Since 2000, over one million people in the United States have died from drug overdose. After decades of harsh drug laws and enforcement, our drug supply has gotten more dangerous. We know that harm reduction, drug checking, and evidence-based treatments can help reduce the risk of overdose. But they cannot fix the underground drug supply. The only way to address the drug supply is through legal regulation and a safer supply.
The Drug Policy Alliance hosted Community Conversations with people who use drugs across the United States in 2021. The aim was to learn about safer supply preferences among people who use drugs in the U.S. The Community Conversations were co-hosted by the Pan-American Network of Drug User Activists, the New England Users Union, the National Survivors Union (formerly called the Urban Survivors Union), and the Michigan Users Union.
The Safer Supply Toolkit was developed based on these Community Conversations. It aims to help engage people who use drugs, healthcare providers, and the public in conversations about safer supply. The Toolkit also includes a strategy guide, a reading list, safer supply discussion guides for communities and healthcare providers, and a media guide.
We need to ensure that current and future advocates have the tools to discuss safer supply with their communities. The Safer Supply Toolkit is a guide that seeks to support advocates in advancing the public conversation on safer supply and all-drug legal regulation. It is the only way that we can build the world we envision.
Safer supply is a needed emergency response to the overdose crisis.
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