Baltimore Drug Crisis Needs More Than Harm Reduction

Harm reduction programs are helping to save lives nationwide but they’re not enough to solve the Baltimore drug crisis recovery advocates say. If the epidemic of drug addiction is to be effectively addressed, they argue, then harm reduction services must be coupled with better access to recovery programs and proactive initiatives to get people into treatment.   

A City in Crisis

Clean needles, Narcan, and fentanyl test strips are used across the city of Baltimore to prevent infections and overdoses. While these tools help save lives, one addiction and recovery expert, Mike Gimbel, says they’re not enough. 

Gimbel is in recovery from heroin addiction and is a long time advocate for drug treatment. He says the only real solution is long term access to treatment, which is largely being ignored. 

While the demand for drug treatment beds is huge, Gimbel said that “This is where Baltimore and the state of Maryland have fallen on their face.” 

Gimbel has been in recovery for almost 53 years, and he’s publicly calling out state and city leaders on what he calls a failed strategy in fighting addiction. 

Gimbel said, “What you’re seeing on the city and state level, it’s not acceptable. It’s embarrassing, actually.”

A Strong Voice for Recovery

The public knows Gimbel from his Straight Talk with Mike Gimbel on FOX45 News and he says that Baltimore’s open air drug markets are thriving. He attributes this to the fact that there’s little incentive for those who use drugs to change their behaviors. 

He feels that giving people who use drugs easy access to Narcan and clean needles doesn’t change their behavior. “If you don’t change the behavior (of the addicted person) you may bring them back from an overdose death, but eventually, they’re going to come back.”

Gimbel asserts that a person’s recovery is dependent on getting them out of their current environment. This means changing where they live and the people they surround themselves with. 

Drug courts are a step in the right direction because they mandate court ordered treatment in place of jail time. However, Gimbel says, they also come up against obstacles. “The problem with drug courts is there’s not enough places to send people.”

Gimbel says that without treatment, many drug users will still end up dead. 

The Baltimore Sun recently reported that almost 90% of Maryland’s deaths that were “undetermined” in 2023 were drug related. An estimated two thirds of those “undetermined” deaths were actually accidental overdoses, according to a Johns Hopkins medical director.

With 442 undetermined deaths in 2023, Baltimore had the highest number of unexplained fatalities in Maryland. 

The pharmaceutical companies coughed up $400 million in opioid settlement funds to Baltimore recently, and Gimbel noted that at least some of that should be used to increase treatment access.

You don’t have to sacrifice your health and hope to the thralls of addiction. Recovery is real.

Use Detox.com’s online directory to find affordable detox centers in your area or call 800-996-6135(Sponsored) for immediate support.