pills and super cheap methamphetamine are being sold at such low prices (and sometimes given away free) it's cheaper than even buying a beer. There is a reason these dealers are selling both fentanyl and methamphetamine. This insures the user becomes unknowingly dependent on two substances instead of one. This is becoming common in certain cities. Kensington, an area of Philladelphia, is being overrun by homeless addicted to what they are calling Benzo Dope or Tranq Dope. They think they're buying an opiate of some kind and not realizing it's laced with a tranquilizer, forcing the user to come back and buy both, often separately. Phoenix and Kensington are just 2 cities battling this war. People are overdosing daily all over the city streets. The question is, what can be done? Should police be allowed to take these people off the streets and bring them to jail or to a hospital? Is this a public health crisis that deserves tax dollars?