A safe place to use it could reduce drug-related deaths in CT

The summer before my junior year of high school, my aunt succumbed to complications from her substance use disorder. Raised in a low-income family in Bourbonnais, Illinois, she faced barriers to accessing essential health care and addiction treatment.

Had he had access to harm reduction resources, his life’s trajectory might have taken a different course. It’s not just about compassion; it’s a proven strategy that can save lives in America, and I urge Connecticut policymakers to use every tool in their arsenal to reduce overdose deaths before the next legislative session.

Carson Ferrara

This landscape of tragedy and urgency has led me to feel uniquely positioned to advocate for the crucial role of harm reduction, which is a public health approach that “emphasizes the direct relationship with people who use drugs to prevent overdose” , among other things.

Many people who are addicted to drugs want to quit smoking, but their brain tells them that they have to use to maintain their daily life. I studied neuroscience and conducted research on the neurobiology of addiction during college, and a key hallmark of addiction is the weakening of brain circuits that would normally allow people to exercise self-control. This is not widespread knowledge and leads many viewers to believe that people with addiction should “quit” which contributes to the stigma attached to people who use drugs and their reluctance to seek help or even and all healthcare.

As such, harm reduction approaches such as supervised injection sites are an important component in preventing overdose deaths. Supervised injection sites, also known as safe use sites, are places where people can use illicit drugs in the presence of staff who are trained and ready to respond in the event of an overdose. Drug users usually bring their own drugs and are provided with clean needles and a safe space to use them.

These sites, used in parts of Europe, Canada and Australia, have been shown to reduce overdose deaths and increase access to addiction treatment and health services. At a safe-use site in Canada called Insite, the facility has monitored more than 3.6 million injections since 2003. No one has ever died.

I admit that I was skeptical of harm reduction strategies at first, and I understand that it might seem crazy to provide a space for people to use drugs. However, in addition to helping reduce overdose death rates and increasing access to addiction treatment, there is no evidence that safe use sites are associated with increased crime in areas where they operate

Aaron Chalfin, associate professor and professor of criminology at the University of Pennsylvania, recently found that the presence of overdose prevention centers in two New York City neighborhoods did not lead to an increase in crime or calls to 911. ’emergency in the areas around them. places In fact, they have partnered less outdoor drug use.

Even Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who was initially skeptical of harm reduction strategies, has voiced support for legalizing fentanyl test strips, a key resource provided at sites of use for sure Also, given that low-income people already have higher death rates, safe-use sites can be a vital step in enabling less affluent people to access addiction treatment and health services.

I can guarantee that almost everyone in this country knows someone—or knows someone who knows someone—whose life has been affected by addiction. As millions of people continue to suffer each year from the opioid epidemic that was catalyzed by the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma, why aren’t we using every tool at our disposal to try to prevent overdose deaths?

Harm reduction strategies can reduce deaths in the short term, but also in the long term by enabling people who use drugs to gain initial control of their use and stay in treatment. While it is too late for my aunt, it is not too late for us to prevent future deaths, and I implore policymakers to adopt harm reduction strategies in America.

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