Biden drug control plan stresses harm reduction, treatment

By CARLA K. JOHNSON
AP Medical Writer

President Joe Biden is sending his administration’s first national drug control strategy to Congress. White House drug czar Dr. Rahul Gupta says the strategy is the first to prioritize what’s known as harm reduction. That means it will focus on preventing death and illness in drug users while trying to engage them in care and treatment. The U.S. overdose death toll hit a new record of nearly 107,000 during the past 12 months. The document is headed to Congress on Thursday. It also includes targeting the financial activities of transnational criminal organizations and reducing the supply of illicit drugs smuggled across U.S. borders.