Alexander Lekhtman

1 week ago | filtermag.org | Alexander Lekhtman

A proposal advancing in the Texas legislature would authorize syringe service program (SSP) pilots in a total of seven counties, but potentially charge participants a fee per syringe. HB 3174 had a public hearing before a House subcommittee on April 14and has about one month left to cross over into the Senate. Texas doesn’t authorize SSP state-wide, and for the past several years only Bexar County has permitted locally funded pilots to operate.

2 weeks ago | filtermag.org | Alexander Lekhtman

A new campaign highlights how Medicaid has transformed the lives of many people who use drugs, through medications for opioid use disorder, counseling and other treatment that they otherwise couldn’t have accessed. It’s intended to help influence lawmakers in defense of the federal health care program, which is being targeted for brutal cuts by the Republican-controlled Congress.

3 weeks ago | filtermag.org | Alexander Lekhtman

Increasing criminal penalties for fentanyl had zero impact on overdose deaths in Colorado and accomplished nothing good. That’s the result of a study commissioned by the state itself to research outcomes of a law that refelonized fentanyl possession charges. In 2022, Colorado lawmakers took a step that they claimed would help reduce overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl. The legislature and Governor Jared Polis (D) signed off on a bill to create harsher criminal penalties.

3 weeks ago | filtermag.org | Alexander Lekhtman

On March 28, President Donald Trump announced Sara Carter as his pick for “drug czar.” Carter, who will need to be confirmed by the Senate, has a background as a journalist and Fox News contributor, with no direct drug policy or public health experience. “From Afghanistan to our Border, Sarah’s relentless pursuit of Justice, especially in tackling the Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis, has exposed terrorists, drug lords, and sex traffickers,” Trump said in a statement.

4 weeks ago | filtermag.org | Alexander Lekhtman

Seven years ago, a deeply controversial paper claimed that states introducing laws to expand naloxone led to increases in opioid-related emergency room visits and arrests, in a reflection of “moral hazard.”The paper, which sparked headlines everywhere from the Atlantic to the Washington Post and CNN, was heavily criticized by harm reduction advocates and other public health experts at the time.