New data show that the US drug epidemic is more deadly than ever, but preventing overdose is a difficult battle.

“If Covid’s restrictions are relaxed, these drug distribution networks and addictions will be integrated into the community, so we won’t see a reversal like acceleration, and it won’t turn off overnight.” Catherine Keys says. Associate Professor at Columbia University Merman School of Public Health. He conducts research focusing on psychiatry and the epidemiology of substance use.

According to experts, there are currently ways to prevent death from drug overdose.

Programs such as changing syringes and mass distribution of naloxone, a reversal of overdose, can make “immediate” differences, said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Substance Abuse. ..

“Harm reduction can save lives, for example, for individuals who aren’t ready for medicine or treatment but are at very high risk of dying,” she says, with clear data that it works. there is.

However, these harm reduction strategies are facing controversy. Experts say that to get the most out of them, an idealistic shift is needed. This is the same problem the United States faces with the Covid-19 vaccine.

“We have a lot to learn from social scientists. Human behavior is complex, and tackling ideology and opposition to things is really complex.” This is what science shows. ” It’s not that simple, “said Dr. Sara Wakeman. She is the medical director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Substance Use Disorder Initiative and an associate professor at Harvard Medical College.

“We are now looking at it in harm reduction, where there is this highly polarized counterargument.”

The latest federal data up to September 2021 is the sixth consecutive month of interim data recording more than 100,000 deaths each year.

Nationwide, the number of people who died from drug overdose was 14,000 more than the previous year, an increase of 16%. According to provisional CDC data, all but three states have increased mortality from overdose compared to a year ago. New Hampshire, Hawaii and Delaware each decreased year-on-year.

In the 12 years to September 2021, about two-thirds of deaths from overdose nationwide were associated with stronger, faster-acting synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl.

New federal data show a significant increase in deaths from overdose from methamphetamine and other psychostimulants, an increase of almost 36% over the previous year. They accounted for about 30% of deaths from overdose in the last 12 months, up from about 25% in the previous year.

The link between Covid-19 and drug epidemics is clear. The $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package enacted last year contained millions of dollars aimed at reducing the harm of substance abuse. However, pandemics may also offer broader lessons to bring into the fight against drug overdose.

“If we invest some kind of attention, resources and political will to deal with the overdose crisis we face in Covid, I think thousands of lives will be saved each year. Many things. It’s different from dealing with the overdose crisis. It’s easier than thinking about Covid and HIV because you don’t have to wait for scientific progress, “Wakeman said.

“At Covid, we know how quickly we can create absolute seismic changes when there is a state of emergency and it is recognized that people’s lives are important and that we must act swiftly. That is incredibly exciting. “

Wakeman and others support federal government support for harm reduction as one of the four key pillars outlined in the Biden administration’s plan to combat drug overdose announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in October. I was prompted to see it.

It also included measures aimed at addressing opioid prescribing practices, removing barriers to treatment, and assisting recovery.

Volkow believes the Biden administration is committed to the efforts outlined in the plan, but some are worried that there may be some setbacks in the recent controversy.

“When we see human suffering at this level, it’s not time to think morally about substance use, it’s time to save lives,” Keys said. “And, as you know, we are in a crisis. To get out of this epidemic, we need to double and do everything we can to save all lives.”

There are signs that conversations are beginning to change in federal policy and public discourse.

“We have seen changes throughout the opioid epidemic in the way people talk about drug use and drug users as a public health issue rather than a criminal justice issue,” Keys said.

“Often, seeing people near you who have experienced these conditions, or seeing people who have experienced these conditions and those you have identified, is a real change in people’s thinking.”