Three Policies That Can Save Other Drug Users From Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Fate | ThinkProgress.

“Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead on his bathroom floor Sunday night, with two bags of what is believed to be heroin beside him. If Hoffman did, as suspected, die of a drug overdose, he is one of an estimated 105 people who die every day from that cause. In 29 states, drug overdoses now kill more people than auto accidents. And use of heroin has more than doubled, over the past decade, while overdoses of legal opiates — painkillers — have skyrocketed.

As public discussion over the failed War on Drugs has escalated and politicians mull marijuana and sentencing reforms, one part of the vision is to redirect enforcement resources toward education, treatment, and other health-oriented programs that help those struggling with addiction. But for those entrenched in addiction, there are low-hanging fruit solutions passed into law in a minority of states that directly tackle the problem of stopping preventable overdose deaths.“

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