R Street’s Harm-Reduction program aims for integrated harm reduction with tobacco, opioid and sexual behavior as central elements. We believe that “abstinence only” approaches to risky behaviors will not work on a population-wide basis. As such, we emphasize harm-reduction approaches that accept that harmful behavior may continue even as we seek to mitigate – if not eliminate – the harms involved.
The Issue
Publications
Methadone treatment in Essex County jails can save lives
Nila Bala & Chelsea Boyd
In the first ruling of its kind, a federal judge has ordered the Essex County House of Correction in Middleton to provide methadone to Geoffrey Pesce while he is in jail. The ruling is novel,…
FDA plan to ban menthol cigarettes is another way for the feds to create crime
Arthur Rizer & Jonathan Haggerty
America’s experiment with alcohol prohibition created what we know as modern organized crime. Almost overnight, banning booze spawned black markets that fueled the rise of powerful, violent crime…
, The Hill
States should reform how they spend tobacco funds — not restrict access to products
Media Coverage
From The Hill:
Even more troublesome, T-21 proposals include tobacco harm reduction products such as e-cigarettes and vaping devices. Despite growing alarmism, these products are 95 percent…
The harmful hysteria about vaping
Carrie Wade & David Bahr
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb recently announced new tobacco-control measures that were, within minutes, greeted with adulation by everyone except, of course, that…
How the crackdown on flavored e-cigarettes makes it more difficult for smokers to quit
What do an adult desk-toy, fruity alcoholic beverages, and a death-reducing techno-gizmo all have in common?
All serve as examples of extreme government responses to popular consumer products…
Increased e-cigarette regulation increases barriers to health
Carrie Wade & Chelsea Boyd
The Food and Drug Administration has spoken, and its words have, once again, ruffled many feathers. Coinciding with the deadline for companies to lay out their plans to prevent youth access to…
, The Hill
America has promising new law in fight against national opioid crisis
Carrie Wade
As opioid-related deaths continue to increase, one would be hard-pressed to find a community or person that has not been affected in some way by the continuing crisis. And as the epidemic rages on,…
Applying harm reduction to smoking
Carrie Wade
Abstinence approaches work exceedingly well on an individual level but continue to fail when applied to populations. We can see this in several areas: teen pregnancy; continued drug use regardless of…
, Townhall
Voter Warning: Regressive Tobacco Taxes Do More Harm Than Good
Media Coverage
From Townhall:
Most problematic is the backward nature of the proposal funding Medicaid while taxing e-cigarettes, which can alleviate Medicaid spending. The R Street Institute found that Medicaid…
Less harm, less tax? Legislature to study new tobacco products
Media Coverage
From the Free Lance-Star:
The joint subcommittee heard a presentation from Carrie L. Wade, a drug abuse researcher who is director of harm-reduction policy at the R Street Institute, which bills…