The Biden administration‘s new strategy for addressing the crisis of drug abuse emphasizes controversial harm reduction strategies.

The administration’s effort to beat back the addiction crisis includes prioritizing harm reduction services, which are not meant to keep people from doing illicit drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, but rather to keep them safe and alive when they do. Harm reduction programs also steer users toward substance use treatment resources, which they otherwise would not be made aware of if they were using on their own.