The White House has a strategy for reducing drug overdose deaths

The White House has a strategy for reducing drug overdose deaths

Transcript¹

Drug overdose deaths are at a record high — more than 100,000 in the latest single year. And the Biden administration has a plan to slow that epidemic² by emphasizing harm reduction.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Drug overdose deaths are at a record high - more than a hundred thousand in a single year. The Biden administration is out today with a plan to slow that epidemic by emphasizing harm reduction. Reporter Martha Bebinger of WBUR joined us earlier to explain what that means.

MARTHA BEBINGER, BYLINE³: A, harm reduction includes all of the tools that help drug users stay alive. That's naloxone, the drug you can squirt into someone's nostril⁴ if they overdose to revive them. It's also syringe exchange programs to limit the sharing of needles and the spread of infection. It's fentanyl test strips so drug users can find out if this deadly opioid is in the drug that they're about to inject or snort. It's a lot of tools that critics claim enable drug use.

MART?NEZ: All right, so then why is the White House prioritizing this?

BEBINGER: Well, because these tools do save lives. The people who advocate for harm reduction stress you can't treat someone after they've died of a fatal overdose. And White House drug czar Dr. Rahul Gupta insists that harm reduction is an approach that can cut across ideological⁵ lines.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RAHUL GUPTA: This is not a red state issue or a blue state issue. This is America's issue.

BEBINGER: And Dr. Gupta stresses a recent bipartisan congressional report that did recommend adoption⁶ of more harm reduction strategies when he was explaining the Biden administration's plan to, as he says, beat the overdose epidemic.

MART?NEZ: Got to be clear - this is a federal plan, but access to harm reduction efforts varies a lot from state to state.

BEBINGER: Yeah, that's true. There are states that right now restrict access to naloxone, and you've probably seen some of the stories about needle exchange programs closing in some cities and towns around the country. That's even happening in states like West Virginia that have the highest rate of overdose deaths in the country. Robin⁷ Pollini is an associate professor at West Virginia University. She studies injection drug use and harm reduction efforts.

ROBIN POLLINI: Whether you have access to these services largely depends on where you live.

BEBINGER: And Pollini says there are still federal obstacles, too, like a federal ban on paying for syringes distributed to drug users. And that's going to make expanding needle exchange programs more difficult.

MART?NEZ: Martha, what else is in the Biden administration's plan?

BEBINGER: The White House says harm reduction is only part of a larger effort to tackle the two drivers of the overdose crisis - a lack of treatment and drug trafficking. So the other elements include a call to double the number of people in treatment with a focus on people leaving prisons or jails or those who don't have stable housing. Those are some of the people most at risk. Then, to slow the drug supply, the Biden administration is proposing sanctions on drug traffickers, tighter border controls and more international cooperation. The Biden plan also spells out the need for better real-time data on who is most at risk for an overdose. Now, all of these proposals will be sent to Congress today for debate and review.

MART?NEZ: That's Martha Bebinger of WBUR. Martha, thanks.

BEBINGER: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 nostril   

n.鼻孔

参考例句：

• The Indian princess wore a diamond in her right nostril.印弟安公主在右鼻孔中戴了一颗钻石。
• All South American monkeys have flat noses with widely spaced nostril.所有南美洲的猴子都有平鼻子和宽大的鼻孔。

5 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

6 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

7 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。