Maia Szalavitz
Maia Szalavitz is a reporter and author who focuses on science, public policy, and addiction treatment. She's the author of the New York Times bestseller Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction.
Pain and Isolation Are Driving America’s Lockdown Overdose Surge
The pandemic is causing a surge in drug overdoses due to increasing isolation, desperation, and erratic supply.
Brain Implants to Treat Addiction Are Dangerous and Promising
The U.S. is conducting clinical trials of deep brain stimulation for opioid addiction, but ethical questions abound.
People Who Take Opioid Painkillers Are Getting Screwed Thanks to Coronavirus
Quarantined people have to go out to get their prescriptions and can't get a backup supply.
A Vending Machine in Canada Is Dispensing a Drug Twice as Strong as Heroin
Hydromorphone, aka "Dilly," is now available to people who aren't ready or able to quit opioids.
What Happens When a 'Progressive' Democrat Refuses to Help People with Addiction
If New York's Governor Cuomo doesn’t sign these laws, he is literally condemning hundreds of people to die for the sake of insurance-company greed.
Doctors Are Still Denying People Pain Meds and the Results Are Deadly
Insurers and state governments haven’t gotten up to speed with federal recommendations, and pain patients are paying the price.
The Bankruptcy Money From the Makers of Oxycontin Might Actually Save Lives
Grassroots addiction groups could get tens of millions of dollars and start a long-overdue revolution in the way we care for and treat drug problems in the U.S.
The DEA Shares Blame for the Opioid Crisis
The Drug Enforcement Agency's role in the opioid crisis makes clear that law enforcement shouldn't be regulating medicine.
Weed Is Way Stronger Than It Used to Be. That's Why It Should Be Legal
OK, maybe it's not "your father's weed."
Democrats Are Racing to Look Progressive on Drugs
Sanders and Warren supporting safe injection sites shows how far we've come since the 80s.
An Unprecedented Drop in Overdose Deaths Is Sadly Not Reason to Celebrate
We know that politically, when turning points in crises are identified, both attention and money are drawn away from the issue.
Facebook Is Censoring Posts That Could Save Opioid Users' Lives
Facebook appears to be blocking people who warn users about poisonous batches of drugs or who supply materials used to test for fentanyl.