The reason our policies have failed is because we have not confronted a simple truth: We must care more about saving and improving the lives of people who use drugs than stopping drug use.
Residents who have experienced different waves of this crisis expressed frustration, fear, and hope about what they experienced, and what the future will bring.
Telling a thousand strangers about my lowest point in medicine was harder, and more rewarding, than I anticipated. It also taught me about medicine’s destructive culture of shame.
The assumption is that marijuana is safe, and even good for our health. But as anyone who uses weed will tell you, these are not your grandma’s pot brownies.
Residents who have experienced different waves of this crisis expressed frustration, fear, and hope about what they experienced, and what the future will bring.