Great Lakes ROTA-RC presents: The Harm Reduction Gap

According to the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 60% of people over the age of 12 in the US used a drug in the past month – alcohol, nicotine, tobacco, and/or illicit drugs. In this session, attendees will be introduced to the concept of the ‘harm reduction gap”- the gap between conventional ‘just say no’ drug prevention and abstinence-only treatment where there are few to no services available to reduce the risks of drug use. In this gap in our continuum of care, the majority of people who use drugs, including social, experimental, and recreational users are otherwise disconnected from support or health services to stay safe. Beyond these groups, people with substance use disorders also fall into the harm reduction gap since over 90% will not receive specialty substance use treatment in any given year. Attendees will be introduced to harm reduction tools and interventions that can help keep the majority of people who use drugs safe while expanding our continuum of care to keep our communities safe.