Jack Shuler

1 week ago | matternews.org | Jack Shuler

I always go back to the list. The one I keep on a Post-it note in my office. It’s behind my computer, stuck to a wall littered with Post-its and calendars and my children’s artwork: a yellow Post-it with the names of people I know who have died of an overdose in recent years.  I placed it there as a reminder that I write about real human beings.

1 week ago | matternews.org | Jack Shuler

This article is provided by TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here. Every Thursday afternoon at a small storefront on Detroit Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, the staff at Thrive for Change hands out naloxone and safe use supplies to the mostly low-income and often unhoused population who walks through the door.

2 weeks ago | thereportingproject.org | Jack Shuler

Every Thursday afternoon at a small storefront on Detroit Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, the staff at Thrive for Change hands out naloxone and safe-use supplies to the mostly low-income and often unhoused population who walks through the door. They do their best to make everyone feel welcome. One wall of the space is covered in photos, another a bulletin board with resources. Music plays. It’s a lot of ’80s music — heavy on the Fleetwood Mac.

1 month ago | matternews.org | Jack Shuler

In 2019, I had the opportunity to interview psychologist Bruce Alexander, pioneer of the Rat Park studies. His work led to what may seem like obvious conclusions – rats in cages with little stimulation, no peers, and no community, will use opioids that numb them from the burdens of being alive when given the option. On the other hand, rats given space to roam, a community, toys, and games, will use opioids less often.

2 months ago | matternews.org | Jack Shuler

At the height of his power and wealth, so-called Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar brought four hippopotamuses to Hacienda Nápoles, his rural estate. After he was killed in 1993, the animals roamed freely and eventually reproduced. They dwelled in the forests, eating native plants and destroying habitats – a vivid and voracious legacy of the drug war if there ever was one. I’ve been thinking a lot about legacies as of late.