For decades, efforts by police to seize illicit drugs have been a cornerstone strategy for disrupting drug markets and removing drugs from communities. But there's an unintended outcome when opioids are seized, a new study finds -; increases in overdoses, including those that are fatal.
The number of fatal overdoses was two-fold higher than expected within 7 days and 500 meters of an opioid-related incident in which police seized drugs.
A new study highlights an unintended consequence of interventions to combat the country’s illicit opioid epidemic, emphasizing the need to include harm reduction strategies as part of a comprehensive response.