08/23/2023
As Minnesota and other states in the US begin implementing harm reduction policies to move towards ending the War on Drugs, this report highlights many import considerations and what these organizations have proposed as gold standards. Minnesota must have a human rights centered approach. We also must focus on ALL substances, not just creating a harmful “hard drug” vs “soft drug” divide that impacts the people who use highly stigmatized substances.
People are dying from the unregulated street supply. In MN, Indigenous peoples are 10x more likely to die from an overdose and Black people are 3x more likely to die from an overdose than white Minnesotans. Unhoused encampments are being violently evicted, displacing community members. Causing an increase of overdose and missing community members. Forcing or coercing treatment does not work. We know this. And the lack of treatment programs that support harm reduction, pharmacotherapies, cultural and trauma responsiveness, and non-punitive methods is still detrimental. On top of that fact that the majority of people who use drugs do not qualify for a substance use disorder diagnosis. Those folks still need harm reduction support.
We need drastic changes that “redirect funding AWAY from policing and TOWARDS health”. Yet, many responses to the overdose crisis have been to continue the same War on Drugs by promoting a police response and increasing penalties, particularly with fentanyl. While the racism and xenophobia of the War on Drugs is used to blame other countries without accountability from the US government.
“Right to health” includes safe supply. It includes treating pain. Chronic pain patients have faced the deadly consequences of anti-opioid propaganda. The DEA runs propaganda campaigns like to highlight the dangers of the street supply while acknowledging that the only “safe” medication is by prescription. Yet, they also restrict controlled substance prescribing and access. Where do people turn when they are denied the right to health? Many started using the street supply. While many have also died from su***de.
Decriminalization is just one of the many necessary steps. It will not end the overdose crisis as a stand-alone policy. And neither will continuing criminalization and forced, coercive treatment; including harmful drug courts. People who are actively using drugs must have MEANINGFUL participation in initiatives and policies that impact them. Especially in communities that are systemically and systematically oppressed. The answer is not just naloxone and test strips distribution, even though they are life-saving tools. Overdose prevention sites have support in MN. We need more and people are dying.
Have you read “The decriminalisation of people who use drugs: An essential component of a human rights-based approach to drug policy”, a submission to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) by International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation (CDPE), Instituto RIA, Harm Reduction International (HRI), Health[e]Foundation? Read the full submission here: https://idpc.net/publications/2023/07/the-decriminalisation-of-people-who-use-drugs-an-essential-component-of-a-human-rights-based
First slide graphic credit to IDPC.
