Substance abuse involving alcohol and/or drugs is certainly not new, but the widespread prescribing of opioid drugs for pain has created an epidemic. Opioid-related deaths due to overdose in the U.S. alone skyrocketed in the 2010s. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than 67,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2018, with 2/3 due to opioids. This is more than homicides, suicides, or automobile accidents. We all know someone or know someone who knows someone who struggles with substance abuse. Something needs to be done to reduce this alarming number of deaths, and that is why harm reduction is important for everyone.
Harm Reduction Is Important
Harm reduction refers to actions that can be taken to reduce the rate of overdoses and overdose deaths. We should care because we are all touched by drug abuse by acquaintances, classmates, coworkers, family members, and friends. Chances are you know one or more people who are abusing drugs, and likely you do not know about it.
Often people who use drugs are stigmatized as bad people who are criminals, immoral or weak. The reality is that people do not set out to become drug abusers. Their drug use might have begun recreationally, but there are many other reasons that someone develops a drug abuse problem.
- Aftermath of Surgery. Patients who undergo surgery are typically prescribed pain medication that can be habit forming.
- Injury Due to An Accident. Often drug abuse begins with an painful injury and a prescription of pain reliever. People with chronic pain are particularly vulnerable to drug abuse.
- Self-Medicating for Mental Health Problems. Sometimes people who suffer with mental health disorders, such as anxiety attacks or depression, will self-medicate to control their symptoms.
- Sleep Disturbance. People who have trouble sleeping will sometimes be prescribed habit-forming mediation when milder treatment is ineffective.
Often drug abuse begins with a prescription from a physician as a legitimate treatment for mental health condition of physical pain. The prescribing of opioids in particular has been overdone, leaving hundreds of thousands with drug abuse issues.
How Does Harm Reduction Work?
There are many pieces to a comprehensive harm reduction program. Some focus primarily on one or more activities, whereas others might attack the problem on multiple fronts. Keep in mind that the ultimate goal is to prevent overdose and death, and not necessarily to prevent people from using drugs.
- Abstinence. The most effective means of eliminating harm from drug abuse is to convince people to stop taking drugs. This can be done through a combination of education and treatment. Compassion rather than judgment, and treatment rather than incarcertation can help people conquer drug abuse.
- Narcan Training and Distribution. One of the major weapons to combat opioid death is putting inhaleable Narcan into the hands of people who are most likely to encounter people who have overdosed. Programs that provide Narcan to recovering addicts, for example, at methadone clinics have saved lives as an immediate dose can reverse the effects of opioids.
- Needle Exchanges. Intravenous drug users are at risk for serious diseases transmitted by sharing syringes or using syringes that are not anticeptic. They not only put themselves at risk for contracting hepatitis, HIV and other communicable diseases, but they put others at risk with whom they come into contact. Needle exchanges provide free sanitary needles on demand by anyone who requests them.
- Testing Kits. People who abuse opioids will typically buy drugs on the street not knowing the contents or purity of what they have been sold. Such drugs might be laced with fentanyl at dangerous dose levels. Providing free drug testing kits would allow drug users to determine if what they are about to take is safe.
The epidemic of opioid deaths has motivated many states to support harm reduction programs to provide these services and more. Some of these programs exist in churches, nonprofits, and social service agencies. Not only do these programs help keep people safe, but they can be effective in helping people to stop abusing drugs. Hopefully, there is one in your community.