Ending the opioid crisis requires common sense solutions, not 'harm reduction'

Like clockwork, at the end of every election season, the party in power boasts impressive results in its regular reports on jobs, the economy, manufacturing, and more. Health is no exception. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced that its data shows a 10% decrease in overdose deaths in 2024.

This October surprise will be a welcome and hopeful trend. In reality, even if this finding were confirmed, the number of overdose deaths would still be approximately 100,000 per year, the vast majority of which are due to opioids, primarily fentanyl. Even if a 10% reduction were real, it would not be enough.

In recent years, the United States has tragically experienced a historic number of opioid overdose deaths. Considering just the past two years, this represents 33% of the total deaths that have occurred over the past 20 years. That is an abomination.

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The opioid crisis began in the mid-1990s and went through several stages. It started with the mistaken idea that prescribers should relieve any pain by any means necessary. This often happened when large doses of opioids were administered. Fueled by the myth that people with pain don't develop substance use disorders, millions of people have been overprescribed with opioid painkillers.

As a result, millions of pain patients have become fraudulent users and abusers of opioid painkillers. By 2010, the availability of opioid analgesics had decreased due to pressure from regulatory boards on high-dose prescribers. This led to a new wave of use as a substitute for heroin and increased addiction.

In 2013, a cheaper, more potent and more lethal substitute, fentanyl, was imported. This powerful killer became America's addiction nightmare.

Fentanyl is currently the primary illicit opioid. It is frequently found in stimulants such as cocaine, methamphetamine, and even marijuana. Users often don't even know that fentanyl exists and have no tolerance for it, contributing to the rising number of overdose deaths.

This unstoppable parade of harmful drugs is having a devastating impact on American communities. In September 2022, the Congressional Budget Office released a report stating that more than 500,000 people have died from opioid overdose since 2000. Looking at more recent data, 84,181 people died from opioid overdose in 2022 and 81,083 in 2023, according to the CDC.

Robert Kennedy Jr. will talk about this infectious disease. He's right. We need to understand why the number of overdose deaths has increased so dramatically in the past few years. We believe recent changes in the approach to addiction in this country are a major contributing factor.

Instead of treatment, “harm reduction” is being promoted. It doesn't work.

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Harm reduction principles encourage acceptance of the lifestyle of drug use and reduce the harms of drug use through interventions such as the use of fentanyl test strips, syringe exchanges, and the distribution of supplies such as pipes for smoking meth. focus on that. Advocates also encourage safer drug use in the presence of others, often in public places, where naloxone, the antidote for opioid overdoses, is used on the spot. can reverse the overdose.

Unfortunately, more deaths occurred and the demographics of drug deaths reversed. Currently, people of color have higher overdose death rates than white people. Simply put, “harm reduction” lives up to its name. The harm reduction practices of the Biden-Harris administration are increasing harm, not reducing it.

Instead of treatment, “harm reduction” is being promoted. It doesn't work.

Indeed, given the ubiquity of fentanyl and the increasing presence of other substances such as xylazine (“trunk”), which enhance fentanyl's depressant effects and increase the risk of overdose, at present It cannot be made “safe” to use. In cities like Philadelphia, “tranq” has nearly conquered entire neighborhoods.

Rather, treatment, not harm reduction, must be the primary driver of U.S. drug policy. We need to invest more in prevention interventions, including educating young people and adults about the dangers of drug use today. We must also ensure widespread access to high-quality, evidence-based treatments for drug use disorders, including the use of FDA-approved medications.

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To ensure that everyone who needs treatment has access to it, we must work with community stakeholders to provide treatment resources in ways that are acceptable to people living in different regions. This common sense approach is what we need now and in the future.

This may be an election year, but this is not about politics. Simply put, refocusing treatment will save thousands of lives, create hope, and give individuals, families, and communities a chance to recover.

Eric Hagan served as Acting Secretary from 2017 to 2018 and Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 2017 to 2021.