WILLIAM BRANGHAM: There is a
tragic history in this country
when it comes to drug use

and addiction. Too often, stigma and
racism prevent recovery and healing.

Jamie Favaro started a needle
exchange program in 2005.

She is also the founder of NEXT Distro,
an online and mail-based platform

that provides people who
use drugs with lifesaving
supplies, education and support.

Tonight, her Brief But Spectacular
take on how we see addiction.

JAMIE FAVARO, Founder, NEXT
Distro: There's critics of harm
reduction all over the country.

The most common thing we hear as harm
reductionists is that we're enabling

people to use drugs. Research study upon
research study has proven that what we're

doing does not increase substance
use. It actually facilitates
people getting into care.

I began an underground
syringe exchange in 2005.

I basically stood outside on a street
corner at night handing out needles.

(LAUGHTER)

JAMIE FAVARO: It was great because
people were able to keep themselves
safe and healthy and well,

and, also, it was an opportunity to

talk to people openly about their
drug use, about their struggles,

about what they wanted for their
future. And that became a legal
needle exchange program in 2007.

People are using someone else's
syringe. They're taking one
syringe and they're using it 20,

30 times. No one should be
sharing needles. Sharing needles

IS -- facilitates HIV and hepatitis
C transmission. And there needs to be

syringe access for people who
use drugs, so they can protect
themselves against diseases.

a needle exchange is a
place where people can come

not just to access clean syringes
and injection equipment. That's
a piece of it. It's a much

bigger story. It's a place where
you can access case management,
linkage to care, advocacy. You

can get referrals into drug
treatment. We had a health clinic
run by Columbia medical students.

Syringe exchange and harm reduction
programs are not just places
where people get clean needles.

They create an atmosphere and
an environment where someone
who uses drugs can talk openly

about their drug use and their struggles.
Maybe they're not interested in going into

drug treatment that day, but they want
to know about what their options are.

We're going to provide that
information without trying to
pressure them into going into drug

treatment. Working in harm
reduction for almost 20 years,
it's been really difficult to see

the kinder and gentler way that the
media has approached opioid use.

Now that white people are dying,
we're blaming the Sackler family.
We're blaming Purdue Pharma. When

Black and brown people were dying
of overdose, it was their fault.
It was because they were immoral.

The war on drugs has failed.
And racialized drug policy is
continuing to put poor people

and Black and brown people
in prison for using drugs,

while white people are seen as
victims of a pharmaceutical industry.

It's been very important to
prioritize communities of
color and communities who have

been systematically shut
out of health care systems

to ensure that those folks are the
ones that receive care and service.

My name is Jamie Favaro, and
this is my Brief But Spectacular
take on drug user health.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM:

You can find all our Brief But
Spectacular episodes on our Web
site, PBS.org/NewsHour/Brief.