Consider This from NPR

The Experiment Aiming To Keep Drug Users Alive By Helping Them Get High More Safely

Sep 20, 2022

Brian Mann, NPR's addiction correspondent, dives into Canada's innovative harm reduction strategies amid the drug overdose crisis. He discusses supervised injection sites, where users can take drugs under medical supervision to reduce fatal overdoses. Mann shares compelling success stories and the controversial debate surrounding these approaches. He also highlights a movement to prescribe safer opioids, challenging traditional methods in tackling addiction. This eye-opening discussion redefines the narrative on drug use and community health.

11:21

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Episode notes

Intro

3min

Exploring Harm Reduction: From Skepticism to Success in Canada

2min

Radical Approaches to Harm Reduction in Ottawa

3min

A Safer Approach: Rethinking Drug Prescriptions in the Face of Overdose Epidemics

3min

Exploring Harm Reduction Strategies for Drug Users in the U.S.

2min

As record numbers of people in the U.S. die from drug overdoses, communities are searching for tools to prevent them. A new program in Canada could serve as a model.

Over the past few years, government-approved clinics have opened across the country, where people can use street drugs under medical supervision. If they overdose, they can get life-saving care immediately. Some doctors are even prescribing powerful opioids to patients to keep them from using street drugs that may be laced with deadly chemicals.

It's a controversial program, and some in the medical community argue that it could encourage drug use.

NPR's addiction correspondent Brian Mann visited some of those supervised injection sites in Ottawa, to see how the program is working.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

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