From the War on Drugs to Harm Reduction: Imagining a Just Response to the Overdose Crisis

Image with following text "The need for an equitable and structural response to the overdose crisis is more urgent and critical than ever"

About the Report

In Spring 2020, the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, First Focus on Children, and Open Society Foundations convened a group of experts in public health, harm reduction, drug policy, and child welfare. The experts shared ideas on how to direct the opioid litigation settlement funds toward structural and policy reform that advances public health and health equity. “From the War on Drugs to Harm Reduction: Imagining a Just Response to the Overdose Crisis,” released December 16, 2020, reflects the views of these leading experts and contains specific recommendations for policy makers and advocates.

Expert Recommendations for the Use of Opioid Settlement Funds for Policy Makers and Advocates

Recommendations to Prioritize the Health and Well-being of People Who Use Drugs and People With Opioid Dependence

Image of the following text: Set up a bulk purchasing fund to procure overdose reversal medication (naloxone) and Medications for Addiction Treatment (MAT) at lower prices
Text of report recommendation 2: Increase community-based distribution of overdose reversal medication to reach people at risk of overdose
Text of report recommendation 3: Increase community-based distribution of safer use supplies and low-threshold care to reduce the risk of death, overdose, and other harms associated with opioid use
Text of report recommendation 4: Expand access to evidence-based and non-coercive Medications for Addiction Treatment (MAT) and other treatment programs for opioid use disorder
Text of report recommendation 5: Provide naloxone training, MAT access, and related care for people who are arrested, detained, incarcerated, post-incarcerated, or otherwise involved in the criminal legal system.
Text of report recommendation 6: Expand Medicaid to ensure access to quality health care, and increase funding for other health services and care tailored for people who use drugs or are at risk of overdose

Recommendations to Prevent Opioid Use and Address Structural Drivers of Opioid Use and Dependence

Text of report recommendation 7: Create a national campaign to address stigma and misconceptions around drug use and treatment both in the general public and among clinicians
Text of report recommendation 8: Monitor the pharmaceutical opioid supply while promoting evidence-based and compassionate pain management for individuals, including people who use drugs
Text of report recommendation 9: End punitive and carceral approaches to addressing drug use and reform the criminal legal system and corollary systems
Text of report recommendation 10: Invest in community development programs and remove abstinence-only conditions that further punish drug use
Text of report recommendation 11: Allocate funds to create a non-profit foundation that coordinates a national-level response and serves as a non-governmental watchdog

More Information

View the report infographic (PDF)

Press Release: National Public Health Experts Urge Biden-Harris Transition Team to End War on Drugs and Lead Coordinated Public Health Response to the Opioid Overdose Crisis (December 16, 2020)

Read FXB Center Director Dr. Mary T. Bassett’s letter to President-Elect Biden (December 16, 2020)

Learn more about the October 2019 Harvard University and University of Michigan opioid summit, “Stigma and Access to Treatment”