Topic
Essays on harm reduction drug policy — regulation, safer supply, overdose prevention, and why punishment fails as a public health strategy.
Harm reduction is not permission to use drugs without consequences. It is the honest admission that people use substances, that prohibition creates deadly markets, and that policy should prioritize keeping people alive long enough to recover. These posts explore what harm reduction looks like in practice: regulated supply, pharmacy models, risk-based regulation, and the public health case against moral panic. If you are new to this work, start with the Drug Legalization Series hub — then return here for posts tagged around harm reduction specifically.
Read the full series in order on the Drug Legalization Series hub.
All posts All topics Recovery Reentry & Policy
Drug Legalization Series · Part 19
Part 19 explains why controlled substance regulation is already being administered every day through prescription drug monitoring program systems, methadone clinic regulations, buprenorphine prescribing rules, pharmacy oversight, and the regulated pharmacy model logic behind risk-based reform.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 18
Part 18 makes the case for a public health approach to drug policy over moral panic, using harm reduction strategies, overdose prevention, addiction stigma reduction, and risk-based drug regulation to reduce death, disorder, and failed policy.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 17
Part 17 uses real drug policy case studies to examine what worked, what failed, and why across Portugal drug decriminalization, Oregon Measure 110 results, British Columbia safer supply, Switzerland heroin-assisted treatment, and cannabis legalization outcomes.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 15
The strongest arguments against drug legalization deserve direct answers. This post breaks down drug legalization pros and cons, youth access, public safety, mental health, and whether legalization actually increases drug use.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 14
A regulated pharmacy model for high-risk substances could replace street chaos with standards, cut overdose risk, and connect people to treatment on demand fast.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 9
This post explains what risk-based drug regulation looks like in practice: a risk-tier model built around supply control, age limits, potency limits, licensing, taxation, enforcement priorities, and the recovery infrastructure required to make it real.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 8
In part 8 of the drug legalization blog series, we explore fear-based drug policy, Oregon's Measure 110 results, and what effective policy would entail.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 4
Drug legalization and regulation is not endorsement. It is a regulated drug supply with testing, labeling, fentanyl test strips, and real accountability that prohibition cannot deliver.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 1.5
Legalization isn’t one policy. This post explains legalization vs decriminalization vs regulation, and what strict regulation actually delivers in safety and outcomes.
Drug Legalization Series · Part 1
Drug legalization isn’t endorsement. Part 1 explains why punishment fails, why reentry is deadly, and why harm reduction saves lives.