#opioid epidemic

The Case for Prescription Heroin

The idea is this: If some people are going to use heroin no matter what, it’s better to give them a safe source of the stuff and a safe place to inject it, rather than letting them pick it up on the street — laced with who knows what — and possibly overdose without medical supervision. Patients can not only avoid death by overdose but otherwise go about their lives without stealing or committing other crimes to obtain heroin.

And it isn’t some wild-eyed theory; the scientific research almost unanimously backs it up, and Crosstown’s own experience shows it can make a difference in drug users’ lives.

Three cheers for harm reduction!

In the War on Drugs, patients and doctors are often the mistaken targets in the fight against the so-called opioid epidemic.

Study after study show a “misuse” rate of less than 1% in patients prescribed opioids for acute pain or chronic pain. And numerous large studies show an even lower overdose rate from opioids used in the medical setting.

Fear of opioids propels drug prohibition, the black market, and rising overdoses from heroin and fentanyl. It also drives the misguided prohibition on prescribing pain medication, causing patients to suffer and destroying lives.

Learn more, and join the conversation on Twitter with #CatoDrugWar…