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Chad Sabora

@chadsabora.bsky.social
103 followers 64 following 77 posts

Senior policy advisor on all things #harmreduction and #drugpolicy. Also, aspiring Jedi.

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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Were you listening to me, Neo? Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress? chadsabora.substack.com/p/the-drug-w...
chadsabora.substack.com
The Drug War Has a Search Bar Now
Flock cameras, networked surveillance and what happens when movement itself becomes searchable
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
This nomination should concern everyone working in behavioral health. Read this. Share it. Then let’s get organized before the Senate votes. #samhsa #publichealth #senateconfirmation #resist open.substack.com/pub/chadsabo...
open.substack.com
Meet Dr. Timothy Westlake: The Next Leader of SAMHSA?
The Senate will soon decide whether Dr. Timothy Westlake should lead SAMHSA. Before that vote happens, it is worth taking a closer look at his public record, his leadership philosophy and what his app
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
www.tiktok.com/t/ZTSwkYSyo/
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
This is one of those federal notices that looks boring enough to ignore and important enough that we absolutely should not. The people doing the work need to get into the record before the definitions are written without them. #CDC #HIVprevention #Publichealth open.substack.com/pub/chadsabo...
open.substack.com
CDC Is Deciding What the Federal Government Will Know About Syringe Services Programs
The people doing the work have until August 3 to help define what gets measured, what gets recognized and what gets erased.
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
If the only way people will accept treatment is by being forced into it, maybe we’ve built the wrong system. Robert Ashford asks the question more of us should be asking. #Recovery #HarmReduction #RecoveryIsh #addictiontreatment #publichealth www.tiktok.com/t/ZTSDLMPf9/
tiktok.com
Should people be forced into addiction treatment? Or should we build treatment people actually want to use? This conversation challenges one of the biggest assumptions in addiction treatment and asks ...
TikTok video by recoveryish
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Recovery-ish challenges the dominant recovery narrative with honest conversations about recovery, harm reduction, drug policy and the systems that shape people’s lives. #RecoveryPodcast #HarmReduction #Recovery #DrugPolicy #Stigma www.tiktok.com/t/ZTSSNheP8/
tiktok.com
Too many recovery podcasts confuse privilege with wisdom. Not everyone who died lacked determination. Many lacked healthcare, housing, opportunity, or support. Recovery-ish challenges the dominant rec...
TikTok video by Chad Sabora❌
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
HHS is asking for public input on the future of addiction policy. Harm reduction needs to be in the record. Naloxone. Syringe services. MOUD. Housing. Peer support. Evidence saves lives. Comments due July 5. #HarmReduction #DrugPolicy #PublicHealth #MOUD open.substack.com/pub/chadsabo...
open.substack.com
HHS Is Asking for Public Comment on Addiction Policy. Harm Reduction Needs to Show Up.
A major HHS Request for Information has been published, and people working in harm reduction, treatment, recovery, housing, public health, peer support and drug policy should pay attention.
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Federal grant people, public health people, nonprofit people: please read this. OMB is proposing a rule that could reshape how federal grants are awarded, monitored and terminated. Comments are due July 13th #PublicHealth #FederalGrants #Nonprofits open.substack.com/pub/chadsabo...
open.substack.com
They’re Rewriting the Rules for Federal Grants, and Federal Funding Is About to Get a Lot Less Stable
The Bureaucratic Trap Door Under Federal Funding
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
This webinar will explore how certification standards and recovery requirements can be reimagined to better include those with lived experience. We welcome all to attend. Register here: us02web.zoom.us/.../reg.../W...
This webinar will explore how certification standards and recovery requirements can be reimagined to better include those with lived experience.
We welcome all to attend, including peers, Community Recovery Centers, Harm Reduction Centers, treatment providers, and programs that employ peer professionals.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/.../reg.../WN_xYeeAKGXQQm8DSmmrDIRlg
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Call to action!!! Call the numbers. Verify who is actually prescribing. Build your own list before the federal one disappears. open.substack.com/pub/chadsabo...
open.substack.com
The Buprenorphine Locator Is About to Disappear. Download Your Local List Now.
The federal government is treating legal authority as if it were real access. Those are not the same thing.
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Somewhere out there Bobby is having a rough day after realizing a harm reduction guy with a law degree and the attention span of a caffeinated raccoon just passed him on the Health Politics leaderboard on Substack. Thoughts and prayers.
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
The history of harm reduction did not begin inside universities, hospitals, or government offices. It began in communities forced to survive systems that had already abandoned them. More specifically, it was often built by women. open.substack.com/pub/chadsabo...
open.substack.com
The Women Who Built the Movement
The Architects of Harm Reduction
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
open.substack.com/pub/chadsabo...
open.substack.com
SAMHSA’s Plan to "Review" You Out of Recovery
The Great American Erasure
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Most naloxone debates start with emotion. This one starts with math. Using Missouri data and conservative assumptions, the numbers point to a conclusion that’s hard to argue with. open.substack.com/pub/chadsabo...
open.substack.com
If Thanos Wrote Missouri’s Budget, He Would Fund Naloxone
Even a ruthless cost-benefit analysis leads to the same conclusion policymakers avoid
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Missouri says it’s preparing for the future. The budget says something else. The system isn’t disappearing. It’s shrinking. And the parts that made it work are starting to go. #drugpolicy #harmrediction #publichealth #moleg open.substack.com/pub/chadsabo...
open.substack.com
The 2028 Opioid Funding Drop
Is Missouri Fixing the Problem or Hiding It? A Bridge or a Shell Game?
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
If we’re so informed and so certain we’re right, why do we keep losing? It’s not the data. It’s the system. I’ve watched strong, evidence-based policy fail anyway. This piece is about what happens when you stop pretending otherwise. open.substack.com/pub/chadsabo...
open.substack.com
Ethical Machiavellianism
Why playing nice in drug policy gets people killed
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Attention! For 30 years, we’ve watched grassroots groups move from bake sales to major grants with zero infrastructure in between. That gap is a setup for failure. I'm launching Aftermath Strategies to fix it and fill that gap with a Mutual Aid model everyone can afford. aftermathstrategies.com
aftermathstrategies.com
AFTERMATH STRATEGIES: STRUCTURE AFTER CHAOS | AFTERMATH STRATEGIES
Chad Sabora leads harm reduction consulting, reshaping drug policy with defiant, equity-driven strategies.
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Prohibition wasn’t about alcohol. It was about power, space, and who got to gather. New installment in the series on the architecture of American drug policy. #openaccess #DrugPolicy #Prohibition #PublicHealth #CriminalJustice #MoralPanic open.substack.com/pub/chadsabo...
open.substack.com
Prohibition Was Never About Alcohol
How Temperance Turned Moral Panic Into Federal Power
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
In honor of the original Deep Thoughts… Let’s think. #publichealth #housingfirst #healthpolitics #drugpolicy substack.com/@chadsabora/...
substack.com
Chad Sabora (@chadsabora)
In honor of the original Deep Thoughts… Let’s think.
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Substack just informed me I’m #62 Rising in Health Politics. Translation: the nerd uprising is ahead of schedule. If you plan on eventually saying, “I’ve been following him since early on,” this is the moment to make that technically true.
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Remember the quote that supposedly proves Nixon admitted the War on Drugs was designed to target political enemies and Black communities? If we’re serious about history, we don’t just circulate a late-published quote from a disgraced aide. substack.com/@chadsabora/...
substack.com
Chad Sabora (@chadsabora)
Remember the quote that supposedly proves Nixon admitted the War on Drugs was designed to target political enemies and Black communities? It’s treated like gospel. Nixon was headed for a landslide in ...
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Drug policy in the United States didn’t begin as a public health initiative; it began as a workaround. A workaround to constitutional limits. A workaround to political discomfort. A workaround to social change open.substack.com/pub/chadsabo...
open.substack.com
Taxation as Prohibition
The Harrison Act, the 10th Amendment and the Quiet Federal Takeover of Drug Policy
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
To understand U.S. drug policy, you have to start earlier. Not with chemistry. With power. The system wasn't built to solve a public health crisis. It was built to police race and movement when other tools failed. It is never about the drugs. open.substack.com/pub/chadsabo...
open.substack.com
The Federal Reflex
The War on Drugs Wasn't an Innovation. It Was a Reaction.
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
#publichealth is always politically neutral, based on evidence. And hard stop. There’s no left or right.. This is a human issue when it comes to basic #humanrights, basic #socialdeterminentsofhealth - said Sabora www.firstalert4.com/2026/01/16/f...
firstalert4.com
Federal funding fiasco for mental health and substance abuse grants ends with reinstatement but adds worry
On Thursday, there’s still no clear answer for why SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) abruptly cut and then 24 hours later, reinstated mental health and substance abuse...
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
Harm reduction is often treated as a recent innovation. This post traces one of the earliest moments where those principles were clearly articulated and embedded into practice, and why that history still matters right now. #harmreduction #addiction #publichealth #history
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
My latest blog. Declaring any #IllicitDrug a #WMD is not #PublicHealth and it is definitely not #EvidenceBased. The evidence is clear: #punitive escalation worsens health outcomes and increases #overdose deaths. #harmreduction #pwud #addiction #warondrugs medium.com/@chad4harmre...
medium.com
The WMD Framing of Fentanyl Is Not Law and It Is Not Public Health
The Evidence Says It Will Make the Crisis Worse.
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
#harmreduction is #publichealth. So is #socialjustice. The problem isn’t that social justice is political. It’s that calling out inequity makes people uncomfortable, even when the outcome is simply equitable healthcare Monique Tula, on Recovery-ish. Full episode in the comments. #pwud #equity
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Monique Tula helped build modern harm reduction. ’90s street outreach. Underground naloxone. Former ED of the National Harm Reduction Coalition. A force of clarity and liberation. Women of color have been its steady, undeniable spine. #HarmReduction #Liberation youtube.com/watch?v=_D9Z...
youtube.com
Liberation, Power, and the Long Con of Drug Policy
YouTube video by Recovery-ish
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
Welcome to Full Metal Accountability. When Gunnery Sergeant Hartman finally finds out what really happened in the “war on drugs” The Gipper just got a briefing he won’t forget. #satiresky #foryourfeed #warondrugs #irancontra #publichealth #politicalsatire #policymatters #harmreduction
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
Fun fact: I was on Jeopardy! once. Unfortunately, they never aired my episode but I completely owned the Systemic Oppression category. 🎥👇 #jeopardy #drugpolicy #socialjustice #WarOnDrugs #addiction #chadsabora #satire #humanrights #medialiteracy #PublicHealth
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
AI can’t undo the damage, but it can force history to answer for itself. I put Ronald Reagan in the interrogation room to talk Nicaragua and the Sandinistas; the conversation the War on Drugs never wanted to have. #irancontra #warondrugs #addiction #publichealth #thenewjimcrow #harmreduction
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
If language shapes reality, then maybe it’s time we stop calling things epidemics and start calling them what they are: consequences #publichealth #harmreduction #addiction #prohibition medium.com/@chad4harmre...
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
Bob Ross just taught the most important painting lesson of all: Mistakes should be happy little trees, not lost lives #naloxone #narcan #harmreduction #publichealth #pwud #addiction #donoharm
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
It’s Saturday. You’re scrolling, pretending you’ve got plans, but let’s be honest, you don’t. Perfect time to check out the first full episode of our new podcast. No sugarcoating. No prepackaged narrative. Just unfiltered truth, youtube.com/watch?v=UumD...
youtube.com
Community Power vs. Corruption: Fighting for Accountability for Opioid Settlement Funds
YouTube video by Recovery-ish
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
Big day for Robert and me—Recovery-ish Podcast just launched! We’re here to cut through the noise, challenge the narratives, and bring fresh convos about PWUDS, policy, recovery and what actually works. Episode 1 is live now: recoveryish.com
recoveryish.com
Verifying…
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
Recipe: Mix one part drug policy expert stir in equal part renowned addiction researcher, garnish with sarcasm, and serve hot enough to burn bad policy #harmreduction #pwuds #publichealth #sciencematters #addiction #endthewarondrugs
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
When compassionate overdose reversal is such common sense… even Family Feud’s got it figured out #harmreduction #PublicHealth #addiction #WarOnDrugs #endthewarondrugs #PWUD #naloxone #narcan #CompassionateCare
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
When society still refuses to accept the truth, we're forced to broadcast the news from a random backyard behind a makeshift desk...while Karen calls the cops on us. #PWUD #mentalhealth #PublicHealth #addiction #harmreduction #stigmakills #personfirstlanguage #humanrights
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
Naloxone has saved more lives than most politicians ever will. So why is the federal budget gutting funding for addiction and mental health care? This isn’t just policy—it’s people. Watch the video. Then join the fight to protect public health. Link in
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
We just dropped our first official album! Only one song is new, but let's be honest; you haven't heard the others either. Start now! #harmreduction #warondrugs #pwud #drugpolicy #diypunk youtube.com/playlist?lis...
youtube.com
Beware the Wolves - YouTube
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
"Experts also worry Republican plans to slash Medicaid could leave former drug users without access to medication, forcing them to turn to street drugs," said Chad Sabora, a drug policy expert who helped organize the letter. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
washingtonpost.com
U.S. drug deaths plunged in 2024. Trump cuts may reverse that, experts warn.
The opioid crisis in the U.S. shows signs of improvement, with a significant drop in fentanyl overdose deaths in 2024.
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Reposted by Chad Sabora
Ju Park, PhD @drjupark.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
Thank you Jan Hoffman for featuring our letter in your story! @drugpolicynerds.bsky.social @chadsabora.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/h...
nytimes.com
Trump’s Focus on Punishing Drug Dealers May Hurt Drug Users Trying to Quit
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
The effort to lobby lawmakers was organized in part by attorney Chad Sabora, an addiction recovery activist and a former drug user in St. Louis who helped circulate the letter www.npr.org/2025/05/13/n...
npr.org
Experts warn Congress cuts to addiction funding will mean more overdose deaths
A broad coalition of addiction experts wants Congress to maintain healthcare funding for the nation's response to fentanyl and other street drugs.
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Reposted by Chad Sabora
Ju Park, PhD @drjupark.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
This Open Letter from addiction and mental health experts was sent late Monday evening to congress! Major to SAMHSA, CDC and HRSA are unacceptable #fentanyl @jencarroll.bsky.social @chadsabora.bsky.social @brownpublichealth.bsky.social @defendpublichealth.bsky.social www.npr.org/2025/05/13/n...
npr.org
Experts warn Congress cuts to addiction funding will mean more overdose deaths
A broad coalition of addiction experts wants Congress to maintain healthcare funding for the nation's response to fentanyl and other street drugs.
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
Just dropped a new track from our upcoming parody album Songs in the Key of Dystopia. This one’s inspired by the bold brilliance of proposing a tax on the black market www.tiktok.com/t/ZTjYYqtmU/ #HarmReduction #EndTheDrugWar #PublicHealthNotPrisons #LeftistMusic #DrugPolicyReform #TrumpIsTheDrug
tiktok.com
I wish this was a joke, but just wait! ##probablygonnapissyouoff##harmreduction##pwud##chadsabora##addictionrecovery##genx##drugpolicyreform##endthewarondrugs##warondrugs##fetty##tariffs##trump##disru...
TikTok video by Chad Sabora
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
What happens when a punk band fronted by a harm reduction expert takes aim at RFK Junior? You get “RFK Junior Nation” youtube.com/watch?v=Upvp... #RFKJunior #harmreduction #punkpolitics #HHS #mentalhealth #dei #addictionrecovery #clawbacks #disruptiontheorydyndicate #genx
youtube.com
We Have a Dumber Problem Now
YouTube video by Disruption Theory Syndicate - Topic
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
#disruptiontheorysyndicate is about to drop a new single. Personally, I’m very proud of this song and I’m sure that everybody is going to love it! Check us out wherever you stream your music! #hhs #rfk #pwuds #harmreduction #publichealth #hivprevention #mentalhealth
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Reposted by Chad Sabora
Claire Zagorski, PhD, MSc, EMT-P @clairezagorski.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
“It’s a paradigm shift — one that openly seeks to defund and depoliticize science-based public health systems, while reframing chronic illness as a moral crisis and individual failing.” Very proud to be on this with @chadsabora.bsky.social! www.salon.com/2025/04/02/t...
salon.com
Trump’s cruel calculus on public health
Blaming COVID to defund public health isn’t about bookkeeping. It’s about whose lives matter enough to fund
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Reposted by Chad Sabora
Adam Sledd @adamsledd.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Fantastic new piece by @chadsabora.bsky.social and @clairezagorski.bsky.social "This isn’t a policy pivot. It’s a paradigm shift - one that openly seeks to defund and depoliticize science-based public health systems, while reframing chronic illness as a moral crisis and individual failing."
salon.com
Trump’s cruel calculus on public health
Blaming COVID to defund public health isn’t about bookkeeping. It’s about whose lives matter enough to fund
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Chad Sabora @chadsabora.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
The current administration is gutting public health under the guise of “efficiency” and too many are cheering it on without understanding the harm. I break it down in my latest artiicle #publichealth #hhs #clawbacks #addictionrecovery #hivprevention www.salon.com/2025/04/02/t...
salon.com
Trump’s cruel calculus on public health
Blaming COVID to defund public health isn’t about bookkeeping. It’s about whose lives matter enough to fund
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