Articles for Jesse Copelyn

Fentanyl is here: South Africans test positive for potent opioid

Preliminary research shows people are using fentanyl, a lab-made opioid over 30 times as potent as heroin, responsible for thousands of deaths in the US

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News | 9 December 2024

From caps to needles: Durban’s whoonga drug culture is changing

People who use heroin in Durban are increasingly switching from smoking to injecting, causing public health concerns

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News | 3 December 2024

MSF slams Novo Nordisk for South Africa’s insulin pen shortage

But the multinational pharmaceutical company says it offered government solutions

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News | 15 November 2024

Health department to take medical approach to heroin crisis

In response to high rates of heroin use, the government will pilot an opioid agonist therapy program

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News | 15 November 2024

How government is hindering its own drug policies

A program supplying sterile injection equipment was stopped for months in Cape Town

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Feature | 5 November 2024

South Africans exposed to high levels of lead

In 2022, over 700-tonnes of lead chromates were imported into the country from India alone

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News | 29 October 2024

Alarming rise in HIV among drug users as government fails to implement policy

Needle programs are officially supported, but the state often obstructs them

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Feature | 21 October 2024

Heroin use has spread as prices plummet

South Africa’s central position in a drug smuggling route between West Asia and Europe plays a role

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Information | 9 October 2024