Reader: Providing safe supply would help with drug addiction

I am writing in response to Jordan McClements’ recent Opinion in the Greater Dover Independent (“1.8% decrease in overdose deaths is not political victory").

I recognize that a lot of our community will want to push back against the idea of safe supply and that there are many potential complications to the idea. But it seems very cruel to me to recognize how many people are visibly struggling with drug addiction in our state and, essentially, to think that punishment will be a more effective motivator toward sobriety than providing what community support is possible. Housing, in particular, I recognize as a very complex issue, and one that Mr. McClements touched on only briefly. But people who have access to housing are far less likely to turn to drugs to avoid recognizing the pain and humiliation of sleeping on the streets (if they can even manage that without being woken up and forcibly removed from that space).

Like many people in Delaware, I have lost someone I know to a drug overdose. Drug users are human, too, and they are often humans struggling very intensely with things outside of their control. Providing safe environments, safe drugs, clean needles, housing support and other things of that nature could truly be a huge boon for the most underserved members of our community, and it could offer them a chance to find a path out of addiction that would otherwise be unavailable to them. If it would help even one person, isn’t it worth trying?

Thank you for your time.

Connor Reader

Dover

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.