Lawmakers who are serious about fighting the opioid crisis should consider harm reduction

A bill that includes $3.7 billion to fight the opioid crisis is advancing to the Senate floor, and there’s another bipartisan bill in the House. These, along with approval earlier this month of a generic version of suboxone from the FDA, show that Washington is making headway in working to counter the deadly opioid crisis that has devastated many parts of the country.

But while these efforts are laudable, they do not include support for proven harm reduction measures such as syringe access, supervised injection sites, and increased access to naloxone. If lawmakers are serious about combating the opioid crisis, they should consider harm reduction to reduce the deadly consequences of the crisis that kills 115 people each day in the U.S.