'Safe Supply' initiatives: Are they a recipe for harm through reduced healthcare input and supply induced toxicity and overdose?

Within the addiction field some advocates support a suite of de-regulatory policies which aim to reduce harm by providing people who use drugs with a 'safe supply' of pharmaceutical grade medications. Such initiatives have commenced without the evidence standards normally used to label medication provision as 'safe'. This perspective suggests continued debate and research in this area acknowledge the potential toxicity of any provided 'safe supply' medications and highlights that these initiatives could result in an unhelpful reduction in interactions between people who use drugs and healthcare professionals.