The stick, rather than the carrot, has for decades been the United States’ preferred strategy to confront the fight against drugs. Both in reducing supply and controlling demand. And although in general terms that premise remains valid, In recent years – particularly this last one – there has been a notable shift in the so-called war “on drugs”.
(Also: Why Biden could be the fourth US president to go to impeachment trial?)
At least in the domestic sphere and what has to do with consumption. In fact, “harm reduction,” an approach used by many nations in Europe but which in the United States, especially among Republicans and conservatives, was seen as permissive and erroneous, has begun to gain ground on many fronts.
Last week, for example, it began to be sold in all drugstores in the country and without a medical prescription. Narcan, a drug administered through an inhaler that stops the effects of an opioid overdose.
(Keep reading: Why does the United States assure that Colombia is cooperating in the fight against drugs?)
Although naxalone – the primary component of Narcan – has been around for years and its benefits are well-known, until now it could only be obtained by prescription. Something impractical when a person is about to die as a result of an overdose.
Narcan was already part of the arsenal of drugs used by paramedics, emergency centers and even some public places such as libraries.
(Also read: US talks about drug certification: ‘We are going to continue working with Colombia’)
However, By lifting restrictions so that anyone can have access to it, whether in a pharmacy or purchased online, the idea is that its carrying becomes widespread..
“In reality, it is something that we should all have in the first aid kit, in the purse, in the car in case we come across someone, including a family member, who is intoxicating. That is going to save many lives,” says Kevin Ban, doctor head of Wallgreens, a large pharmacy chain in the United States.
In reality, it is something that we should all have in our first aid kit, in our purse, in our car in case we come across someone, including a family member, who is intoxicating.
Furthermore, its use is relatively simple as it is applied directly to the nostril and activated with a trigger.
At the moment, its cost is relatively high (US $45 for two doses), but There are already several generics in the process of approval before the FDA and the value will soon begin to fall.
(You can read: Exclusive: US assures that anti-drug cooperation with the Petro government is changing)
Expanded access to Narcan is just one of the things that has begun to change in the fight against drugs in the United States.
In recent months, states as conservative as Texas, Mississippi, Kentucky and Utah have passed laws to decriminalize the use and sale of home tests to detect fentanyl in other substances.
In fact, The so-called ‘test strips’ are already legal in 37 states: to put it in context, 3 years ago they were illegal in 33 of the 50.
That there is a legal device to detect fentanyl before consuming other drugs was unthinkable in a country where prison and other coercive measures were previously the panacea.
(Continue reading: Why has Elizabeth Manes not been ratified as US ambassador to Colombia?)
“My hope is that anyone who is struggling with an addiction has access to a recovery program that takes them away from drugs. But if they are dying from a drug they didn’t even know they were using, then there is nothing they can do.” says Tom Oliverson, the Republican legislator who promoted the decriminalization of test strips in Texas.
Both Narcan and these home tests have become popular as a response to the opioid overdose epidemic that the United States is experiencing. In just two years (2021 and 2022), more than 200,000 Americans have died this way, which is more than deaths from suicide and homicides combined..
And much of it as a result of fentanyl, a drug 100 times more powerful than heroin and which is now being mixed with other drugs without the user knowing.
(You can read: Exclusive: The United States would certify Colombia’s performance in the fight against drugs)
According to data from the Department of Health, for some time now, traces of fentanyl have been found in all types of recreational drugs, from cocaine, to marijuana and other pills such as ecstasy and oxycontin derivatives.
“I don’t want anyone to consume. But if they are going to consume, at least they should test the drug they are going to ingest to be sure.”says Oliverson.
For Regina LaBell, who was US drug czar during the Barack Obama years, this is a shift toward harm reduction that is changing the paradigm of the country’s fight against drugs.
(Also: ‘Another false start’: US criticizes appointment of alias Gafas as peace manager)
Something that has also been noted in the policies of the Joe Biden administration and its more holistic approach to controlling drug production in other countries such as Colombia, where they are favoring strategies that offer alternatives to farmers, environmental protection and interdiction in instead of placing so much emphasis on the eradication of illicit crops.
According to experts, The shift toward harm reduction in the United States would have three explanations. One of them cynical but reasonable.
The first is the magnitude of the problem, which resembles the AIDS crisis of the 1980s when they were also forced to change direction. With more than 100,000 people dying annually, lawmakers from both parties have concluded that the coercive measures and criminal sanctions of the past are insufficient to address the crisis and are therefore more open to other alternatives.
Likewise, he said to New York Times Keith Humphreys, a drug policy expert at Stanford, the epidemic is touching everyone in the US. “There is not a single legislator who does not have a family member, an acquaintance, or a constituent affected by this drama. And that creates a not only an emotional but also a political incentive,” says Humphreys.
(Keep reading: Donald Trump won a debate he did not attend: why did he outperform the other Republicans?)
The third thing is that unlike the epidemics of the past, such as the crack epidemic of the eighties or the methamphetamines of the nineties and the beginning of this century, which spread among Afro and poor communities, the fentanyl crisis is being felt equally among whites and rich.
In other words, the threat of fentanyl is breaking stereotypes and showing that no one is immune.
SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI
EL TIEMPO correspondent
Washington
On Twitter: @sergom68
#strategies #United #States #applying #avoid #deaths #fentanyl