The Baltimore City government’s expansion of drug harm reduction efforts may have a limited impact on overdose death rates, according to some recent studies.

Baltimore won nearly $700 million in settlements and jury awards last year stemming from opioid lawsuits against pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors. Mayor Brandon Scott announced in December that $20 million will go to the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) to help launch a new Division of Overdose Prevention and Harm Reduction.

Common harm reduction methods include distributing clean needles to limit the spread of diseases and naloxone to counter overdoses. Other methods involve distributing contraception and clean pipes used to smoke crack and meth.

Charles Lehman, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute studying drug policy, said studies on different harm reduction methods vary but tend to show limited impact on drug overdose death rates.

“They don’t do very much to reduce the major harms associated with drug use. They don’t do very much to increase the major harms of drug use. Fears are often overblown,” he told Spotlight on Maryland.

BCHD launched a harm reduction vending machine last year in partnership with Charm City Care Connection, an East Baltimore harm reduction nonprofit that receives taxpayer dollars. The free vending machine operates 24/7, providing clean needles, fentanyl tests, naloxone, “safer sex kits” and more.

The University of Cincinnati conducted a study in 2022 on a harm reduction vending machine in Ohio that found that of the 124 people who re-enrolled in the program, 71% reported using naloxone from the machine to reverse a drug overdose. Drug overdoses decreased in the studied county, but it was unclear how much of the decrease could be attributed to the vending machine.

Research on the effectiveness of naloxone varies, with some studies showing it significantly reduces drug overdose rates, and others showing limited or no effects.

Studies on syringe exchange programs (SEPs) show a significant impact on limiting the spread of diseases like HIV and hepatitis C. However, a 2019 study in the National Bureau of Economic Research determined the programs increase overdose deaths by 12% — roughly the same rate they decrease the spread of disease.

Mayor Scott asked the Maryland legislature to pass a bill this year that would authorize Baltimore City to launch a harm reduction approach called overdose prevention sites, also known as supervised drug consumption sites, where people can legally use street drugs at facilities aimed at countering overdoses. The bill did not pass.

Longitudinal studies on supervised drug consumption sites in Canada largely show little to no evidence that the facilities reduce overdose death rates, with one study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy concluding that Ontario’s nine consumption sites had “no population-level effect on opioid-related overdose ed visit, hospitalization, or death rates.”

A spokesperson for Mayor Scott provided an extensive written statement to Spotlight on Maryland that emphasized the Baltimore City government does not encourage drug use.

“The Scott administration has employed numerous public health strategies to remedy the harms of the opioid epidemic,” the spokesperson wrote. “Harm reduction strategies allow the City to meet people where they are and connect them with needed services. This approach prioritizes the health and wellbeing of residents.”

Baltimore City had about 1,000 drug overdoses annually from 2020 to 2023 before the number fell to 775 in 2024, according to the Maryland Department of Health.

Drug overdoses in Baltimore City last year accounted for about 44% of the statewide total.

Spotlight on Maryland is a joint venture by FOX45 News and The Baltimore Sun. Have a news tip? Contact Patrick Hauf at pjhauf@sbgtv.com. Follow him on X @PatrickHauf.