The Politics of Addiction: Evidence Needs to Inform Addiction Policy and Practice

This commentary discusses how as the political landscape heats up for elections, so too does the political rhetoric around addiction. Some political leaders seeking to respond to the overdose crisis and social disorder have recently focused on closing safer consumption services (SCSs) and implementing involuntary treatment. These proposed responses are disconnected from evidence, attempting to apply quick fixes to complex problems that only seem to further stigmatize people who use drugs. Furthermore, despite the recognition that a comprehensive 4 pillar approach is needed: prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and enforcement, the focus is predominantly on enforcement or very limited aspects of treatment to the exclusion of evidence-based prevention and harm reduction. In the end, evidence needs to guide policy and clinical practice for addiction.