Is a new big budget ad campaign from the State of Washington the latest proof that our government is not interested in reducing lethal drug use?

[un]Divided podcast host Brandi Kruse asserts that a recently released television ad from the Washington State Department of Health is more evidence that “our government does not want to solve the drug crisis.” Further, Kruse states the government continues to push its “harm-reduction” drug policies, which have failed to reduce illegal drug use, and in-fact have led to multiple years of record-breaking drug overdose deaths.

The 30-second ad shows a half-dozen individuals, who all look very healthy, exchanging warm embraces and handshakes. The voice-over tells the viewers that if they use fentanyl, they should do so with a friend and make sure they have naloxone in case they overdose.

The ad ends with a quick flash of the web address www.preventoverdoseWA.org/safetytips.

Kruse states that two things stand out in the ad.

1. It “normalizes” drug use as a friend-building activity
2. There is no warning against using fentanyl or encouragement to stop using the lethal drug through treatment (i.e. “the best way to prevent fentanyl overdose is to not use it”).

Kruse then takes her podcast followers through the website listed in the ad.

The Prevent Overdose WA website is taxpayer-funded and describes itself as, “a program led by the Washington State Department of Health to reduce deaths from opioids through education and proven harm reduction approaches. Our goal is to give everyone in Washington the tools to prevent and reverse overdoses.”

On its front page the site’s tabs focus on finding and using naloxone and how to use fentanyl “safely.” There is no obvious tab for those struggling and looking for addiction treatment.

A person must click on the very last tab labeled “Resources,” and then scroll through sections on where to get free needles and “strategies” for using fentanyl and other lethal drugs before finally finding one link labeled “Washington Recovery Hotline.” There is one to receive information on “Substance use treatment.” (We called the number provided. Without explanation, we were immediately placed on hold for eight minutes before a live person answered. Then we were asked to give our name and phone number and our call will be returned. It took several days before the call was returned.)

Kruse stated that the ad and the website are clear example of why the progressive “harm reduction” policies have failed. The policy began during the 1980s when clean needles were distributed to drug users to stop the spread of AIDs. The program has since expanded (as all government programs do) to hand out all supplies needed for drug use to get high, and some communities have “safe injection” sites. (Here is a report featuring We Heart Seattle’s Andrea Saurez showing what is in the taxpayer-funded drug kits being handed out by King County)

Theoretically, addicts are informed of treatment options, but this almost never occurs. In fact, those handing out supplies almost never have any treatment information available.

Not only are harm “reduction” policies expensive, but they are also failing to help people.  It is false compassion to state we just need to spend more money to solve the homeless and drug issues. All the data shows that the more we spend, the worse things become, with more people suffering.

As we reported last week, despite billions of dollars spent, homelessness rose again in King County in 2025 (68% in the past decade!) due to thousands of people not receiving much-needed treatment for their addiction or mental health. The nation’s largest survey of homeless individuals (by UC Berkley and UCLA) found that nearly half self-reported that their addiction caused their homeless condition and 75% self-reported that they have addiction problems.

Highly respected drug treatment advocate Ginny Burton stresses the fact that nearly all addicts want help. They want to stop living in the hell that drug addiction has imposed on their lives. Yet, due to the control addictions have on sufferers, there are limited opportunities to break through the haze so that a person actually accepts help.  In order for treatment programs to make an impact, assistance needs to be offered constantly. And when the addicts agree to treatment, they must be immediately helped before they change their minds.

The worst thing we can do for an addict is to promote using lethal drugs as a “friend-building” activity. But that is exactly what the Washington State Department of Health does with its new ads. As the result, our tax dollars are enabling more drug users to continue to use lethal drugs, many to their death. We must do better to stop the suffering.