Clinical Professor Jeffrey Bratberg helps write American Pharmacists Association new policy statements on substance use
University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy Clinical Professor Jeffrey Bratberg has played a key role in historic changes to The American Pharmacists Association’s House of Delegates’ policy statements on substance use. The association is now expressing support for decriminalizing the personal possession or use of illicit drugs and drug paraphernalia.
This shift comes at a time when the nation’s worsening overdose epidemic urgently demands changes to a punitive response that has relied on the criminal justice system and disproportionately harmed people of color and people experiencing poverty. The focus on punishment has not helped save lives or support public health and, in fact, has put more people at risk of drug-related harm.
The association’s updated statements affirm the potential and importance of pharmacists and pharmacies as public health professionals and venues that are accessible to individuals, families, and communities struggling with substance use throughout the U.S.
“As key access points for harm reduction services like naloxone, sterile syringes, and medication for opioid use disorder, pharmacists play an essential role in addressing the overdose crisis,” Bratberg said.
Bratberg and colleagues recently published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine showing that 89 percent of patients randomized to a novel pharmacy-based buprenorphine induction and maintenance arm remained in care at 30 days, as compared to 17 percent in the usual care control group.
The association’s members have traditionally led and championed innovative efforts to expand overdose education and naloxone distribution, along with broader support of prevention of infectious disease transmission among people who use drugs, the organization wrote in a recent release on the policy statements. “APhA’s support for addressing substance use as a health issue, rather than a crime, strengthens pharmacists’ roles as public health professionals and is a critical step toward addressing rising overdose and hepatitis C infection rates,” said Adrienne Simmons, director of programs at the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable.
With this policy update, APhA has joined the ranks of the United Nations, the American Public Health Association, and other notable domestic and international associations in recognizing that drug use is first and foremost a matter of public health and available resources should primarily be allocated toward health interventions, not arrests and incarceration.
“Bringing humane, health-focused policies to our communities is another step toward health equity and anti-racism,” said Vibhuti Arya, professor at St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, who delivered a lecture at URI last year on health equity and structural racism. “I’m honored to have worked with my colleagues to bring this policy to our organization and advocate for systemic reform toward an equitable future.”
Bratberg joined Arya and Simmons in delivering an educational session at the APhA Annual Meeting about decriminalization and harm reduction, in addition to recently publishing a commentary on the topic.
A growing bipartisan majority of registered U.S. voters also support decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs, according to a 2022 poll from Data for Progress. The same survey found nearly half of voters say they or a loved one have experienced an overdose or substance use disorder.