We need a health approach to save lives. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Friend, too many of us have felt the immense pain of losing someone to overdose. What makes the devastating loss even more tragic is that overdose is preventable. We have the tools to save lives, but policymakers continue to prioritize punishment over health solutions that work.

Today, more than 200 families who’ve lost loved ones to overdose are speaking out with an open letter to lawmakers: [link removed] These courageous families are urging lawmakers to enact lifesaving health approaches to address the overdose crisis and reject misguided calls for more criminalization. You can view the letter signers and those they lost that they are signing in honor of here: [link removed]

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If you’ve also lost a family member to overdose, consider adding your name to the letter: [link removed]
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DPA is honored to have worked in partnership with Broken No More [link removed] on this letter signed by people from across the country. The overdose crisis is a national emergency that has touched almost everyone in America. More than 107,000 people died just last year alone. Yet shamefully, many policymakers continue to respond with the same punitive approach that created the overdose crisis and has failed to keep us safer.

Right now, opportunistic politicians are using the overdose crisis and parents' grief to pass harsh drug laws. Red and blue states alike are increasingly passing new laws for mandatory minimums, drug-induced homicide, and increased penalties for possession of drugs, including fentanyl.

Today, families are calling for a new way forward with proven investments in health alternatives. They are calling on lawmakers to decriminalize drug possession, increase harm reduction and addiction services, open overdose prevention centers, and provide evidence-based voluntary treatment options.

We stand behind the families who are bravely fighting for a health approach so that no one else has to go through the heartbreak and pain they have experienced. Please consider joining them by signing the letter urging lawmakers to end the deadly drug war policies that got us here and invest in health solutions that save lives: [link removed]

With hope,

Emily Kaltenbach
Senior Director, State Advocacy and Criminal Legal Reform
Drug Policy Alliance

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