As opioid overdoses skyrocket across the country, some of the highest mortality rates are in the South, where state laws pose significant barriers to safer drug use. In North Carolina, a bill to legalize syringe exchanges—programs that swap out used syringes for clean ones—has stalled in the Senate despite widespread support, even from law enforcement. In Scalawag's debut podcast, Kat Bawden takes us inside the Urban Survivor's Union, a support network and advocacy group for drug users which practices harm reduction, a controversial but inarguably effective approach to dealing with addiction.
