"All too often, these drugs wind up in communities where naloxone isn't readily available, where harm reduction services are restricted or underfunded," says White House drug czar Dr. Rahul Gupta.
Drug abuse has reached record levels in the United States during the pandemic, with nearly 107,000 overdose deaths in just the past 12 months. In response, the Biden administration rolled out its first national drug control strategy late last week.
"This inaugural strategy proposes bold, targeted and consequential actions to bend the curve on overdose deaths in the immediate term and reduce drug use and its damaging consequences over the longer term," President Joe Biden said. "These actions are based on the best science, evidence and data available. Through them, we strive to usher in a new era of drug policy centered on individuals and communities."
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This is the first national plan to prioritize what is known as harm reduction, said Dr. Rahul Gupta, the White House drug czar. This means it focuses on preventing death and illness among drug users while trying to engage them in care and treatment. The strategy calls for changes in state laws and policies to support the expansion of harm reduction.
"All too often, these drugs wind up in communities where naloxone isn't readily available, where harm reduction services are restricted or underfunded, where there are unacceptable barriers to treatment," he said.
The American Medical Association has advocated for naloxone, a medication that can revive users who have overdosed, to be made available over the counter. Test strips that prevent overdoses by checking drugs for fentanyl and clean syringe programs are other examples of harm reduction. Harm reduction prevents overdoses, reduces the transmission of infectious diseases and has bipartisan support, Gupta said.
Gupta, the first physician to head the Office of National Drug Control Policy, will oversee the strategy, which has seven priorities for the first year:
- Expanding access to evidence-based treatment, particularly medication for opioid use disorder.
- Advancing racial equity.
- Enhancing evidence-based harm-reduction efforts.
- Supporting evidence-based prevention efforts to reduce youth substance use.
- Reducing the supply of illicit substances.
- Advancing recovery-ready workplaces and expanding the addiction workforce.
- Expanding access to recovery support service.
"As this strategy lays out, there is so much more we can do to expand access to evidence-based prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery services while also working to reduce the supply of harmful drugs in our communities," Biden said. "I look forward to working with the Congress as well as state, local and tribal leaders as we implement this strategy. Together, we can create safer and healthier communities for everyone."
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Alan Goforth
Alan Goforth is a freelance writer in suburban Kansas City. In addition to freelancing for several publications, he has written a dozen books about sports and other topics.
