Three measures to reduce the number of overdose deaths in France

2023-08-31 07:55:32

August 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day. Several hundred people die each year in France following an overdose linked to the consumption of psychotropic substances: this is not, however, inevitable. The Addiction Federation calls on public authorities to take new measures to reduce the number of overdoses: generalize access to Naloxone (antidote drug for opioid overdoses), open new spaces for safe consumption and remove criminal sanctions for drug use.

If the French situation is in no way comparable with the opioid overdose crisis in North America, the recent waves of overdoses in Hérault and Seine-Saint-Denis show that France is also concerned by this question.

The Addiction Federation points out that many of the deaths linked to overdoses are avoidable: they are the result of a lack of access to care and unsuitable policies.

The addictology professionals represented by the Addiction Federation propose three measures to reduce the number of overdose deaths in our country:

1. generalize access to Naloxone, the antidote drug for opioid overdoses,
2. open new areas for safe consumption: addiction care drop-ins, already provided for by law,
3. remove criminal penalties for simple drug use.

Generalize access to Naloxone, the antidote drug for overdoses

Many overdoses are linked to the use of opioids, whether legal (drugs) or not. However, there is an antidote to opioid overdoses, easy to use and which greatly reduces the risk of death: naloxone.

Naloxone is now available in specialized addictology structures, in hospitals, as a remote risk reduction device, in pharmacies and in prison (via health units): it is available in two forms, as an intramuscular injection without a prescription and as a nasal spray on prescription. The Addiction Federation is asking for its access to be strengthened and expanded: automatic delivery with prescriptions of opioid drugs, awareness and distribution to emergency professionals (firefighters, SAMU, police, first aid operators, etc.), strengthening of its access in prison, accessibility of all forms in pharmacies without a prescription. The Addiction Federation welcomes the arrival in October of Ventizolve®, a nasal naloxone specialty, which will be available without a prescription.

In addition, Naloxone must be better known to both health professionals and the general public: information campaigns must be carried out in this direction.

Opening new areas for safe consumption: addiction treatment centers save lives

Quite often, overdoses are the result of consumption in precarious conditions, sometimes in the street, far from health workers who can promote risk reduction practices and rapid access to care when needed.

Secure consumption spaces are an appropriate response to these situations: there are more than 80 addiction treatment centers (HSA) in Europe and only two in France at present, one in Paris and the other in Strasbourg. They have been the subject of an independent scientific evaluation which has demonstrated their effectiveness. Needs exist in Île-de-France and in many other cities: professionals are ready to carry out these projects which are only awaiting authorization from the public authorities. The Addiction Federation calls on the new Minister of Health and Prevention to take up this file as soon as possible.

Change the law on narcotics: end criminal sanctions for simple consumption

The simple consumption of drugs – an offense yet without a victim – is punishable under article L3421-1 of the public health code by a one-year prison sentence and a fine of €3,750. This policy of repression has concrete consequences on people’s health: the fear of punishment and the stigmatization linked to the criminal ban is a barrier to access to care.

Thus, people who need emergency care, following an overdose in particular, are too often reluctant to call for help with dramatic consequences. Furthermore, criminal sanctions are an obstacle to prevention and risk reduction action by actors in the field, accused of “inciting” consumption.

The Addiction Federation and its partners in the National Collective for a New Drug Policy have called for people to sign a petition posted on the website of the National Assembly proposing a law to abolish penalties for simple drug consumption: a simple and effective in saving lives. For example, Portugal, which decriminalized drug consumption more than twenty years ago, has the lowest drug-related mortality rate in the European Union (four times lower than the European average).[1]

These three measures are all likely to reduce the number of overdose deaths in our country. They must be articulated with a global health strategy including the analysis of products and actions of prevention and reduction of risks with the public who use drugs.

La Fédération Addiction est le premier réseau d’addictologie de France. Elle regroupe 190 associations, 850 établissements et services de santé, de prévention, de soins et de réduction des risques ainsi que 500 adhérents individuels, notamment médecins et pharmaciens de ville.

1- Source: “Decriminalization of drugs in Portugal: assessment 20 years later”, summary note, OFDT, June 2021, p14.

Press release, Addiction Federation, August 31, 2023

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