Undoing Drugs: A Conversation with Maia Szalavitz

Maia Szalavitz, author of Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction, discusses the story of harm reduction and its potential to tame the opioid crisis, mitigate future drug problems, and quell other pandemics, in conversation with Lawson Koeppel, co-founder of Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition.

REGISTER FOR FREE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/undoing-drugs-a-conversation-with-maia-szalavitz-tickets-167099564295

This event is the first in a two-part series developed in collaboration with the Community Mental Health and Wellness Coalition as a part of National Recovery Month. At 4:00pm on September 30, the Coalition will host a panel discussion featuring local harm reduction champions, which will be moderated by Erin Tucker, executive director of On Our Own. More details are available here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAufuirqzwrHd353K2ZzBFy2BRsHXOhzw_5

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Maia Szalavitz, author of Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction, is an award-winning journalist who specializes in science and health. She is the author of Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids and Recovery Options: The Complete Guide with Joseph Volpicelli, M.D., Ph.D. She lives in New York City. Learn more at MaiaSz.com.

Lawson Koeppel, MSW, is a person in long-term recovery whose focus is on active substance use, policy, and mental health. He co-founded Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition (VHRC) in 2018 to prevent overdose deaths and empower people who use drugs. Since its founding, VHRC has distributed more than 80,000 doses of naloxone from Charleston, W.V. to Virginia Beach. As of August 2021, 2,905 funerals were prevented this year due to the distribution. Learn more at CarryNaloxone.org.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS:

Thanks to our community partners for their help in sharing this event: Community Mental Health and Wellness Coalition, Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition

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This program, FREE to attend and open to the public, is part of SHELF LIFE, a series of virtual events presented by the Virginia Festival of the Book, a program of Virginia Humanities. To attend, please register here or simply make plans to watch on Facebook.com/VaBookFest.

This event will offer closed captions and an accompanying live transcript using Zoom’s built-in automatic speech recognition software (ASR). To request live-captioning accommodations, please write vabook@virginia.edu no later than seven days before the event. A video recording from this event will be provided soon after completion and an accurate transcript will be available at a later date, at VaBook.org/watch.

To learn more, visit VaBook.org/Schedule. #HumanitiesAtHome #ShelfLife