BOSTON MAYOR Michelle Wu’s plan to clear tents from the Mass. and Cass homeless camping site by January 12 is long overdue. If only it had been done earlier, the move could have averted a humanitarian crisis. Many believe the encampment has grown merely because the people there lack shelter. The city had claimed it […]
drug addiction
Posted inDrug Addiction
The ‘other crisis’ keeps on chugging along
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE PRELIMINARY DEPARTMENT of Public Health data show 1,038 people died of opioid overdoses in the first six months of this year, an estimated 5 percent decrease from the same time period in 2020. The preliminary data, presented by Acting DPH Commissioner Margret Cooke at a Public Health Council meeting Wednesday, includes […]
Posted inOpinion
AG could give big lift to supervised drug sites
PATRICK RADDEN KEEFE’S Empire of Pain describes Attorney General Maura Healey’s quest, not just for financial restitution from members of the Oxycontin-promoting Sackler family but also to expose their deep venality. And exposed they were. Yet imagine Healy’s frustration as the members of the Sackler family cut their losses and kept an ungodly portion of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
A ban is not a plan
THE MASSACHUSETTS SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT has reminded us that we are not going to ban our way to social justice and public safety. The SJC on December 15 declared that the state ban on panhandling is in violation of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, our state constitution. The court ruled on a Fall River case […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Juul says it’s only here to help
E-CIGARETTE USE HAS EXPLODED, and whether this is a good thing or not depends very much on the vantage point from which it’s viewed. Both vantage points were on display this morning on the Boston Globe homepage. A huge ad for Juul appeared, promoting efforts the e-cigarette maker says it’s taking to address “youth usage […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Drug treatment for drug addiction
It’s an approach that research evidence and many in recovery say makes sense — but one that some advocates say has it all wrong. One of the most effective ways of treating those suffering from opioid addiction is with drugs. There are two types of drugs used. Methadone and a newer drug, buprenorphine, are opioids […]
Posted inThe Download
Drug treatment for drug addiction
It’s an approach that research evidence and many in recovery say makes sense — but one that some advocates say has it all wrong. One of the most effective ways of treating those suffering from opioid addiction is with drugs. There are two types of drugs used. Methadone and a newer drug, buprenorphine, are opioids […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Addressing inmate addiction must be a priority
THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE BILLS recently passed by the Massachusetts Senate and released by the House Committee on Ways and Means provide sensible reform to failed criminal justice approaches, including doing away with some mandatory minimum sentences for minor drug offenses. These reforms are both pragmatic and just. By shifting the focus away from laws and […]