One Heart: Harm Reduction

You won’t see disclaimers or words of caution frequently in my posts because on my network page I link some harm reduction, testing, and educational sites who focus solely on this. I also expect that every person will research, consider contraindications, factor in health history, etc before choosing to ingest anything.

But given some recent events and the current substance climate I’d like to add a dedicated post on a specific area of harm reduction that is important to know or be reminded of.

Recently I was in a high school auditorium and noticed Narcan kits afixed to walls above fire extinguishers. This is necessary, tragically so, but it is. We are not living in the Peace & Love substance era of the 60s/70s. We are not at the PLUR raves of my youth.

Sadly, we are in an era where many substances are laced with fentanyl. And fentanyl kills.

So what do we do with this knowledge?

1. Again I direct you to dancesafe.org & https://bunkpolice.com On these sites you can get testing kits which can detect it.

2. Know how to use Narcan; understand that doses can be given every 2-3 minutes and that a person needs to be monitored for 3 hours afterward (or until they receive medical attention) because overdose symptoms can re-occur without additional ingestion of drugs once the Narcan wears off. https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/12028.pdf

3. Keep Narcan on hand/in your car/in your purse. Even if you don’t partake in substance use, you could save a life.

4. Know where to get Narcan or to send others to get it. You can order it online or, for example, in my town there is a nonprofit which gives free Narcan kits and fentanyl tests to anyone who asks for them.

I believe we can transform this climate, so there won’t be any more need for Narcan. But until we do, let’s have it and be prepared to help others. I believe there is a difference between substance use and substance abuse. Next time, I’ll talk about that.

They say, “it takes a village.” And so I leave you with this charge. Let’s work together to be kind and loving, to be prepared to help others. To keep hearts beating, as one heart. 🫀

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