Critics say Biden’s drug czar pick at odds with push for ‘harm reduction’ policies

Concern over role Rahul Gupta played in shutting down West Virginia's largest syringe service program in the state's capital

Joe Biden is on record as the first US president to embrace a concept known as harm reduction" - a public health approach that aims to mitigate harm done by drug use instead of the traditional just-say-no-ism of past administrations.

Administration officials have said last week that the federal government will now support harm reduction concepts - like giving sterile syringes to people who inject drugs - in an effort to curb the transmission of infectious diseases.