Safer using
No drug use is risk or harm free, there are practical things that can be done to reduce the harms caused by drug use. These pages provide information using downloads, animation and good old fashioned text to keep you well informed.
Learning to use drugs more safely comes from the model of drug
harm reduction. This model came about to prevent the transmission
of HIV/AIDS, and later Hepatitis C, and also to reduce the level of
other harms caused by drugs. This section of the site is for use only for those who are currently injecting. Not starting to inject is the best way to avoid harm.
The International Harm Reduction Association describes harm
reduction as a term that defines policies, programmes, services and
actions that work to reduce the health, social and
economic harms to individuals
communities and society that are associated with the use of
drugs (Newcombe 1992) 1
.
The principles of harm reduction:
The following principles of harm reduction are adapted from
those set out by The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA 1996)
2 , and Lenton and Single
1998 3 :
Harm reduction:
- Is pragmatic: and accepts that the use of
drugs is a common and enduring feature of human experience. It
acknowledges that, while carrying risks, drug use provides the user
with benefits that must be taken into account if responses to drug
use are to be effective. Harm reduction recognises that containment
and reduction of drug-related harms is a more feasible
option than efforts to eliminate drug use
entirely.
- Prioritises goals: harm reduction responses to
drug use incorporate the notion of a hierarchy of goals, with the
immediate focus on proactively engaging
individuals , targeting groups, and communities to address
their most compelling needs through the provision of
accessible and user friendly services. Achieving the most
immediate realistic goals is viewed as an essential first step
toward risk-free use, or, if appropriate, abstinence.
- Has humanist values: the drug user's decision
to use drugs is accepted as fact. No moral judgment is made
either to condemn or to support use of drugs . The dignity
and rights of the drug user are respected, and services endeavour
to be ‘user friendly' in the way they operate. Harm reduction
approaches also recognise that, for many, dependent drug use is a
long-term feature of their lives and that responses to drug use
have to accept this.
- Focuses on risks and harms: on the basis that
by providing responses that reduce risk, harms can be
reduced or avoided . The focus of risk reduction
interventions are usually the drug taking behaviour of the drug
user. However, harm reduction recognises that people's ability to
change behaviours is also influenced by the norms held in common by
drug users, the attitudes and views of the wider community Harm
reduction interventions may therefore target individuals,
communities and the wider society.
- Does not focus on abstinence: although
harm reduction supports those who seek to moderate or
reduce their drug use , it neither excludes nor presumes a
treatment goal of abstinence. Harm reduction approaches recognise
that short-term abstinence oriented treatments have low success
rates, and, for opiate users, high post-treatment overdose
rates.
- Seeks to maximise the range of intervention options
that are available, and engages in a process of
identifying, measuring, and assessing the relative importance of
drug-related harms and balancing costs and
benefits in trying to reduce them.
Supporting Documents
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