Health Affairs October 29, 2025
One hot summer evening in 2019, security called us out of our clinic located within the largest men’s shelter in Boston, Massachusetts: “Overdose, out front!” We grabbed the oxygen tank and emergency kit and ran outside. Among the tents, a man lay blue and not breathing.
“I already gave him a dose of Narcan,” said a woman nearby. When I asked her if she knew anything about him, she said, “No, I was just nearby and always keep Narcan just in case.”
The man next to him said, “My buddy just got out of jail and lost his tolerance. That’s why he overdosed.” Periods of abstinence from opioids such as one might experience during incarceration can increase overdose risk upon...
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