A vending machine with needles and Narcan

Also: Why there's been so little progress closing racial health disparities [❤️ Donate]( [View in Browser]( October 29, 2024    Hi CommonHealth reader, Maybe I should have tucked the jumbo box of condoms in my shopping cart under the toilet paper. It was a busy day at Costco, and I got some funny looks from other shoppers eyeing my haul from neighboring checkout lines. I guess the lady with gray hair in sweatpants didn't strike them as a volume condom user. But maybe there were a few moms and dads who knew what that boxed signaled: "harm reduction" parenting. I learned about harm reduction from people who use drugs and outreach workers who help them survive dangerous addictions. Harm reduction is a public health response that prioritizes keeping people alive and reducing the harms of drug use, rather than forcing them to abstain. It's a demonstration of compassion, not condemnation. This week, I filed a story about Massachusetts' [first harm reduction vending machine](. It dispenses sterile injection supplies, pipes for crack and meth use, fentanyl test strips, wound care packages, condoms, Narcan and a half dozen other items that prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis C, and help people avoid a fatal overdose. The machine sits just outside the entrance to Berkshire Harm Reduction, a clinic in downtown North Adams. Program Manager Sarah DeJesus told me clients had been asking for expanded hours for years, but she couldn't manage the logistics to make that work. "So, the idea of a vending machine that allows people to access all of the supplies, 24/7, even when we're not open, we thought would be really beneficial," she said. A man named Brian got a package of fentanyl test strips while I was there. I'm not sharing his last name because Brian buys and uses illegal drugs. "I don't shoot up that much," Brian said. "But someone will give me something. And if it's late at night, I don't want to use their needle but I really want to do this, you know." Before the vending machine was installed, Brian said, "it was like bleach their needle and hope you don't get hep C." Now, he has access to clean needles when he needs them. The state Department of Public Health bought 14 of these machines more than a year ago. It's been hard to place them, even in neighborhoods that are already overdose hot spots. Some residents and business owners worry it is enabling, encouraging or condoning drug use to give people clean supplies - or do anything other than demand that they stop. Some parents face similar dilemmas. Now that my boys are grown, I know they were having sex well before I put the first box of condoms next to the towels in the linen closet. I also know, now, that I was supplying their friends as well. I gave my kids Narcan and asked them to carry it in their backpacks, although I'm not sure they did. We had an agreement that I would pick them or call them rides, anytime - no questions asked - so they wouldn't drive or ride with anyone who'd been drinking. Those were messy, fraught years. As far as I can tell, there's no easy, painless way to help the people we care about avoid danger. I've learned I can't control my boys' behavior, but I can help reduce their risks. So even though they are mostly on their own, I still have a box of condoms in the linen closet - a regular size box though, not the jumbo version with four flavors. There was always one flavor nobody liked. Martha Bebinger Reporter, Health This Week's Must Reads [Black Americans still suffer worse health. Here's why there's so little progress]( The United States has made almost no progress in closing racial health disparities despite promises, research shows. The government, some critics argue, is often the underlying culprit. [Read more.]( [Black Americans still suffer worse health. 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Wade in 2022, one study estimates there's been nearly 65,000 pregnancies from rape in states that ban abortion. [Read more.]( [Many state abortion bans include exceptions for rape. How often are they granted?]( Since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022, one study estimates there's been nearly 65,000 pregnancies from rape in states that ban abortion. [Read more.]( [Here's where Harris and Trump stand on three big health care issues]( The next president will face decisions on drug price negotiations, enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans and medication abortion among other issues. Here's where the candidates stand. [Read more.]( [Here's where Harris and Trump stand on three big health care issues]( The next president will face decisions on drug price negotiations, enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans and medication abortion among other issues. Here's where the candidates stand. [Read more.]( [New research finds trans teens have high satisfaction with gender care]( The survey published in JAMA Pediatrics showed that trans teens taking puberty blockers or hormones had very low rates of regret. [Read more.]( [New research finds trans teens have high satisfaction with gender care]( The survey published in JAMA Pediatrics showed that trans teens taking puberty blockers or hormones had very low rates of regret. [Read more.]( What We're Reading 📚 - What drugmakers did not tell volunteers in Alzheimer's trials ([The New York Times]( - The real reason women crave chocolate during their period ([The Washington Post]( - The smartwatches that can predict Parkinson's disease ([BBC]( Your Health [Lead in cinnamon: Where do things stand, 1 year after a scary recall?]( Last Halloween, the FDA said that some cinnamon, a spice loved by many kids and adults, was contaminated with lead, a metal that can cause irreversible damage in babies and young children. [Read more.]( [Lead in cinnamon: Where do things stand, 1 year after a scary recall?]( Last Halloween, the FDA said that some cinnamon, a spice loved by many kids and adults, was contaminated with lead, a metal that can cause irreversible damage in babies and young children. [Read more.]( 🧠💥 Did you know...💥🧠 ...every apple you'll eat these season was "invented" by a scientist. [NPR's Short Wave podcast]( has more on how apples are bred and cloned. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 🔎 Explore [WBUR's Field Guide]( stories, events and more. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.](   [Donate](   # # Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences](.   I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. Unsubscribe from all WBUR editorial newsletters [here](.   Interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship? [Click here](. 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