Overdoses

The death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman has focused a media spotlight on heroin overdoses. There are better ways to deal with heroin than the current one, if there is the will.

The marijuana issue continues hot and heavy, one of our favorite authors is nominated for an award, harm reduction bills move in Wisconsin, and the US Sentencing Commission wants to cut drug sentences. And more.

Uruguay legalizes the marijuana trade (and the usual suspects object), Denver provides a helpful guide to legalization there, Human Rights Watch scorches Louisiana for its AIDS-enhancing policies, and more.

Supervised injection sites for hard drug users are a proven public health and harm reduction intervention. Advocates and activists say the time is now to start opening them in the US.

The District of Columbia has now joined ten states in implementing 911 Good Samaritan laws designed to reduce overdose deaths by removing the fear of arrest and prosecution from victims and witnesses who seek medical help.

The Norwegian government wants to decriminalize heroin smoking as a harm reduction measure in a bid to reduce overdoses.

The New Jersey legislature has taken a step toward passing a bill that would expand access to the anti-overdose drug naloxone. The bill now heads for a Senate floor vote, but awaits action in the House.

Naloxone has already reversed some 10,000 opioid drug overdoses, and a new study suggests its wider distribution could save thousands more at a very low cost.

California will become the 10th state to enact a Good Samaritan law designed to reduce fatal drug overdoses by providing some protections from criminal prosecution for people seeking emergency help for overdose victims.

The Danish government could be providing heroin pills to addicts as early as next year under a proposal from the health minister.