Allison Barker

The United States and Canada have experienced sharp increases in fatal and nonfatal overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic.1,2 This escalation of the overdose crisis during the pandemic has been attributed to disruptions to addiction treatment and harm reduction services,3 overall increases in substance use,4 and social-distancing measures implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19.5,6 Consistent with the most recent waves of the overdose crisis,7 this increase in overdose deaths has...

Abstract Background Occurring against the backdrop of an overdose crisis, stimulant use and stimulant-involved deaths in North America are increasing at an alarming rate. Many of these deaths are being attributed to fentanyl and related analogs, which have been increasingly found within street-level stimulant supplies. Within this, people experiencing socio-economic marginalization are at the greatest risk of overdose and other harms from adulterated stimulants.

Author’s Note: This article does not address the origins of the modern zombie, nor its appropriation from the Haitian religion of Vodou and white-washing by Hollywood. Please take the time to read up on the history of the “working dead,” its genesis in African enslavement, and the liberatory struggle of the Haitian Revolution.