Criminalization Does More Harm Than Good

"Our study adds to a growing body of literature that suggests drug criminalization and supply-side interdiction might produce more public harm than public good. This casts doubt on the core assumption of state and federal drug policy and suggests that police officers intending to protect the public’s health and safety may be inadvertently exacerbating harms such as fatal overdose. Policymakers need to revisit the role drug policies play in perpetuating an overdose epidemic that is negatively affecting the nation’s life expectancy.

The DOPE SRO Project

"In 2021, the SFDPH [San Francisco Department of Public Health]/DOPE [Drug Overdose Prevention & Education] Project collaboration initiated a pilot program designed to reduce fatal overdoses in permanent supportive SROs by mobilizing and supporting tenant overdose response within these buildings.

Heroin Treatment in the UK

"Heroin Assisted Treatment (HAT) is an alternate treatment modality for people for whom more traditional forms of OST have been ineffective. HAT is currently delivered in seven countries worldwide (Switzerland, Canada, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Luxembourg and the UK) with the longest standing programme operating in Switzerland. The service usually comprises provision of synthetic medical grade heroin (diacetylmorphine) for supervised self-injection, under medical supervision in a clinical environment.

Deaths in the UK Due to a Toxic Drug Supply and Drug Overdose

"In 2020 drug related deaths in the United Kingdom (UK) reached the highest rate in over 25 years (ONS, 2021). Data between 2001-2018 evidences a substantial increase in drug poisonings over time for people who use opioids, with risk increasing particularly between the years of 2010-2018, an effect which was not entirely explained by the ageing of this cohort (Lewer et al., 2022).

Drug Checking as a Market Intervention

"This research sought the perspectives of people involved in the unregulated drug market on how drug checking could be implemented as a market intervention within the current context of a highly unpredictable drug supply and unprecedented rates of overdose. Currently, drug checking is positioned as a public health intervention promoted to people who use drugs within supervised consumption sites while being averse to aiding people who sell or produce drugs.

Subscribe to

Share