People Before Profits Includes Drug Users
Communists must challenge liberal attitudes about Opioid Treatment Programs
Communists use dialectics to identify and discuss contradictions inherent in society as a whole. Sometimes, those contradictions exist within our own community. The term NIMBY - which stands for “not in my backyard” - refers to people who resist development in their own communities but support it ideologically. It’s a liberal mentality; they want to help as long as it doesn’t affect their lives or, more blatantly, their property values. Nimbyism is often on full display at neighborhood association meetings whenever there’s a proposal to build new affordable housing units. On one side, there are the overt reactionaries who honestly and openly oppose such developments. On the other side, there are the nimbys. They recognize the problem and claim to support the solution - as long as it’s not in their neighborhood. Sadly, this type of liberalism is present within the communist movement. It is a contradiction that must be challenged.
Recently, a communist group’s article about why their community should oppose the construction of a methadone clinic resurfaced online. The authors promise to fight with concerned neighbors to prevent a drug treatment facility from opening in their neighborhood. With no evidence and no material analysis, they instead employ reactionary, feelings-based arguments that the proposed clinic would make their neighborhood unsafe. This nimbyism is expected from reactionaries and liberals, but coming from communists, it’s shocking and disappointing. Their response to the construction of a life-saving health care facility was that they “feel treatment facilities shouldn’t be in an inner city. We think we need to put them somewhere out in the suburbs. Basically, away from everybody.”
The Communist Party USA’s program, Road to Socialism USA, says that we “stand with the workers of our country, and the working class of the whole world, for health care for all, for an end to income inequality, against racism, sexism, and all injustice.” It is important to recognize that drug treatment facilities are health care facilities, and our party program is clear about where we stand on health care for all. The crisis of global capitalism has resulted in immense inequalities, including less access to health care in poor and working class communities. It has also created the epidemic of drug addiction by prioritizing profits for the pharmaceutical industry over the health and quality of life of humanity. The opioid crisis is a byproduct of capitalism. The Communist Party’s slogan is “people before profits,” and there are no exceptions. We’re either for the people or we’re against them.
The opioid crisis has wreaked havoc on the US in recent years. The rate of drug overdose deaths is on the rise, and it skyrocketed at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is the most effective tool to combat the crisis of opioid use disorder (OUD). However, in 2020, only 11% of people with OUD received medication. Methadone has been shown to be effective at treating OUD for more than 50 years, but limitations requiring the drug to only be administered at government-regulated opioid treatment programs (OTPs) presents a barrier to treatment for many Americans. The methadone treatment capacity of the US has not kept up with the rise in opioid overdose deaths, and many patients who could benefit from methadone treatment are not able to access it due to geographical restrictions. According to a 2021 research study, nearly three million adults across the US lacked access to OTPs within a 2-hour drive from their community. Research has shown that geographical distance is negatively associated with health care utilization. For a working class person trying to get addiction treatment, a long-distance commute to the nearest treatment facility is a major barrier. Federal, state, and local governments should be doing everything in their power to make access to life-saving health care facilities that treat OUD more equitable. Communists should not stand in the way of efforts to increase access to treatment for people suffering with OUD.
Nimbys argue against drug treatment centers like methadone clinics because they fear that these facilities will make their neighborhoods less safe. They conflate drug users with crime and falsely suggest that the patients receiving MAT at these facilities will bring with them a dangerous, criminal element. This mentality is heavily informed by stigma and is based on feelings and perceptions rather than material data and evidence. There is no scientific evidence to support the belief that treatment facilities increase crime rates. In fact, the research shows the opposite. Researchers in Philadelphia conducted a study to examine crime rates around methadone clinics and found that there is a significant decrease in total crime in areas close to a treatment facility. Another study in Baltimore found no correlation between crime rates and proximity of methadone clinics. Despite the lack of evidence to support the claim that drug treatment facilities bring more crime to the areas they serve, nimby attitudes continue to stigmatize drug users and make it more difficult for patients to receive treatment.
Stigma is one of the many contributing factors for why people with OUD often do not get the treatment they need. Research shows that addiction is one of the most stigmatized conditions, and patients with substance use disorders report feeling discriminated against, feared, and abandoned. Unfortunately, even after making the decision to seek treatment for their substance use disorders, patients often face stigma from friends, coworkers, family, and even from health care providers. Insisting that patients travel long distances from their communities to a clinic that’s “away from everybody” reinforces stigma and creates one more barrier to treatment, especially for low-income patients. Speculating that a clinic designed to provide MAT services would increase crime in the community also reinforces stigma. Shame and lack of access are significant barriers that people with OUD face every day; many people die before they’re able to overcome these hurdles. “People before profits” means we must support all people, including drug users. In addition to supporting full funding for health care facilities that offer MAT to patients suffering with substance use disorders, we must go further and support full funding for harm reduction services like clean needle exchanges, fentanyl testing kits, and safe injection sites.
We must work to educate people in our communities about drug addiction and treatment options. More than 105,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2021. The death toll will continue to increase until we challenge the liberal narrative that people suffering with substance use disorders are criminals. As communists, we must fight back against this liberalism - not encourage it. We must treat people with dignity and respect in their struggles with addiction. We must challenge our own biases and attitudes, using dialectics to elicit truth. We must put all people before profits.