The little-known program contributing to a decline in overdose deaths in the US

[ancianita]

Last edited Mon Dec 29, 2025, 12:30 PM - Edit history (1)

Hannah Harris Green
Sun 28 Dec 2025 07.00 EST

https://archive.ph/qA2RT

[excerpt... West Virginia, long known as the epicenter of the opioid crisis, is also among the states that have most reduced overdose fatalities] ... One little explored factor is the increased adoption of crisis intervention training (CIT) for law enforcement. Early research that compares jurisdictions that have CIT programs to those that do not show that this intervention is associated with a decline in overdose fatalities...

CIT teaches officers how to recognize when someone is struggling with substance use and in a state of crisis, how to speak to them empathetically and calmly, and encourage them to seek treatment. [Yolanda] Mwikasa said that getting people to treatment and into recovery reduces their motivation to commit crimes and can help them live longer without overdosing, even if their recovery is not permanent. Sending them to jail, on the other hand, increases the risk of fatal overdose and of continued substance use.

Richard Frank, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who helped coordinate the Obama administration’s opioid response, said that getting people into treatment rather than jail wasn’t just about intention, it’s about effort. For example, he noted the importance of a “warm handoff”, meaning you deliver someone to a treatment facility directly, rather than simply giving them a phone number...

“Holding people accountable and getting them help are not opposites,” Mwikisa said. “The real failure is when we do neither.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/28/crisis-intervention-training-overdose-death-decline

Thanks, Obama and Biden.

[Walleye]

1. So the answer it isn't blowing up boats in the Caribbean, I guess

They will go ahead and lie about it though

[ancianita]

2. Right. Their guess is to do the opposite of what Obama and Biden would do.

When lies are the standard, the truth is subversive.

[Walleye]

3. Didn't we learn long ago in the war on drugs. That limiting supply doesn't slow consumption

People will get their dope from somewhere.

[ancianita]

4. The war on drugs also taught that illicit profitability rises with bans ...

-- Supply disruptions can incentivize the market to shift toward more potent, easily concealed, and dangerous substances like fentanyl, which contributes to increased overdose deaths.

High Profitability: The risks associated with the illegal drug trade lead to higher prices, which in turn creates immense profits, attracting new producers and dealers into the market.

Social and Economic Costs: The policies have resulted in vast criminal markets, high incarceration rates (disproportionately affecting minorities), and a significant financial burden on the criminal justice system, with costs far exceeding the investment in treatment and prevention programs.

Most evidence suggests that demand-side policies, such as prevention, treatment, and harm reduction, are more effective strategies for managing the problem of drug use. Which is exactly what this OP article from The Guardian shows.

[Walleye]

5. Exactly, but the men in this administration do not listen to anybody. They think they know it all already.

Of course we know this is actually about oil

[ancianita]

7. But we can't solve problems by focusing only on the problems, can we. It can become an unfortunate mental habit.

This is about power by any means necessary.

[betsuni]

6. Thanks, Obama and Biden! Thank you, Democrats!