#harm redux

[trans-axolotl]

okay also semi related post. I think it is really silly when people make all these posts about how adderall is so different than meth and start saying demeaning stuff about meth users when they’re discussing the artificially created adderall shortage. the two drugs are both stimulants and yeah they are not chemically identical but they are enough the same that I currently know of a clinical trial where people are piloting adderall as a form of MAT for meth users. (Which has been really popular with the participants so far, people were telling me they liked having access to a consistent supply of adderall and were interested in reducing their meth use to only a couple times a week instead.) so maybe we should start thinking a little bit more about how there’s a lot of propaganda sensationalizing and stigmatizing meth use and stop blaming people who use meth for a shortage that the DEA is causing!!!

[chronicallycouchbound]

People who use drugs deserve love and kindness.

Abstinence is not the only form of recovery. AA/NA doesn’t work for everyone. Sometimes people choose to use instead of meeting other needs, which is valid. Some people use for recreational purposes. Some people use for medicinal purposes. Some people who use have substance abuse disorder. Treatment looks different for everyone. Not everyone needs or wants treatment, for various reasons. The only thing Naloxone enables is breathing. Active use is not shameful. People who use drugs often also deal drugs. People in recovery should not shame active users. Active users deserve love. Active users deserve someone to check in on them, get them safer use supplies, and get them pizza. Active users deserve to be listened to. They deserve better than to have that be the first time anyone ever treated them as human since they began using.

Let’s care for each other.

[dognonsense]

Safe supply saves lives linocut patch i carved today!

[felidaefatigue]

You know how eagles will lock talons midair and plummet in a death spiral together till the last possible moment as a mating ritual?

And how Dr. Lilla Watson said “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."

Well if u wanna join talons with me and have 25$ to donate to a cause of your choice (charity, non profit, w.e.), you should fill out this form with your shippin info (it also explains more) and ill also donate + send u a print >3

Update!! (may 2024) I am closing my google accounts so this form is no longer accessible but if you dm me we can figure out the details if youde like any remaining prints!

[fixing-bad-posts]

[Image description: One of the "Almond Blossoms" paintings by Vincent van Gogh, with an erasure-poem overlay comprised of a redacted tumblr post. Resulting text reads, "yes. I know what I'm talking about, harm reduction is openminded, patient, and not horrible".]

---

yes. I know what I'm talking about, harm reduction is openminded, patient, and not horrible

[chronicallycouchbound]

Saying that cannabis isn’t a drug further stigmatizes drug use. Cannabis is a drug, and that’s okay. When you say it’s just a plant or it’s just medicine, while both those statements are true, it is harmful in many ways. People who use drugs are not bad. Drugs are not bad. Stop stigmatizing drug use and start encouraging safe drug use.

[trouble-de-la-belle-princesse]

i kinda wanna try posting some recovery and/or harm reduction tips...

but i know the circles i post in can be kind of anti recovery sometimes...

what do you guys think?

(please reblog if you're a cluster b disorder, mental health, neet, jirai, menhera, hikikiomori, or any similar kind of blog for reach!!)

[memphisfoodnotbombs]

General Meeting this Sunday, open to the public, May 4th, 3-4pm, DM for address! 🖤 (email if we don’t respond quick enough here: MemphisFoodNotBombs @ gmail dot com [link in bio])

Picnic this Saturday at our usual location & time, Court Square Park from 1:30-3pm.

We are still seeking shelving, storage containers and general donations to support our mutual aid efforts.

Please, feel free to get involved, we are all about building community, getting to know our neighbors and making friends.

As always, we take in-kind, financial donations via our cashapp (reach out directly if you need a tax deductible receipt): $MemphisFNB

#MemphisFoodNotBombs #FoodNotBombsMemphis #FoodNotBombs #MemphisMutualAid #Memphis #MemphisTN #MemphisTennesse #SolidarityNotCharity #901HarmReduction #MidsouthForAbolition #NeighborsHelpingNeighbors #DowntownMemphis #CourtSquarePark #WeTakeCareOfUs #FoodIsAHumanRight #XAI #People #Solidarity #SolidarityForever #LoveIsLove #TransRightsAreHumanRights #EndTheWarOnDrugs #HarmReduction #HarmReductionSavesLives

Follow our sister orgs!!

901 Harm Reduction

Mid-South for Abolition

[dognonsense]

the last video of courtney talking about harm reduction i shared a while back resonated with people. So heres an update on her! We got great news for courtney as she has her own room after being homeless for 2-3 years now. Her venmo is court-dourt if you want to support her.

[wormg0rl]

Conversations around the water cooler

(made by me ;) new idea for promoting narcan)

[chronicallycouchbound]

hi I had a question about your cannabis post

i don’t know much about cannabis so sorry if I misunderstand smth

but I don’t understand what “safe” drug use implies,, how can drugs be safe? what’s safe drug use??

i probably have a very narrow view on this topic, so id like to know more

on a different note id like to thank you for your content, I feel that ive learned a lot from this account :)) thanks!!!

(feel free to ignore this)

It’s important to first recognize that more things are drugs than we normally consider: alcohol, tobacco, nicotine, caffeine, cannabis, are all drugs just as much as opiates, benzos, etc. Any medication is a drug.

Any drugs have the ability to be used properly and safely as well as the potential to be used negatively or harmfully. Drugs are morally neutral. Even addiction is morally neutral.

Alcohol can be used to cut loose with friends on the weekend, but it can also be used to cause poisoning. Tobacco can be used to calm down after an argument, but it can also cause cancer. Opiates can be used to manage severe pain, and can also cause overdose.

People have always used drugs historically, and in order to survive, people often need them. Using substances can also not just be medically or recreational, there are spiritual and cultural reasons as well. Some people need substances to manage their emotional or mental needs (especially without supports otherwise).

Any drug can be safe. It’s all in how it’s used, as well as within context.

Safe use looks different for everyone, but personally, I try to encourage methods that are harm reduction focused.

Harm reduction can look like:

• Safe supply of substances to ensure that people are getting unlaced stuff.

• Education so people know how to avoid accidental consequences of their use.

• Access to unused syringes or works to prevent blood borne infections.

• Having a designated driver or trip sitter.

• Sitting with someone while they use in case they have negative effects.

• Access to naloxone/Narcan to reverse opioid overdoses.

• Starting with a lower dose and going slow with use to ensure you’re getting the intended effects.

And harm reduction is so much more than just about substances, it’s things like seatbelts in cars and condoms and STI testing. It’s the lesser of two evils and a primary focus of harm reduction is that it keeps people alive above all else.

Some people like to say “harm reduction keeps people alive long enough to get sober” but I personally feel like sobriety isn’t always the solution for everyone, nor is it accessible to everyone.

But yeah, safe use exists, and most drugs ARE used safely every day. That’s what a pharmacist’s whole job is for.

•

I appreciate this ask, I’m always happy to talk about harm reduction. I co-founded a local harm reduction organization and have done a lot of advocacy around this— everything from reversing ODs, speaking on panels, testifying for bills with the ACLU, training communities on how to administer Naloxone, distributing safe use supplies, etc. I have a lot of personal experience with addiction and feel very passionately about this. I was tired of my friends dying and I just want to make the world a safer place.

[fountainpenchess]

While it is necessary that we tirelessly tackle the sociopolitical oppressions that can create or intensify suicidal ideations, we must also acknowledge that suicidal peoples' experience of suffering is real and respect their need to end their life after careful consideration in a very supportive process of accompaniment that also offers, along the way, a wide variety of other potential solutions.

— alexandre baril, suicidism: a new theoretical framework to conceptualize suicide from an anti-oppressive perspective

[selfmedblves]

Yes I believe all drug use should be decriminalized.

Yes even the drugs you think are scary.

Yes even intravenous drugs.

Yes even what you consider "hard drugs".

Yes even street drugs.

Yes even opioids.

Criminalization has never worked.

It never will work.

[memphisfoodnotbombs]

Never Use Alone

[bitteroot-babe]

Vertical pages from my junk journal. Mixed media pieces feature, sticky notes from GCW, pokemon cards, receipts, parking tickets, catholic magazine cutouts, stickers, covid tests, and Narcan boxes.

[trans-axolotl]

do you have any resources on a better mindset towards drug users? i would love to learn more about that.

sure!

overall I'd say i think it's important to realize that people who use drugs are already a part of your community, that when you look at your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, you already know and care about people who use drugs, even if you don't know that they're using. and that there are a lot of myths surrounding drug use--even things that you might think are "common sense" ideas around drug use are worth interrogating to see where that knowledge came from and how true it really is. I'd also say that I think it can be really helpful to try to come in with a sense of curiosity, take time to notice and sit with feelings of discomfort that might come up for you when learning about drugs, and just have an open mind even if some things seem different or uncomfortable to you.

harm reduction 101:

Harm Reduction Principles from the Harm Reduction Coalition

Next Distro's Resources--They have a ton of resources sorted by topic. I'd recommend browsing through their info about specific drugs, I think that reading neutral and accurate information about drugs can help demystify drug use a lot. I'd also check out their Drug Related Stigma page.

harm reduction activism:

Reclaiming Harm Reduction by Emi Koyama

The Big Lie in the War Against Drugs from Truthout

Saving Our Own Lives by Shira Hassan (dm me if you want the PDF)

Harm Reduction is not a Metaphor from HIV Doula Work

Takeover Documentary by Emma Francis-Snyder

this is just a short list so if people have other resources they want to recommend, feel free!