Other Websites of Interest

Here are links to sites that are related to opiates in some way.  I have divided the links into groups based on the type of website.  There are websites run by individuals, drug user unions, drug reform organizations, and blogs by individual opiate users.  The addiction websites were chosen for perspectives on addiction that take a more nuanced look at what addiction is beyond the self-limiting AA/NA disease model (also called the NIDA paradigm).

This list will be updated over time as I find more sites to link to.

Websites Run by Individuals

Heroin Helper by Francis Moraes (aka Dr. H).  Dr. H is the author of a few books including The Heroin User's Handbook, The Little Book of Heroin and The Little Book of Opium.  He also has a blog related to all things heroin.  Dr. H has a PhD in physics and his site has accurate information on how to use opiates safely.  Many of his links are outdated but the health information and perspectives on heroin use are some of the best on the internet.  Highly recommended for those with only a cursory knowledge of opiates.


 Project Narco a blog that provides some really good references on drugs with a focus on opiates.  Heavily oriented toward pharmacology and a scientific perspective.  Topics include Human Anatomy, Neuro/Psycho-pharmacology, Medicinal Chemistry, Addiction, Drug Use & Drug Policy.  Highly recommended for those looking for sophisticated information on opiates.

Narco Polo is a blog by Rob Arthur, a former inner-city teacher, public defender and the author of You Will Die: The Burden of Modern Taboos.  The purpose of Narco Polo is to defend recreational drug use—and all other consensual adult activities—that the American government deems criminal. When media sensationalism and government propaganda are confronted with facts, it is apparent that the unintended consequences of these prohibitions have caused much greater suffering than the activities themselves.

Drug User Unions in North America


Toronto Drug Users Union
San Francisco Drug User's Union
Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users
International Network of People who Use Drugs [Blog]

The Drug User Rights Action Network
The following is a current list of the goals of D.U.R.A.N. aka The Drug User Rights Action Network : 1. To highly publicize the human rights abuses of drug users . 2. Form a coalition of drug user groups and other organizations that explicitly support drug user rights. 3. Promote the formation of new drug user unions/groups in California and the United States.

Websites on Addiction

The Clean Slate Addiction Site [Blog] by Steven Slate
If you've found yourself thinking that the disease model of addiction, powerlessness, or prayer as medical treatment don't quite make sense, you're not crazy and you're not alone. You're in the right place.This site is dedicated to presenting a different view of addiction: That it is a choice, and you can permanently change your substance use habits without fear of relapse or a lifetime spent in meetings and treatment.

The Stanton Peele Addiction Website [Blog]
Stanton Peele is a psychologist who has changed the addiction field. He has pioneered, among other things, the idea that addiction occurs with a range of experiences, recognition of natural recovery from addiction, and the “harm reduction” approach to addiction.

Stinkin-Thinkin is a blog also created by Peele devoted to muckraking the 12-step treatment industry

Addiction Inbox The Science of Substance Abuse by Dirk Hanson
Articles and health studies about drugs, addiction and alcoholism, including the most recent scientific and medical findings.

THE ORANGE PAPERS One Man's Analysis of Alcoholics Anonymous and Substance Misuse Recovery Programs, and Real Recovery. An Online Book by "Orange"

Memoirs of an Addicted Brain Blog A neuroscientist examines his former life on drugs.

Baldwin Research Institute's mission is to research and develop programs for recovery from drug and alcohol problems, to guide the drug and alcohol treatment industry and be a force for change, to research and develop drug and alcohol abuse prevention programs, and to honestly and objectively educate the public as to the effectiveness of treatment and prevention program with respect to drug and alcohol abuse.

Drug Reform Organizations

Legalize Heroin is a blog that catalogs the horrible effects of prohibition with a focus on global, societal-level corruption caused by the war on (some) drug (users).  The blog does lean towards issues related to opiates but also covers other aspects of drug prohibition.  A watchdog organization.

Better Living Through Chemistry is an opioid archive that is an awesome resource on opiates and opioids.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition [Blog] (LEAP) is a group of cops, judges, prosecutors and everyday citizens teaming up to end the failed, dangerous and expensive war on drugs.  LEAP is an incredibly important organization.  When members of law enforcement form an organization dedicated to ending the prohibition of certain drugs people take notice.  They have a level of credibility that other drug reform organizations only dream of.

The Opium Alliance To be concise, our intention is not simply to revise the status of drug users under the law, but to alter the very manner in which drug users, as well as the general public, conceive of the act of taking opiates.

Harm Reduction Coalition [Blog] was founded in 1993 and incorporated in 1994 by a working group of needle exchange providers, advocates and drug users. Today, we are strengthened by an extensive and diverse network of allies who challenge the persistent stigma faced by people who use drugs and advocate for policy and public health reform.



Transform Drug Policy Foundation [Blog] is a charitable think tank that seeks to draw public attention to the fact that drug prohibition itself is the major cause of drug-related harm to individuals, communities and nations, and should be replaced by effective, just and humane government control and regulation.
Transform has emerged in response to the increasingly apparent failings of current UK and international drug policy. As illegal drug use and the problems associated with illegal drug markets have continued to grow, Transform is providing new thinking on alternatives to the current enforcement-oriented regime of prohibition.


The Vienna Declaration [Blog] is a statement seeking to improve community health and safety by calling for the incorporation of scientific evidence into illicit drug policies. The declaration was drafted by a team of international experts and initiated by several of the world’s leading HIV and drug policy scientific bodies: the International AIDS Society, the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, and the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP). It was prepared through an extensive consultative process involving global leaders in medicine, public policy and public health. The declaration was the official declaration of the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010) which was held in Vienna, Austria from July 18th to 23rd, 2010.

Families Against Mandatory Minimums Foundation 
The FAMM Foundation is a national nonprofit organization founded in March of 1991 by attorneys, judges, criminal justice experts, and the families of inmates in response to the excessive penalties triggered by mandatory minimum sentencing policies for nonviolent offenses.

The November Coalition 
An organization of Drug War prisoners and their loved ones who are urging the citizens of this country to take a second look at the war on drugs. Drug arrests are transforming the Land of the Free. The U.S. is now the world's leading jailer. We echo the words of Senior Federal judges were devoted instead to education and treatment, the cost and dangers of drug use would be greatly reduced.

Then there are the organizations you probably already know about:

Drug Policy Alliance is the largest drug policy reform organization in the Unites States.  Our supporters are individuals who believe the war on drugs is doing more harm than good. Together we advance policies that reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition, and seek solutions that promote safety while upholding the sovereignty of individuals over their own minds and bodies. We work to ensure that our nation’s drug policies no longer arrest, incarcerate, disenfranchise and otherwise harm millions – particularly young people and people of color who are disproportionately affected by the war on drugs.

Drug War Chronicle
In-depth, weekly online report on the drug war and reform efforts. A publication of DRCNet, Drug War Chronicle is arguably the world's leading drug policy newsletter.

Schaffer Library of Drug Policy
Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy, History of the drugs and drug laws, Medical Marijuana Research, Government Publications on drugs and drug policy, Charts and graphs of drug war statistics, Information on specific drugs and much, much more.

Erowid Foundation A major resource for information on all sorts of drugs.

Opiate User Blogs
A look into the diverse and sometimes chaotic world of opiate users doing their best to get by in a world that mercilessly persecutes them.

CONFESSIONS OF A HEROIN ADDICT

Scarlet Anonymous

 Interpretations & ramblings etc.

 Another day, another dollar

 JUNKY CHRONICLES

 - Memoires of a Heroinhead -

 The Daily Dosing

 JUNKe Life

 Journey to the Nods

 One Pill Away