Ending the Opioid Crisis We Need Common Sense Solutions Not “Harm Reduction”

At the end of each election season, like clockwork, the party in power boasts remarkable results in routine reports on jobs, the economy, manufacturing and more. Health is no exception: the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced that its agency’s data indicated a 10% reduction in overdose deaths by 2024.

This October surprise would be a welcome and hopeful trend. In reality, even if this finding is confirmed, the number of overdose deaths is still around 100,000 per year, the vast majority due to opioids, mainly fentanyl. If the 10% reduction is real, it’s nowhere near enough.

In recent years, the United States has tragically seen a record number of opioid overdose deaths. The last two years considered would only be 33% of the total number of deaths that occurred during the previous two decades. This is abominable.

METEPHATOLOGY IN THE EXTRACTER SENT TO US THE ELECTION BUILDING CLOSES THE OFFICE FOR HOURS

The opioid crisis has been here since the mid-1990s and has gone through several phases. It began with the mistaken idea that prescribers should relieve any pain by any means, no matter what. This often happened with large doses of opioids. Underpinned by the myth that people in pain would not develop a substance use disorder, millions of opioid pain relievers were over-prescribed.

Fentanyl seized in Nogales, Arizona. Agents and border agents seized more than 1,900 pounds of the illicit drug in October 2022. (CBP)

As a result, millions of pain patients became misusers and abusers of opioid pain medications. In 2010, with pressure from regulatory boards on high-dose prescribers, the availability of opioid pain relievers decreased. This led to a new wave of heroin as a substitute and addiction increased.

In 2013 this was followed by the importation of a cheap, potent and deadly substitute: fentanyl. This powerful killer became America’s addiction nightmare.

Fentanyl is now the predominant illicit opioid. It is frequently found in stimulants, such as cocaine and methamphetamine, and even marijuana. This contributes to a higher number of overdose deaths, because users often don’t even know fentanyl is there and develop a tolerance to it.

This unstoppable parade of harmful drugs has had a devastating effect on American communities. In September 2022, the Congressional Budget Office released a report that more than 500,000 people had died from opiate overdoses since 2000. Looking at more recent data, according to the CDC, there were 84,181 deaths from opiate overdose in 2022 and 81,083 in 2023.

We welcome Robert Kennedy, Jr. talking about this epidemic. He’s right: We need to find out why the number of overdose deaths has increased so dramatically in recent years. We believe that a major contributor is a recent change in the approach to addiction in this country.

Instead of treatment, there has been a push towards “harm reduction”. It doesn’t work.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

Harm reduction principles encourage acceptance of a drug-using lifestyle and focus efforts on reducing the harm of drug use through interventions such as the use of fentanyl test strips, syringe exchange and distribution of supplies such as smoking pipes. Advocates also encourage safer drug use with others present, often in public, where an overdose can be reversed on the spot with naloxone, the opioid overdose antidote.

Unfortunately, more deaths and a demographic reversal of drug deaths occurred. Today, people of color have higher overdose death rates than white people. Simply put, “harm reduction” belies its very name. Because the Biden-Harris administration practices harm reduction, it has done more harm, not less.

Instead of treatment, there has been a push towards “harm reduction”. It doesn’t work.

In fact, no illicit drug use can be made “safe” at this point, given the ubiquitous presence of fentanyl and, increasingly, other substances such as xylazine (‘tranq’) that increase the depressant effects of fentanyl and deepen the risk of overdose. In cities like Philadelphia, ‘tranq’ has almost conquered entire neighborhoods.

Instead, treatment, not harm reduction, must be the main focus of drug policy in the United States. We need to invest more in prevention interventions, including educating youth and adults about the dangers of drug use today. We must also make high-quality, evidence-based treatment, including the use of FDA-approved medications for drug use disorders, widely available.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

To help ensure access to treatment for all who need it, we must work with community stakeholders to provide treatment resources in a manner that is acceptable to those living in diverse areas. This common sense approach is what we need today and in the future.

It may be an election year, but it’s not about politics. Simply put, a renewed focus on treatment will save thousands of lives, instill hope, and offer individuals, families, and communities a chance at recovery.

Eric Hargan served as Acting Secretary in 2017-2018 and Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services from 2017-2021.