An alert on fentanyl in New York, Aug. 8, 2017.
Photo:
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
The New York City Health Department’s “Let’s Talk Fentanyl” campaign made headlines for placing posters that promoted illegal drug use: “Don’t be ashamed you are using, be empowered that you are using safely.” Amid an unprecedented overdose crisis, public-health officials should acknowledge the impossibility of “using safely.” Treatment with the goal of full recovery is the way to prevent overdoses.
The posters’ message is right in one respect: Users shouldn’t be shamed for having a substance-use disorder. Negative perceptions of addiction too often discourage people from seeking help and result in preventable deaths. But asserting that drugs empower users desensitizes the public to the real harms of drug use. Lower risk perceptions will result in more casual experimentation. The desensitization and normalization of drug use will inevitably result in more overdoses.
The poster’s message falls under an emerging drug-policy approach known as “harm reduction,” which aims to reduce the risks of continued substance use rather than intervening to stop it. That encompasses some sensible policies, such as the distribution of naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses. But promoting drug use as empowering and safe is irresponsible and deadly.
Harm-reduction policies often prolong drug use and fail to increase admissions to treatment while raising the likelihood of an overdose. Oregon decriminalized the possession of hard drugs via a 2020 ballot initiative, which also expanded harm-reduction programs. Less than 1% of users have entered treatment. Law-enforcement sources told Portland’s KGW-TV that this approach, in the station’s summary, has “led to a huge increase in the amount of drugs on the streets—and now, an increase in crime,” including assault, prostitution and drug dealing.
In New York City, 2,062 residents died of overdoses in 2020, up almost 38% from…
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