Updates

On December 15, the Trump administration, through an executive order, classified fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction (WMD), casting those who use and sell fentanyl as purveyors of a hazardous, toxic substance in the same class as Anthrax and Ricin. While the ramifications of this classification are unclear, the designation itself has the power to cause irreparable harm by contributing to the stigma and dehumanization of people who use drugs, fueling misinformation about fentanyl, and diverting needed resources and legislative attention away from proven solutions to the overdose crisis.

To mark International Overdose Awareness Day, families who have lost loved ones to overdose held a press conference on Aug. 27, urging lawmakers to prioritize health-based solutions that prevent these tragic losses. They called to halt and reverse the wave of harsh drug laws and criminalization, which they say will not reduce overdose deaths but will continue to fill our prisons without helping those struggling with substance use disorder.

Our panel of mothers who lost their children to overdose called on lawmakers to expand access to medications for opioid use disorder, increase overdose prevention services, distribute naloxone in communities that need it most, and provide evidence-based drug education for youth and adults. Most of all, they spoke out against harsh drug laws that aim to increase punishment and incarceration. If you want to understand the harms of these punitive drug laws and how policies based on public health, Harm Reduction, and science will keep our loved ones safe and alive, then this video is well worth your time.

As parents and family members who have lost loved ones to overdose, we know saving lives requires health solutions. Please join with more than 700 people who have signed our letter in urging lawmakers to oppose more punishment and instead embrace lifesaving health responses to the overdose crisis.

Mother’s Day evokes joy for many; it carries a deep and painful significance for me. I lost my son Eric to an overdose on Nov. 23, 2022, just three weeks shy of his 32nd birthday.

Mother’s Day is a day that evokes joy for many, but it carries a painful significance for me. I lost my son Eric to an overdose on Nov. 23, 2022, just three weeks shy of his 32nd birthday. 

Sunday is Mother’s Day, a holiday that can bring much joy for some but incredible pain for some families. In 2012 I lost my child Michael to a drug overdose.

When a loved one dies of an overdose—and when we worry about protecting our families and communities from the ongoing overdose crisis—it is tempting to divide people into innocent victims and dangerous (often outsider) perpetrators. But such stark lines are inconsistent with the realities of how people acquire and use drugs.

The Black community is being hit hardest by the overdose crisis. The loss of her family members and the continuing loss of life in her community motivates Joy to save lives through Harm Reduction and to fight against punitive drug laws. She knows that these laws destroy lives, devastate communities, and cause more deaths. As Joy states: “The War on Drugs is just the New Jim Crow.”

My son Michael was a pioneer in Harm Reduction in New York City. In many ways, he was my teacher. He taught me about Harm Reduction, that people like him need respect and compassion, and that if something happened to him, he wanted her to continue his work in Harm Reduction to help others like him. This is our story.