Harm Reduction Coalition's Podcast

The Peer Delivered Syringe Exchange Network held its annual conference in New York on May 4, 2012. This week’s podcast tracks the day through the voices of those involved. Background report: User-to-User: Peer Delivered Syringe Exchange in New York City. http://harmreduction.org/publication-type/report/user-to-user/

This week’s podcast features interviews with Massachusetts’s Gary Langis and Dr. Lou Couco of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on the subject of SBIRT: Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment http://1.usa.gov/JQvPkQ. SBIRT can fit neatly in the harm reduction paradigm.

Interviews with Ria Tsinas who talks about the recently started women’s hours at the People’s Harm Reduction Alliance in Seattle http://bit.ly/wc1yk0 and with Caleb Banta-Green http://bit.ly/I9cIGK,a research scientist at the University of Washington, who talks about the multiplicity of issues and solutions related to prescription drug use. A recent Op-ed co-authored by Caleb http://bit.ly/HJ8cdt

Establishing a relationship with law enforcement is an essential component of creating a solid harm reduction program. This podcast features conversations on building those relationships. Interviews with Harm Reduction Coalition’s Narelle Ellendon, North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition’s Corey Davis, Molly Bannerman from Counterfit in Toronto, and Leo Beletsky of Northeastern University School of Law. Resources: Harm Reduction Coalition http://bit.ly/HNXfbF, plus http://www.leahrn.org/, and info on the North Carolina Law Enforcement Safety and Drug Policy Summit http://bit.ly/HObYqO

Interviews with Eliot Albers, Executive Director of the International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD) http://www.inpud.net/ and Monte Levine, harm reduction activist, of the Ostrich Bay syringe exchange. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2UGJwVLiLU. Eliot talks about the importance of representation of drug users within global forums. Monte compares his life as a queer activist with his life when he puts his drug user hat on.

Final word on CND 2012 from Heather Haase, Zara Snapp, Anistla Rugama, Scott Burris, Corey Davis, Whitney Englander, Leo Beletsky and Sharon Stancliff. See you in 2013.

Interviews with Zara Snapp and Juan Ballestas of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. We talk drug war in Mexico, why the presence of younger people at high level meetings is critical, what SSDP is up to and the morality of avoidance.

An overdose resolution passes at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. Anistla Rugama, Sharon Stancliff, Whitney Englander and Sharon Stancliff are teary eyed and cheering. A meeting with Yuri Fedotov, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Tinga Kalafa makes a happy surprise appearance.

Ennui and tiredness set in. Heather Haase, Anistla Rugama, Sharon Stancliff and Whitney O’Neill discuss the civil society forum, youth forum and 100 Year Celebration of the Opium Convention.

Review of day 1 of CND 2012 with Heather Haase, Allan Clear and Corey Davis of the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition. Bolivia's President, Evo Morales and cultural use of coca, US Drug Czar, Gil Kerlikowske, and the right to review the international drug conventions. US Drug Czar's comments http://1.usa.gov/A9adsu

Heather Haase and Allan Clear preview this year’s CND meeting. The Bolivians and their coca, the Americans and their brief sanctions, and a truly groundbreaking first ever United Nations discussion on drug overdose. To be continued. http://bit.ly/xImRpc.

This week’s podcast features an interview with Lee, Kourtne and Shilo of Seattle’s Urban Survivor's Union. http://on.fb.me/xtkKAY We talk about the reality of being a drug user in the US and how to organize for change. We also talk about the People’s Harm Reduction Alliance – a user run exchange in Seattle. http://bit.ly/wc1yk0 Buy something at their store!

The federal ban on the funding of syringe is back. Activists respond. An interview with Stephanie Platis and Helen Jack of Yale. Coming to your town on March 21, get involved with the Syringe Exchange Day of Action. Contact Hilary McQuie 510 444 6969 or mcquie@harmreduction.org. Our second interview is with HRC’s Allen Frimpong who discusses his work on African American leadership in the harm reduction movement. Look out for the related webinar.

This week’s podcast features Toronto’s Counterfit - a user run harm reduction program. http://www.srchc.ca/ The show features an interview with internationally known drug user organizer Raffi Balian who talks about Counterfit, his work with dealers, employing drug users and fentanyl. Along with Cheryl White, he’s the author Harm Reduction at Work: A Guide for Organizations Employing People Who Use Drugs. http://bit.ly/nPyhoY He also talks about the inspirational article by Donald Grove “Real Harm Reduction: Underground Survival Strategies” http://bit.ly/xmNxk5 The second interview is part one of a conversation with Molly Bannerman who runs the Women’s Harm Reduction Program at Counterfit.

Maia Szalavitz has been writing about drugs, harm reduction, treatment and drug policy for over two decades. She is a health writer for TIME.com http://healthland.time.com/author/maiasz/ and she can be followed on Twitter at @maiasz

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