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.
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Chelly's Overdose
- Chelly, an opioid user, shared her harrowing experience of overdosing in a bathtub.
- Her friends, also drug users, were unable to help, highlighting the dangers of unsupervised drug use.
Max's Safer Supply
- Max, a 26-year-old, shares his experience with meth addiction since age 12.
- After a near-fatal overdose, he joined a safer supply program, receiving prescribed Ritalin to reduce the risks associated with street drugs.
Stigma and Safer Supply
- Dr. Charles Breaux highlights the stigma surrounding safer supply programs, even among medical professionals.
- He emphasizes the ineffectiveness of forced abstinence and advocates for harm reduction strategies.