Thread by @ManishaKrishnan

NEW: A study found that overdoses double in communities after cops seize illicit opioids, providing the first empirical evidence that drug busts are associated with a spike in ODs. This is significant. Let’s unpack. vice.com/en/article/7kx…

The CDC-funded study, published in American Journal of Public Health, looked at seizures of opioids and stimulants in Indianapolis. It showed that fatal overdoses doubled in the week after an opioid seizure w/in a short walk of where the bust took place.

It also found that non-fatal overdoses went up as did the distribution of naloxone by emergency services.
This evidence backs up what people who use drugs and work in harm reduction have been saying for a long time—enforcement is making the overdose crisis worse.

This is happening for a few reasons. Opioid users who are cut off from their supply will go into withdrawal and their tolerance will go down, putting them at higher risk of overdose when they find a new—sometimes unknown supplier.

“If you take somebody's drugs from them and they have to go find a new supply, they are not able to dose themselves at all on that new supply and their overdose risk increases dramatically,” said lead study author @BRaySociologist

For similar reasons, stints in jail or evictions have also resulted in people overdosing, because their tolerance for opioids goes down. Here’s another study by @RS_McNeil: vice.com/en/article/epn…

The study comes at a crucial time, where tons of money is still being poured into supply side disruptions e.g. policing and cities like San Francisco are doubling down on arresting people who use and sell drugs.

Safe consumptions sites remain federally illegal and there are no safe supply programs. “I don't think we're seeing enforcement strategies having any real impact on reducing the number of overdose deaths,” said @BRaySociologist. More: vice.com/en/article/7kx…