My research addresses issues at the intersection of health, law, and politics, particularly drug use and drug policy. My dissertation, "Going Nowhere: The Social Life of Opioids in Backcountry California," is a multisite ethnographic study of opioid use and opioid-related services in several remote counties. I hold a MA in sociology from Berkeley and a BA in tutorial studies from the University of Chicago.

In addition to my academic work, I serve as President of the Board of Directors for NEED, a harm reduction services organization based in Berkeley. For more information, please visit www.berkeleyneed.org.

Selected publications:

Showalter, David, Lynn D. Wenger, Barrot H. Lambdin, Eliza Wheeler, Ingrid Binswanger, and Alex H. Kral. 2021. “Bridging Institutional Logics: Implementing Naloxone Distribution for People Exiting Jail in Three California Counties.” Social Science & Medicine 285: 114293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114293

Showalter, David. 2020. "Crisis and Policy Change: HIV/AIDS and Syringe Services in California." Mobilization 25(1): 71–92. https://doi.org/10.17813/1086-671X-25-1-71

Showalter, David. 2020. “Steps Toward a Theory of Place Effects on Drug Use: Risk, Marginality, and Opportunity in Small and Remote California Towns.” International Journal of Drug Policy 85: 102629. Special issue on “Rural Risk Environments.” https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2019.102629

Showalter, David. 2019. "Misdiagnosing Medicalization: Penal Psychopathy and Psychiatric Practice." Theory and Society 48(1): 67–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-018-09336-y

Showalter, David. 2018. "Federal Funding for Syringe Exchange in the US: Explaining a Long-Term Policy Failure." International Journal of Drug Policy. 55: 95-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.02.006