The ironically named “harm reduction” movement has done almost as much to hook addicts as the criminal drug cartels that sell them their fix.
The movement’s advocates want to decriminalize dangerous drugs even though it only will increase the supply — while depriving the justice system of a needed lever to nudge users into rehab. The movement supports so-called “safe use” sites — still illegal in Colorado largely because our governor had the good sense to oppose them — where medical professionals actually supervise addicts while they administer the drugs that are destroying them.
And then there are the needle exchanges. The supposedly socially responsible exchanges hand out sterile syringes to addicts to reduce the chance they’ll pick up hepatitis from dirty, shared needles. Which makes it all the easier for those same addicts to keep stumbling along in a self-destructive stupor — alienated from family; neglecting their kids; unable to lead productive lives or even stay housed — until their lives end in an overdose in an alley, a fast-food joint’s restroom or maybe your neighborhood park’s playground.