SAMHSA Harm Reduction Framework

The SAMHSA Harm Reduction Framework is the first document to comprehensively outline harm reduction and its role within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Framework will inform SAMHSA’s harm reduction activities moving forward, as well as related policies, programs, and practices. 

Development

The Biden-Harris Administration has identified harm reduction as a federal drug policy priority, and it is one of the four strategic priorities of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Overdose Prevention Strategy.

SAMHSA convened the first-ever federal Harm Reduction Summit, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), in December 2021. The Summit brought together over 100 experts representing prevention, treatment, recovery, harm reduction and (most importantly) those with lived and living experience with substance use — to help inform SAMHSA’s policies, programs, and practices.

The Framework was developed and written in partnership with a Steering Committee of harm reduction leaders from around the country. This group represents a broad array of backgrounds and experience, with most having lived or living experience of drug use. The Steering Committee synthesized findings from the Harm Reduction Summit. The Framework is adapted from the Committee's final report.