New York Times | "Cities move away from strategies that make drug use safer"

The New York Times interviewed UCLA Fielding's Dr. Chelsea Shover, associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, about the impact of funding reductions for "harm reduction" strategies in addiction treatment.

"... Harm reduction supporters reject the notion that protecting people from the worst consequences of drugs encourages use.

'I don’t think the availability of sterile supplies really makes a difference about whether someone is going to start or continue using drugs,' said Chelsea L. Shover, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who oversees Drug Checking Los Angeles, which tests the contents of drugs for individuals and public health agencies. 'But I do think it will make a difference in terms of whether that person is going to be alive in a week or a month or a year, during which time they might get into recovery, whatever that may mean for them.' ”

Read the New York Times article.