HARM REDUCTION IS NOW THE MAINSTREAM GLOBAL DRUG POLICY

Chapter 1 Harm reduction and the mainstream

Harm reduction encompasses interventions, programmes and policies that seek to reduce the health, social and economic harms of drug use to individuals, communities and societies. We envisage harm reduction as a ‘combination intervention’, made up of a package of interventions tailored to local setting and need, which give primary emphasis to reducing the harms of drug use. We note the enhanced ...

Setting goals for drug policy: harm reduction or use reduction?

Historically, United States drug policy has focused on use reduction; harm reduction is a prominent alternative. This paper aims to provoke and inform more debate about the relative merits of these two. Since harm is not necessarily proportional to use, use reduction and harm reduction differ. Both terms are somewhat ambiguous; precisely defining them clarifies thinking and policy implications....

POLICY POSITION Harm Reduction

Whose Harm? Harm Reduction and the Shift to Coercion in UK Drug Policy

Building on Stimson’s (2000) analysis, this paper examines the shift from a focus on health towards one of crime within UK drug policy. The increased use of coerced or compulsory treatment of drug users is discussed with reference to harm reduction theory and the question of whose harm is prioritised in shaping drug services. We also identify mechanisms by which the efficacy of treatment approa...

When in a drug epidemic should the policy objective switch from use reduction to harm reduction?

A heated debate in drug policy concerns the relative merits of ‘‘harm reduction” (e.g., reducing drugrelated HIV/AIDS transmission) vs. ‘‘use reduction” (controlling drug use per se). This paper models whether shifting emphasis between these goals over the course of a drug epidemic might reduce social costs relative to pursuing one or the other exclusively. Results suggest different answers for...