Evidence-based research has shown that treating drug addiction like a disease in providing basic harm reduction measures for addicts saves both lives and money.
It costs more to treat an addict who ODs in the street or gets a nasty infection from a filthy needle than it does to run a safe injection site. Preventing even one HIV infection can save the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of a patient.
You’re also more likely to get people into rehab programs if you approach them as a compassionate medical professional instead of as a law enforcement officer threatening arrest.
