Punch Quoted in BBC News Article on the Fentanyl Crisis in the US

November 30, 2023

BBC

Alexandra Punch

Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health

Addiction

Opioids

U.S. Health Policy

United States

BBC

Alexandra Punch

President Joe Biden recently laid out his plans for addressing the fentanyl crisis in the U.S., including expanded access to treatment and "strong international co-operation."

Limiting supply of the drug alone will not solve the crisis, says Alexandra Punch, director of the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health, adding the U.S. must also address reducing the drug's harm.

She points to "safe consumption" or overdose prevention centers similar to those found in countries such as Canada, which, she says, have proven "successful at decreasing mortality, decreasing HIV rates and also decreasing drug-related crime in the vicinity of where they're located."

"What we're looking to solve is the mortality issue," she says. "I don't think we're going to solve the demand issue, because people are just going to find something different to use."

Read more in the BBC News article, "Can Joe Biden's plan stop the flow of fentanyl to the US?"