drug users

Louise Vincent has used street drugs since she was 13. She has emerged as a leading voice trying to humanize and help people who use drugs as they face the most devastating overdose crisis in U.S. history.

One woman's controversial fight to make America accept drug users for who they are

7:53am November 19, 2023

by Brian Mann

Louise Vincent has used drugs since she was 13. Research shows millions of Americans like her aren't ready or able to stop. Vincent believes it's time people accept that.

Will wipes away sweat on a hot day while walking down Willow Street in Lynn, Mass., as he looks to distribute safety supplies to drug users on the street.

National

He Lost Nearly Everything To Addiction. Then An Arrest Changed His Life

7:04am June 19, 2021

by Martha Bebinger

For years, people who used drugs were treated like criminals, often given long sentences. Now there's growing acceptance that addiction is a treatable disease, but shame and discrimination linger.

Huntington was once ground-zero for this opioid epidemic. Several years ago, they formed a team that within days visits everyone who overdoses to try to pull them back from the brink. The county's overdose rate plummeted. They wrestled down an HIV cluster

National

Overdose Deaths Rose During The War On Drugs, But Efforts To Reduce Them Face Backlash

7:00am June 19, 2021

by Brian Mann

Researchers know how to curb the risks of overdose and disease among drug users, but policymakers are reluctant to allow public health measures that include needle exchanges and access to safer drugs.

Emily Ligawiec (right) and Officer Jon Cacela take weekly pottery classes together in Ware, Mass. Rather than arrest Ligawiec last winter when she took heroin and stole her mom's car, he offered her help.

National

Police Offering Drug Recovery Help: 'We Can't Arrest Our Way Out Of This Problem'

8:03am February 08, 2020

by Karen Brown

Police departments are toning down the law enforcement, and offering drug users recovery help instead. But convincing drug users to accept the help is not easy.

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Arlington, Mass., Police Chief Fred Ryan (right) and Inspector Gina Bassett review toxicology reports on cocaine evidence looking for the possibility of fentanyl.

Fentanyl-Laced Cocaine Becoming A Deadly Problem Among Drug Users

11:05am March 29, 2018

by Martha Bebinger

The powerful opioid fentanyl is showing up in batches of cocaine, threatening a new wave of opioid overdoses. Some doctors, drug users and law enforcement wonder if the contamination is deliberate.

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WBUR reporter Martha Bebinger (right) walks with Kristin, a drug user who says she has been repeatedly sexually assaulted while high on drugs.

Women With Opioid Addiction Live With Daily Fear Of Assault, Rape

2:50pm September 21, 2017

by Martha Bebinger

Such attacks among women and some men with an opioid addiction often go unreported because the victims fear retaliation from drug dealers or charges from police.

Sabas Sanchez Jr. was better known among his neighbors in Madison, Neb., as "Gordo" — Spanish for chubby. He also had an oversized personality. His father keeps this tattered photo in his wallet.

In America's Heartland, Heroin Crisis Is Hitting Too Close To Home

1:15pm May 26, 2015

by Bobby Caina Calvan

Midwestern and Southwestern states struggle with an influx of heroin being sold for cheap by Mexican cartels. In one community, a spike in heroin-related deaths has everyone on high alert.

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Needle Exchange Program Creates Black Market In Clean Syringes

3:54pm January 07, 2015

by Emma Jacobs

Some drug users in Philadelphia are reselling syringes they get for free at needle exchanges. That's illegal, but researchers say the practice still helps prevent the spread of diseases like HIV.

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