Friend, Americans deserve real solutions for the devastating overdose crisis. It should be a top priority for all our elected leaders. Yet presidential candidates Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump have neglected to clearly outline their plans to reduce overdose deaths and help people who are struggling with addiction. 

The next presidential debate is this Tuesday, September 10. It will be hosted by ABC News and moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis. It’s our chance to continue demanding answers from Harris and Trump about their overdose prevention plans.   

Sign our petition calling on ABC News to address overdose at the debate by asking the candidates: How will you save lives during the overdose crisis? 

The overdose crisis is an urgent public health emergency that affects all of us. But parties and candidates across the political spectrum have fallen short on providing real solutions to the overdose crisis that are proven to save lives. Instead, they are doubling down on failed drug war policies that have fueled and exacerbated the overdose crisis. And they have prioritized arrest and jail instead of treating drug use as the health issue that most Americans agree it is.  

We won’t stand by as candidates play politics with people’s lives. Overdose deaths are preventable. Here are three ways political leaders can show they are serious about saving lives:  

• Allow overdose prevention centers. These facilities are designed to reduce the potential risks of drug use, including overdose and unwanted public use. They also connect people with addiction services and social supports, including treatment.
• Invest in evidence-based treatment. There are a variety of treatment options, including psychosocial treatment, medications for opioid use disorder such as methadone and buprenorphine, and contingency management.  
• Increase harm reduction and overdose prevention services. Interventions include drug checking (like fentanyl and xylazine test strips), naloxone (a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose), drug education, and syringe service programs that keep people from contracting infectious diseases. 

With your help, we must demand that they take this issue seriously and make their overdose prevention plans clear to Americans. Please join us by signing our petition urging ABC News to ask the candidates about overdose at the debate on Tuesday.