Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Baltimore Should Open 'Safe Spaces' For Addicts To Take Drugs, Johns Hopkins Researchers Recommend
The Washington Post: Hopkins Researchers Suggest Baltimore Offer Addicts Safe Places To Do Drugs
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health recommend that Baltimore turn to an unorthodox way of dealing with its heroin epidemic by opening two facilities that provide people a safe place to take drugs. In a report published and commissioned by the nonprofit Abell Foundation, the researchers suggest opening one facility on the city’s east side and another on the west. They say such facilities would prevent overdose deaths and other harms that addicts face. (McDaniels, 2/28)
The Washington Post: Attorney General Sessions Wants To Know The Science On Marijuana And Opioids. Here It Is.
Speaking this morning before the National Association of Attorneys General, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions expressed doubt that marijuana could help mitigate the opioid abuse epidemic. “I see a line in The Washington Post today that I remember from the '80s,” Sessions said. "'Marijuana is a cure for opiate abuse.' Give me a break. This is the kind of argument that's been made out there to just — almost a desperate attempt to defend the harmlessness of marijuana or even its benefits. I doubt that's true. Maybe science will prove I'm wrong.” (Ingraham, 2/28)
WBUR: How Walsh's Opioid Outreach Program Is Working, 6 Months In
This is the first time the mayor has walked around the neighborhood with three of the outreach workers he put here six months ago amid complaints about things such as used needles littering the streets and the number of people congregating in this area, many clearly inebriated, openly buying and/or selling drugs — most in desperate need of services. While many were clearly happy to talk with mayor, several had complaints about things such as the homeless shelters, police officers or the difficulty getting treatment. Jenna, 29, who doesn't want her last name used, says she has been using methadone for more than a year, but programs specifically for women are scarce. (Becker, 3/1)
New Hampshire Public Radio: Will Stricter Penalties For Dealers Help Stem N.H.'s Drug Epidemic?
For the past year, state and county prosecutors in New Hampshire have started enforcing a decades-old law that allows them to seek tougher penalties for drug dealers who sell lethal doses. So far, the policy has led to a handful of convictions, with sentences ranging from a few years to 20 years in prison. But critics warn this strategy will have little effect on the state’s epidemic of drug abuse. (Sutherland, 2/28)
