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COVID-19 Eased Drug Treatment Rules—And That Saved Lives.

Christine Vestal

December 18, 2020 |

Stateline |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Rules changes designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at drug-treatment clinics had the benefit of improving access to treatment, which experts say has saved thousands of lives. Although overdose deaths have increased during the pandemic, they would be far higher but for emergency rules allowing for telehealth consultations with medical professionals, fewer restrictions on the use and storage of long-term supplies of methadone, and insurance coverage of addiction medications. Though not everyone prefers telephone consults over in-person visits, enough do that advocates want to make the changes permanent.

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Biden embraces drug courts, but do they actually work?

Dan Adams

November 02, 2020 |

The Boston Globe |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Drug courts can help some people with serious drug problems who face serious criminal charges, if such court programs are run carefully, based on evidence-based approaches. But, too often, such courts – which push criminal defendants into treatment as an alternative to incarceration – can do more harm than good. The proof of drug courts' effectiveness is mixed, and fairly thin. Thousands of such courts exist, based on widespread political support for an approach seen as less punitive. But many critics say the courts' track record overall is weak and their approach can be just another form of punishment.

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Why Portugal decriminalised all drugs

Rebecca Kesby

October 19, 2020 |

BBC |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Portugal

When Portugal became the first country to decriminalize personal possession and use of small amounts of drugs, choosing to shift to treating drug abuse as a health rather than a criminal matter, the feared downside of turning the country into a drug-users' paradise did not materialize. Instead, HIV cases and crime dropped. Law enforcement resources could focus on major trafficking, while the health and social problems associated with the country's serious heroin problem could be addressed in a way that could begin to solve the problem. Up till then, arrests and prison had failed to have such effects.

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Second Largest Police Force to Stop Criminalising Drug Users

Max Daly

October 16, 2020 |

Vice |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

Four UK police forces have adopted drug-decriminalization policies over the past five years, diverting hundreds of cases toward treatment and harm-reduction counseling, and away from criminal convictions, fines, and incarceration. The policies, which apply even in cases involving heroin and cocaine, have been found to reduce drug offenses and conserve police resources for more serious crime. Based on those programs, West Midlands, the second-largest police force in England and Wales, is launching a one-year pilot project aimed at diverting 1,500 people's cases away from the criminal process.

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What happened when the BC government started selling cannabis

Chloe Rose Stuart-Ulin

September 11, 2020 |

Capital Daily |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Nanaimo, British Columbia

Legalized marijuana sales in Canada were supposed to make the industry safe, stable, and prosperous. But the rollout of licenses for pre-existing private dispensaries has turned into a debacle for small businesses in British Columbia. Ignoring the advice given to Health Canada by dispensaries seeking licenses about sensible ways to regulate, the agency delayed approving licensing applications for months, only to begin raiding applicants' businesses as soon as competing government dispensaries started opening. Hundreds were put out of work and quality product grew scarce.

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The Temporary Battle Against COVID-19 Taught This N.C. Native Community How to Combat a Longstanding Epidemic

Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle

July 22, 2020 |

100 Days in Appalachia |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Cherokee, North Carolina

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians reacted to COVID-19 with aggressive measures that yielded fewer illnesses than in neighboring counties, and no deaths, all without outside help. But one of their preventive measures – roadblocks severely limiting access to the Qualla Boundary, the band's territory – led to a surge in overdose deaths from fentanyl-laced heroin, because drug dealers responded with fewer shipments of more potent drugs. Overdoses eventually subsided with the roadblock lifted. The unintended consequence taught lessons about self-governance and unseen risks from within, not just from outside.

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Diversion program thrives on cooperation, embraces skeptics

Ryan Lowery

June 04, 2020 |

Las Vegas Optic |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Alamosa, Colorado

The Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program in Alamosa, Colorado, gives police officers the option of sending people to substance abuse treatment rather than straight into the criminal justice system. Used in non-violent cases, the diversion program is based on a harm-reduction model that uses a health-care approach rather than a punitive approach to address the underlying issues when a crime is committed. Some police officers object to the program's mission, but proponents say that forcing compliance would be counterproductive.

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The Cost of Regulating Pain

Anastassia Gliadkovskaya

December 20, 2019 |

Secret Structures |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The CDC's 2016 guidelines on prescribing opioids for chronic pain attempted to address the opioid-addiction crisis by restricting the supply of the drugs at their source. The guidelines discouraged their use when possible and suggested strategies to taper patients off of them. Since then, thousands of people have lost access to necessary medications and to their doctors, thanks to overreactions to the CDC guidelines that unintentionally led to deaths by street drugs or withdrawal.

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Boone County Drug Court addresses racial disparities and trauma through grant

Sarah Haselhorst

December 17, 2019 |

Columbia Missourian |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Columbia, Missouri

In Boone County, Missouri the Habilitation Empowerment Accountability Therapy (HEAT) program offers young men an alternative to incarceration for drug-related offenses. The program works primarily with black men, many of whom bring issues of childhood and generational trauma, to work together toward their treatment plans, finding employment, and behavioral therapy. Fundamental to all of HEAT’s programming is the consideration of underlying factors like education, exposure to violence, and socioeconomic forces.

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How More Than 50 Women Walked Out of a Prison in Oklahoma

Cary Aspinwall

November 04, 2019 |

The Marshall Project |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Taft, Oklahoma

More than 500 people in Oklahoma had their drug possession felony sentences commuted after voters approved an initiative that changed some drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. The commutation led to a mass release of prisoners, something that took collaboration between social service groups to make sure those leaving had housing, job support, and other essentials.

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