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Friend, it’s National Fentanyl Awareness Day. We all want ourselves, our loved ones, and communities to be safe and healthy. It’s normal to feel scared when you hear about fentanyl and the growing overdose crisis. Unfortunately, misinformation about fentanyl promotes fear and criminalization instead of the health solutions that will help people.
A vast majority of people like you know that drug use is a health issue, not a criminal one. Yet some elected officials and members of law enforcement continue to call for punitive criminal policies which have only made things worse.
At DPA, we are fighting back by providing the facts about fentanyl and advocating for health policies that will save lives and keep our communities safer.
Make no mistake: the drug war created the conditions that led to the overdose crisis and the unsafe drug supply that is driving deaths. Law enforcement crackdowns on prescription opioids and heroin led to fentanyl overtaking the illicit drug supply. And now we’re seeing it again. Crackdowns on fentanyl are leading to even more unknown and potentially potent substances in the drug supply.
Many people are dying of drug overdose accidentally simply because they don’t know what they are taking. And more punishment just increases harm. It makes people afraid to seek help and pushes them into risky situations like using alone.
We need a new approach. Addressing fentanyl in the illicit drug supply with evidence-based health solutions is the only way to turn the tide on the overdose crisis.
It’s time to give our communities the resources they need to prevent overdose. This includes providing factual information, decriminalizing drugs and investing in health services, overdose prevention centers,
and safer supply.
And we must fight back against misguided calls for more criminalization. This includes the HALT Fentanyl Act, a bill in Congress that would ramp up harsh criminal penalties for fentanyl analogues. We expect the U.S. House to vote on it as soon as this month so please take action to help us oppose it right now.
Despite all the misinformation out there about fentanyl, supporters like you power our work to spread facts and advocate for health-based solutions that will save lives. Today, we hope you will continue to help raise awareness by sharing our resources or forwarding this email to your friends and family.
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Sincerely,
Maritza Perez Medina
Director, Federal Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance |
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