901 Harm Reduction

08/26/2025

Filter Magazine and journalist Sydney Sauer wrote an article after interviewing our executive director, Dr. Paige Lemen ( ), about her experience being stereotyped, arrested, and jailed by police for doing harm reduction work in Jackson TN.

Link: https://filtermag.org/tennessee-harm-reductionist-arrested-drug-checking/

UPDATE: We've recently secured a good lawyer but need to raise $4,000 for the retainer fee. Please donate if you can here on our PayPal (link in bio!)!

You can also donate via other methods if you don’t have PayPal. We have Cashapp:
$901HarmReduction

If you can't donate, please share!

DETAILS:
She was specifically criminalized for her chronic health condition and disability. She faces many charges related to her research, and our organization's, non-profit work after performing a routine drug checking sample collection to be sent off to testing. But symptoms of her disability caused what would have been a minor set-back, the small need to take a break and manage her condition, to be turned into a chance for the police to arrest her and target the community she works hard to serve and protect.

IRONICALLY, she also received acknowledgement and praise from her university for writing one of the best PhD dissertations they have seen, and her institution plans to use (with Dr. Lemen's consent) her dissertation as the example dissertation for future students.

In her dissertation, she wrote a stellar literature review chapter on the intersectionality of:
1. The War on Drugs and its harms caused to people struggling with chaotic drug
2. biomedical research on drug use and SUD (and it's complex issues in studying the field)
3. Social Determinants of Health
AND
4. The role of harm reduction, public health, and policy (highlighting the need for policy changes and the use of evidence-based harm reduction methods to address these prior harms and consequences caused by our current system, overdose, and the risk of SUD).
Attached are some photos of Dr. Lemen, our 901HR team, and our local organizers and supporters doing the work!

08/26/2025

Filter Magazine and journalist Sydney Sauer wrote an article after interviewing our executive director, Dr. Paige Lemen ( Paige Lemen ), about her experience being stereotyped, arrested, and jailed by police in for doing harm reduction work in Jackson TN.
Link: https://filtermag.org/tennessee-harm-reductionist-arrested-drug-checking/

UPDATE: We've recently secured a good lawyer but need to raise $4,000 for the retainer fee. Please donate if you can here on our PayPal:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=RFKCZFW4SFBNJ&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAafCZT0MshYlMeyGVCc3_syBGwePAsiX5_v0BjrOTtBZOV2z_Yg2dEIdfD7qQA_aem_38guXNPMspwfjosCur2O9w

You can also donate via other methods if you don’t have PayPal. We have Cashapp:
$901HarmReduction

If you can't donate, please share!

DETAILS:
She was specifically criminalized for her chronic health condition and disability. She faces many charges related to her research, and our organization's, non-profit work after performing a routine drug checking sample collection to be sent off to testing. But symptoms of her disability caused what would have been a minor set-back, the small need to take a break and manage her condition, to be turned into a chance for the police to arrest her and target the community she works hard to serve and protect.

IRONICALLY, she also received acknowledgement and praise from her university for writing one of the best PhD dissertations they have seen, and her institution plans to use (with Dr. Lemen's consent) her dissertation as the example dissertation for future students.

In her dissertation, she wrote a stellar literature review chapter on the intersectionality of:
1. The War on Drugs and its harms caused to people struggling with chaotic drug
2. biomedical research on drug use and SUD (and it's complex issues in studying the field)
3. Social Determinants of Health
AND
4. The role of harm reduction, public health, and policy (highlighting the need for policy changes and the use of evidence-based harm reduction methods to address these prior harms and consequences caused by our current system, overdose, and the risk of SUD).

A constant threat to harm reductionists is that without clear legal protections, their lifesaving work can be criminalized. The recent ...

07/26/2025

🚨 UPDATE ON DR. PAIGE LEMEN, Ph.D. () 🚨
Thanks to your support, community care, and the hard work of harm reductionists across the U.S., Dr. Paige Lemen is currently out on bond.

Her court date has been pushed to Sep 16 bc—despite it being almost 2 months—the police & prosecution have still not released the footage of her arrest. The average wait time for video release in Madison County is 1.5 weeks. You know why they’re stalling. So do we.
Paige isn’t new to this. She’s been doing life-saving harm reduction work for nearly a decade—both in biomedical research and on the ground in the community. She’s changed the field, pushed back against drug war propaganda in academia, & shown up—boots on the ground—for people in crisis every day. Now that she’s earned her Ph.D. and is poised to make an even bigger impact, the state is coming after her personally.

Criminalizing her for doing what the state refuses to do: keep people alive.

🖤 We made t-shirts to raise funds for the f1ght! 🖤

💥 $15 each — All proceeds go toward our ongoing harm reduction work and legal support for Dr. Lemen. 💥

The state is targeting our org and our union because we don’t shame, coerce, or turn people away. We meet people where they are—without judgment, without strings attached. Our work is a threat to their system because it actually helps. That’s why they’re trying to paint Paige as some “evil dealer,” even though she’s saved countless lives through drug checking services in a region where the only available “treatment” is a jail cell.

This case matters more than people realize. It will set precedent for harm reduction across TN. If they succeed in criminalizing our work, they’ll use it to justify criminalizing all of us who believe in real care.

Help us f1ght back. Grab a shirt. Spread the word. Stand with Paige and with all of us doing this work under threat.

🖤Come by Court Square Park today (or any Saturday) for the picnic between 1:30-3:30pm to grab a shirt in person or contact us directly (we will ship if you can cover the s&h) 🖤

We also take donations through our donation link in our profile.

Solidarity forever!

07/07/2025

At the Memphis Punk Rock Flea Market's Punk and Pride night on July 4th!

07/06/2025

On July 4th we attended the Punk & Pride Market, run by the , and made sure that we left our mark!
We passed out free OD reversal kits, both intramuscular and intranasal naloxone (often known by the brand name Narcan), and made sure to leave some for future events, concerts, and for those who use at these types of events!
This is at , but for any other venues who would like to have OD reversal kits (and other harm reduction supplies) stocked at their location feel free to reach out to us!
We have already stocked many venues, shops, and other local places in Memphis with our resources! Not all in this way, we're happy to work around what your location needs and how it is set up!
Plus 😉 we're always anti-stigma, anti-judgemental, anti-"forced abstinence", and we're proud to share that! Whether through the fun we had at this location or just via sharing educational resources and fliers!
Unlike prevention coalitions, neoliberal "recovery" groups, etc., we are against ending the so-called "war on drugs" and the war on people who use them (PWUD). People use for many different reasons. Not everyone can be sober or "clean" in this capitalist hellscape! So we will never judge or shame you or your community!
We're just here to meet people where they're at and build a community of support, solidarity, and empowerment!

06/30/2025

Donations from our amazing partners/farmers/community at the Memphis Farmers Market

Repost from .southphilly (edited for local context)

Everything we do collectively, every belly we fill, is about recovering for people a sense of possibility.

When thirty-five or sixty people can count on us to be there every Saturday, when they know that they’ll leave with bags and carts heavy with food, we have given them back a little time, a few hours of breath. For work, if they need that most. Or for education, or beauty, or art, or pleasure. For family or community.
For , if that’s where your heart lies.

But the point is choice. The point is freedom. And the question is always this: will you use your freedom to free others? Will you use your power to empower others?

Don’t just say yes. Come do it. You do not have to perfect your theory before you act. You do not need perfect orthodoxy with everyone you meet. The things we do together will change us both.

be sure to check out other community partners of ours including
901 Harm Reduction
Memphis-Midsouth DSA
Mid-South for Abolition

Imagine Vegan Cafe

Hi Tone

Decarcerate Memphis

Food Not Bombs Memphis

And many many many more!

06/24/2025

You’re invited to our overdose reversal kit making party this Friday at 6pm!

Have you been looking for a way to get involved and learn more about harm reduction?

Join us this Friday, June 27th at 6 pm!

Reach out to us for the address!

Texting us is preferred (901) 675-3020 and email is our second preference 901HarmReduction@gmail.com (convenient links in our bio), DMs are open but less monitored as we are all volunteers.

We hope to hear from you!

Reach out even if you can’t make it, we still want to connect with our neighbors 💜

—

Please continue to share our previous posts/story about our executive director, Dr. Paige Lemen, Ph.D., who was unjustly arrested while performing routine harm reduction procedures that contribute to public health and safety.

Dr. Lemen has an arduous legal road ahead - Please consider sharing the story if you care about harm reduction and helping someone who has literally put their life on the line for their community. Please contribute if you can.

Dr. Lemen doesn’t deserve to die for sharing the gift of compassion.

Compassion is not a crime.

06/18/2025

We had a blast last night at supporting both (Dinero Mu**to) and amazing performances! Not only did we keep the concert goers, musicians, and venue safe/OD free with our harm reduction resources and services, but this time we also brought packets full of educational resources! We always have so much knowledge and educational resources and tools to share; certainly too much to fit into one packet. But here's what we did include in this event's educational packets that were handed out for free:
🧠 The 8 Principles of Harm Reduction listed out by the
🧠 Info flyer on 's educational resources and tools available and how to get them (reach out to us if interested!)
🧠 's Drvg User Un!0n Fact Sheets/Informational Sheets (which uses the Drvg User Liberation Front, a.k.a. DULF as an example!)
🧠 The resources and services that provides, and the community we are building; A community of support, solidarity, and empowerment among people who use drvgs (PWUD) in Memphis - instead of one built on shame, stigma, judgement, and eventually leading to isolation. We are for ending the so-called "war on drvgs" and the people who use them...ESPECIALLY those most marginalized and most targeted!
We also had the pleasure of once again tabling alongside !
If you're interested in having us at your event, tabling, or even just having our harm reduction resources available at your event please reach out to us! And as always, please reach out to us if you need harm reduction supplies, or any educational tools/resources!
We have a text line and email!
Text Line = 901-675-3020
Email = 901harmreduction@gmail.com
We do answer IG/FB DMs/msgs but it might take us a little longer on that side!

06/13/2025

UPDATE: Paige is out on bond thanks to community support!

Paige immediately resumed harm reduction work and pushed herself to get out and connect with the community this past weekend — but she is still recovering from the severe trauma of being wrongfully incarcerated and denied proper nourishment and healthcare.

This is only the beginning, Paige, and the harm reduction community needs your support right now.

The judge admitted that, upon reviewing Paige’s case, he was unable to find a previous case to refer to for guidance. This means that Paige’s case is unprecedented and could be instrumental in how harm reduction cases are handled in the future.

We are currently assembling a legal team that will be able to properly handle this case - we are awaiting a reply from the Harm Reduction Legal Project, but due to the politicized nature of the asinine “war on drugs,” we are seeking legal council from those with experience working with political prisoners.

What happened:
In less than a month of graduating with a Ph.D. in biomedical research (specifically the study of drug use and Substance Use Disorder risk), Dr. Paige Lemen, Ph.D., was arrested while performing routine harm reduction services. Collecting samples to be sent off for testing is a protocol that is systematically conducted for public safety. She is being charged with a DUI and possession of controlled substances with intent to sell.

Dr. Lemen suffers from chronic health conditions and became ill while in her car. The authorities are alleging a DUI based on this incident; however, her medical disability was the primary cause of her swerving, as she was reaching for crackers to alleviate her nausea. Despite the reasonable explanation of her medical condition, when pulled over, officers assumed she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. She subsequently failed the field sobriety test, due to her underlying health issues, which contributed to her being charged.



Words from Dr. Paige Lemen, Ph.D. in the comments below.

06/05/2025

Our executive director, , was unjustly arrested in Madison County, Tennessee, while sending unidentified samples to a drug testing lab to check its contents.

This information is critical for people who use drugs to make the best decisions for their health and for doctors to treat patients more effectively by recognizing offending agents quickly.

Paige was acting in line with our mission to characterize the TN drug supply and support Tennesseans who use drugs.

She and her fellow prisoners are being held in horrific conditions at the Madison County Criminal Justice Complex.

We urgently ask for your support to cover her bond, legal fees, and commissary costs. Link in bio.

Help us send a message to Madison County: Public health advocacy should not land anyone in a cell.



901 Harm Reduction is a sibling org with , we are on the streets together every week, and Paige has been part of Food Not Bombs her entire life.

Both groups work closely with our newfound siblings

PLEASE SHARE THIS EVERYWHERE - THANK YOU!!!

.drugusersunion .southphilly

05/31/2025

Repost from

Community organizing is hot. Swipe to meet our community partners before the Sapphic Memphis x pride party on:

June 7th (6pm to midnight) at Hi-Tone!

Brave the heat to learn more about the incredible work these orgs are doing and to be entered in our giveaway at the end of the night if you visit each table!






We can’t wait to party with y’all in EIGHT DAYS!!! Get your tickets at the link in the bio !!

05/28/2025

Thanks to for updating this original and allowing us to share this important reminder! SUD (substance use disorder or "add!cti0n") is a spectrum. The highest severity of the spectrum is actual SUD and is defined by continuing to use a substance despite negative consequences to one's life. However, many of those consequences are man-made. Many countries have followed the U.S.'s response to overdose by implementing the failed war on drugs. Even the DSM-V definition ignores the underlying systemic issues and the role social determinants of health play in people's relationship to the substances they use. It's not that hard to understand; the more stressful someone's life is, and whether or not they're in survival mode, is often the underlying reason someone's use of a substance goes from healthy/beneficial to chaotic use and unsafe use. NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
Want to unlearn all the fear-mongering drug war propaganda we've all been taught since birth? Support our work, reach out and ask for our list of educational resources, share our account, and stop by our table at any of our events! DM us to join our discord.
You can also check out national resources shared by the and ! Or ask for recommendations on who else to follow if you want to learn via social media!