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Combating the Addiction Crisis

Feb 27, 20244 min read

Portugal has one of the lowest rates of drug use in Europe. However, this was not always the case. Its success comes from spending time and money to reconnect addicts to society while most countries might resort to punishment. Giving drug users opportunities to find purpose rather than constantly experiencing shame and isolation has created a safer and healthier country for Portugal’s citizens. While it may seem like a government utopia or an alternate reality, Portugal is not the only country that has implemented such a successful system. This kind of system called harm reduction, is used in the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and a few other proactive countries. Harm reduction is rooted in compassion, empathy, and understanding for those who use drugs. It’s a concept that is still controversial and new, although it is more common in society than some may admit. For instance, harm reduction was used when public health officials set regulations for the Covid-19 pandemic. Encouraging people to find ways to safely socialize made them more likely to follow regulations. If it works, why not use it to combat another one of the biggest public health crises in this country? Harm reduction will empower drug users with the resources and care they need through sites that can help them care for themselves and later receive treatment.

Harm reduction programs, while argued counterproductive and harmful, ultimately reduce infections, diseases, and overdoses caused by substance use. The initiative works because it gives drug users access to safer routes to receiving substances and prevents attempts at more dangerous and fatal methods. Some users will often be desperate to fulfill their physiological need for drugs and if they live in an urban area, and will immediately be at a higher risk. Through safe injection sites, users will be near professionals who are knowledgeable of how substances impact the body and help them slowly become less tempted to seek out drugs outside of these sites. Those will also be instructed on how to use them safely if they do so on their own. While they may still be dependent on drugs, they are less harmful and are receiving them safely. Addicts are then no longer dealing with “risky…experimentation” with street-sold drugs (“Addiction and Substance Use”).  

Critics argue that harm reduction programs enable drug addicts to continue their destructive behavior.  In comparison to “the war on drugs” method of combating addiction, capital punishment, and harm reduction have done more to decrease drug usage. When “drug-related legislation [occurred] in the first half of the twentieth century, many Americans continued to use illegal drugs” (“Addiction and Substance Use”). In more recent statistics, “in 2016, the drug overdose death rate increased by 28 percent …[with] the rate of fentanyl doubling from 2015 to 2016” (Singer 2). Another thought to note is that most overdoses are from street-sold drugs which harm reduction programs will hopefully combat. It’s not just statistics and studies that prove this. Many personal stories have been shared on how harm reduction has saved lives.

 Maia Szalavitz, a former addict, discusses in her article “Harm Reduction is a Gift from Drug Users,” “how half of all the people [in New York]… were HIV positive and [she could not] buy clean [syringes]” when she was using heroin (Szalavitz). She shared how her life was saved once she was taught how to clean her needles. This story resonates with many users in large cities. Since Szalavitz’s time using drugs, harm reduction programs have been implemented to help current drug users. One of the efforts is creating safe syringe programs that organize activities such as the distribution of sterile clean syringes and other equipment for addicts. The CDC reported in 2020 that “[safe syringe programs] reduce the incidence of HIV and do not increase drug use or crime” (“Clean Needles”). SSPs reduce HIV infections by providing clean equipment for those who inject drugs. Addicts are then no longer seeking out dirty needles and syringes on the streets. In comparison to criminalization,  these actions may seem small and ineffective but have been life-changing for addicts. Many lives were saved due to the simple access to clean needles and safe injection sites. Spending to receive equipment for those sites is also significantly less harmful and costly to the current war on drugs method of criminalization. According to a report from the Justice Policy Institute, “a short period of incarceration has been shown to affect people's earnings and ability to get a job, to be parents, and to become productive parts of their communities" (“Addiction and Substance Use”). Addicts will be more harmed by even a short period of incarceration and will be more likely to continue using drugs than if they are directly sent to treatment. The focus on combating the high levels of criminalization and disease is treating them with compassion. Judgment and punishment do not help in decreasing disease. However, allowing addicts to protect themselves from diseases will empower them to take care of themselves and recover from their addictions.

To combat the addiction crisis, harm reduction programs like needle exchange and safe injection sites can create resources to support those with substance abuse issues. Implementing these programs will keep addicts safer from overdoses and disease, which can help lead to their future recovery.  By putting government funding and time into creating these resources for those with substance abuse issues, the accessibility of resources will increase conversations and decrease mental health and addiction stigma. The war on drugs is not working; it has only contributed to the increased isolation and harm to drug addicts. The opposite of the war on drugs has been experimented with in other countries and it works. It is paramount that we bring empathy, compassion, and human decency to society through harm reduction programs. By allowing drug users to take care of themselves and reconnect with society, we will be creating a better, safer, and healthier world for humanity.



 


Rojan Hakamiha is a high school senior living in the United States with a love of photography, rain, and learning about psychology and anatomy. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering, listening to music, and reading.

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