In Denmark, drugs users can safely get high inside “drug consumption rooms.” One of those is Skyken, users have access to clean needles, are allowed 24 hour access, and nurses can treat overdoses with antidotes. Evidence shows these types of rooms reduce deaths. “Drug consumption rooms reduce the risk of fatal overdose, reduce public injecting, and increase access to health and treatment services.”

Anchor Recovery is a government-funded program that hires former opioid users to reach out to addicts. They’re called “recovery coaches.” The idea is to use their former experiences with addiction as a source of connection with opioid addicts. So far, the program has helped an estimated 400 people get treatment. “I have been in this room. I have been in your position. I know exactly how you feel at this moment.”

A Phoenix gym uses CrossFit classes as an effective way to keep people in subustance use disorder recovery. The class provides non-judgmental support, community, and exercise all of which can have a beneficial effect reversing the impact of substance use on the brain.

Strapped for labor, a rural company decided that they wouldn't fire employees who failed drugs tests—they'd help them get better. Instead of punishing addicted employees, the Belden Electric Wire Factory pays for them to get treatment. Applicants who fail the drug test are promised a job if they complete treatment as well. Workers support each other on the job another's a sense of motivation for a better future.

There exists an antidote, naloxone, to opioid drug overdoses but only doctors have naloxone and drug addicts overdose in the street. In Baltimore, where more people die of drug overdoses than there are people murdered, a doctor at the George Washington University Hospital created a blanket subscription for naloxone so that anyone could buy the drug and save lives.

A pre-charge program in Vermont offers low-level, non-violent drug offending criminals the opportunity to abide by a personalized contract of recovery to avoid criminal charges. Program participants are often required to seek treatment for drug addiction, maintain employment, and engage in behaviors that will improve their quality of life. This program gives addicts a chance to rebuild their lives and frees up resources within the criminal justice system to be used on higher profile crimes.

San Francisco health workers can hand out prescriptions to opioid treatment buprenorphine on the street as part of a $6 million program called Street Medicine Team. The program aims to treat homeless, long-term drug users who don't come to clinics. So far, 20 of the first 95 patients are still in the program.

At a Michigan county drug court, intense scrutiny and personalized attention for people in recovery - instead of jail time - is an approach with great promise. This in-depth look at the journey of people in the program shows its possibilities and its limitations.

Free Through Recovery is North Dakota addiction services program that aims to help drug users end their dependencies and reduce prison recidivism. The rural town uses peer support and mentoring to fill the gaps in mental health services. Wyoming is grappling with overfull prisons and a growing population of drug users; they are considering replicating the program.

ACEs quantifies the adverse event in an individual's childhood, as a means to treat addiction. Understanding addiction as resulting from past events helps to treat these individuals through medication and developing a plan to help each patient live a sober life without medications while de-shaming and de-blaming them.

In Huntington, West Virginia, an team modeled off the highly successful Quick Response Team outside of Cincinnati is showing similar results in cutting down deaths caused by addiction. The Quick Response Team ensures that every overdose survivor receives a follow-up visit within 72 hours, a strategy that is also helping to build personal relationships and help them find more services.

By decriminalizing drug possession, Portugal removed a barrier preventing addicts from reaching out for help. The country treats drug use as a public health concern, offering free rehabilitation services and a needle exchange program. Although social taboos persist, drug-related deaths and HIV infection rates are at all-time lows.

A Santa Fe medical center is augmenting addiction treatment with art therapy. Their approach works to heal the emotional trauma associated with drug addiction and empower them to take control of their own stories.