"What If We Pay People to Stop Using Drugs?"
The question in the title of this post is the headline of this New Republic piece by Zachary Siegel. Its subheadline captures its themes: "Traditional treatments often take place in expensive facilities, demand total abstinence, and rely on punitive methods of control. A harm reduction model turns all of that on its head." Here is an excerpt (with links from the original):
In contingency management programs, a positive urine screen does not result in punishment the way it might in other treatment programs, especially when those are court mandated and using drugs can result in jail time. The only negative reinforcement in contingency management is that a positive urine screen means the reward cycle resets, along with the bonus count. You have to start over.