The Trump administration is escalating its push against what has become a key part of the way states, localities and communities respond to the overdose epidemic: harm reduction.
A public health approach aimed at mitigating the negative health effects associated with drug use, harm reduction aims to prevent overdoses and infectious disease transmission.
Methods can involve the use of opioid overdose reversal medications such as naloxone, providing sterile needles to limit the transmission of infectious diseases, test strips that detect fentanyl in drugs, and “safe consumption sites,” where people can use drugs under supervision in case they need intervention.
