But the whole point of the article is many advocates and policy makers are going beyond decriminalization to destigmatization. "Do it with friends" sure sounds like destigmatization to me.

It is a safety issue. The billboard's whole point is you warning that if you do this stuff solo you are more likely to die. Which is unquestionably true - you are not going to be in a position to use narcan to stop the overdose if you're by yourself.

If you have 5 people who are going to use opioids, you want them to be together when they do it and you want narcan or similar available to them, if you do truly care about saving lives.

It sure does. That was an uncomfortable read. Lots of implications in that statement. Many of them ungood.

That billboard and "harm reductionists" is destigmatizing, not decriminalizing. I also think the possession of some subset of drugs should remain a criminal offense. Decriminalizing heroin and fentanyl doesn't sound like a good idea at all.

> Destigmatize? The point was to decriminalize. Those are not the same thing.

They aren't, but in today's world, there appears to be an actual slippery slope going from decriminalization to destigmatization and maybe even to celebration.

> Even with legalized marijuana we're not encouraging people to consume it.

"We're not"? Marijuana is a legitimate business in many states now, so it will get promoted.

Alcohol and tobacco are legitimate businesses in every state, yet we're not encouraging alcoholism and chain smoking. Acceptance is not promotion.

This strikes me as a distinction without a difference. Stigmatism is the antibody of the criminal law immune system. And in order to decriminalize something you have to first destigmatize it. That’s precisely why medical marijuana was the first step.

>Destigmatize? The point was to decriminalize. Those are not the same thing

Given the extent to which many people stigmatize criminality in and of itself, they're not entirely separate things.

"The image on the billboard that appeared in downtown San Francisco in early 2020 would have been familiar to anyone who'd ever seen a beer commercial: Attractive young people laughing and smiling as they shared a carefree high. But the intoxicant being celebrated was fentanyl, not beer. "Do it with friends," the billboard advised, so as to reduce the risks of overdose.

The advertising campaign was part of an ongoing national effort by activists and health officials to [encourage "safe"] hard-drug use on the theory that doing so would lessen its harms. Particularly in blue cities and states, that idea is having a moment. The general message carried by the San Francisco billboard appeared as well in the New York City health department's "Let's Talk Fentanyl" campaign, which last year told subway riders, "Don't be ashamed you are using, be empowered that you are using safely," and further counseled them to "start with a small dose and go slowly.""