Harm Reduction, Human Rights

What happened to following “what the data shows”, Jacob Frey?

“Why involuntary treatment for addiction is a dangerous idea” by Sarah E. Wakeman: https://www.statnews.com/2023/04/25/involuntary-treatment-for-addiction-research/

From United Nations Human Rights: “UN report urges States to end overreliance on punitive measures to address drugs problem & shift to interventions grounded in & public health. It is essential that laws, policies & practices deployed to address drug use must not exacerbate human suffering -
ow.ly/wpPJ50PNMcm”

Read the full report here in العربية, 中文, English, Français, Русский, Español: https://www.ohchr.org/en/calls-for-input/2023/call-inputs-ohchrs-report-human-rights-challenges-addressing-and-countering

The street supply is unpredictable due to prohibition and the War on Drugs. With pain patients and others forced off of their controlled substance medications or unable to ever obtain a prescription, more and more people are utilizing the street supply. Meanwhile, the DEA runs campaigns like to say the only safe substance is from a prescription by a doctor.

We know “drug busts” and arrests lead to more deaths from overdose by distributing the supply, causing PWUD to find a new supply, on top of racist enforcement.

The Iron Law of Prohibition has been proven over and over again that “increasing law enforcement” leads to “increasing cost of illegality” creating the “need to avoid detection (less weight and volume, easier to hide, store, and transport)” leading to “increasing potency of substance”.

The same harmful, deadly legislative approaches lead to the same outcome. More people dying due to the War on Drugs. We need safe supply, NOT criminalization.

Please read Drug Policy Alliance’s “Rethinking and Reducing Punishment for People in the Drug Trade (Deep Dive)”:
https://drugpolicy.org/more-about-legal-regulation/

Have you seen Dr. ’s thread on findings of xylazine being a kappa opioid agonist? Read the full thread here: https://x.com/nabarund/status/1700597099639755076?s=46&t=vV0xpdTj7tW06l2aH6x9dg

[Image text:
Tweets from Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta that read:
“1 🚨Attention please: Turns out is a kappa opioid. This validates experience from frontline folks and PWUD. Fresh science from collaborators
Pre-print: biorxiv.org/content/10.110…
Public health 🧵 below”

[Link preview for “Xylazine is an agonist at kappa opioid receptors and exhibits…”]
2:48 PM 9/9/23 from Earth 59.6K views

“Yes, naloxone “works” on xylazine. But not to gaslight all the frontline folks – it may not reverse sedation but it will cause withdrawal. And it’ll work on fentanyl. Keep using naloxone, and bring back rescue breathing.”

“So, if it’s hard to induct people using fentanyl-xylazine on to , and naloxone causes xyl withdrawal, why are we using Suboxone when Subutex is available and doesn’t contain naloxone?”]

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.

If you’ve followed , you know we had to leave Minneapolis College due to harassment. When Minneapolis SSDP became inactive, we continued to share information to keep folks up to date with major changes in MN. This is a new page to share and educate on drug policy, harm reduction, and human rights. More coming soon!