There has been widespread support for harm reduction programs as an essential component for responding to the hiv and illicit drug use epidemics. For instance, you dont have to stop drinking or doing drugs to start the therapy that will be part of your healing. Suboxone and methadone are medications that are prescribed by physicians to treat narcotic drug addiction. As a policy, harm reductionopposes the criminalization of drug use at the practitioner level, harm reduction is an umbrella term for a set of practical strategiesto help people move from safer use, to managed use, to abstinence, if so desired. Kelly parsons doing harm, a medical thriller, which kept me listening, on the edge of my seat, until the epilogue and closing interview, with the author. Many advocates argue that prohibitionist laws criminalise people for suffering from a disease and cause harm. Community empowerment and removing stigma should become a very big part of harm reduction. Harm reduction is key in the prevention of hiv infection among people who inject drugs pwids and their sexual partners. Many stakeholders in the drug and alcohol sector are justifiably concerned that the new recovery. I dont presume to speak for every institution or indivi. Geneva switzerland home the global fund to fight aids. Widely known examples are needle and syringe exchange programs and opioid substitution therapy for intravenous drug.
However, despite the growing international acceptance of harm reduction, there continues to be strong opposition to this approach, with critics alleging that harm reduction programs enable drug use. Harm reduction guide to coming off psychiatric drugs and. View all the latest stories about, including images, videos, news, and more. For more information and training resources on harm reduction strategies, go to. Harm reduction, risk mitigation, personal safety ebook. Jun 01, 2015 5 ways harm reduction can help modernise policing police are under constant scrutiny some more than others about their policing and law enforcement practices and priorities. She has worked in a number of policy positions across the australian public service and has had extensive experience in research and policy development relating to drugs and lawenforcement. Sarah ziegenhorn is the executive director and founder of the iowa harm reduction coalition ihrc. A lot of shelter providers are intimidated by harm reduction, says shannon murray. Harm reduction is key in the prevention of hiv infection among people. Jan 18, 2015 im coming straight out of the gate as a harm reduction advocate and so i can give a broad outline of the opposition ive heard, read and come up against in practice to answer your question. Harm reduction endorsed for drug use but not for smoking. In the case of recreational drug use, harm reduction is put forward as a useful perspective alongside the more conventional approaches of demand and supply reduction. Maria phelan holds an ma in understanding and securing human rights from the university of london and is the networking and advocacy officer at harm reduction international.
A gripping debut for a major fiction career for parsons. Police are under constant scrutiny some more than others about their policing and law enforcement practices and priorities. Drug use and vulnerability to hiv and other diseases the world drug report 2019 estimates that as of 2017, an estimate 271 million people worldwide used drugs at least once in the previous year range. The harm reduction movement is an attempt to work within the existing laws to reduce the harm done by them, and also to lobby for changes to the laws to allow further reduction of harm. The audiobook narrator, robert petkoff, was a solid reader with a soothing voice, and his performance of some of the patients a total riot with his sarcastic. There arent too many proscriptions in harm reduction. Dr ingrid van beek am is a public health and addiction medicine physician who. As far as whether harm reduction strategies work, it depends on what you mean by work. He has worked in the addiction field since the publication of love and addiction in 1975. The seductive, but dangerous, allure of gabor mate.
Harm reduction australia drug and alcohol policy time for an overhaul australia was once a world leader in its development and implementation of drug and alcohol policy. Harm reduction policies are used to manage behaviors such as recreational drug use and sexual activity in numerous settings that range from services. This is a substantial body of work, embracing a wealth of direct support material. Harm minimisation has been the cornerstone of australias national drugs policy since the birth of the national campaign against drug abuse in 1985. If that were all the information available, your conclusion that harm reduction policy leads to high rates of drug addiction would be plausible. Director, centre for law enforcement and public health cleph, melbourne, australia. Proponents of harm reduction argue that it is a much better and more effective approach to drug use than the war on drugs has been. Harm reduction is both a policy approach and used to describe a specific set. Australias national drug strategy supposedly is based on the three pillars of demand reduction, supply reduction and harm reduction, but it is effectively a onelegged milking stool. Harm reduction australia hra is a national organisation for individuals committed to reducing the health, social and economic harms potentially associated with drug use.
And the latest student text book for students of psychology. Vitaly djuma is a harm reduction and hiv prevention advocate from russia. While there are relatively few examples of strategies which can unequivocally be said to have succeeded, there are many more for which the evidence is suggestive. Mark sehl, of the harm reduction psychotherapy and training associates, a treatment and training organization. Curtin university of technology, perth, western australiasearch for more papers by this author. Rather than defining drug use as a disease or a moral failing, harm reduction proponents stake out a humane and practical alternative meeting clients where they are at to help them understand the risks involved in their behaviors and make. Realize though, that this book is written for the user and not the clinician. Harm reduction encompasses a range of health and social services and practices that apply to illicit and licit drugs. For instance, i believe that for some people, drug replacement therapy, like suboxone, can be a good way to live. Australian harm reduction discussion public group facebook. Making your voice heard is crucial if we are to achieve more humane, effective and balanced drug policies in australia and beyond. This article has been cited by other articles in pmc.
The interpretation of harm reduction in australian drug education our. Case examples on scale and sustainability about the authors. Although it is difficult to interpret trends in mortality from alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs to determine whether harm reduction in australia worked, the effectiveness of harmreduction policies and programs in controlling hiv among injecting drug users idus seems extremely strong and suggests that benefits of harmreduction programs. Harm reduction victoria provides a voice for people who use drugs in victoria. As the states most comprehensive harm reduction organization, north carolina harm reduction coalition educates the public about harm reduction tactics such as syringe exchange and naloxone and lobbies elected officials and law. As a guiding principle harm minimisation has provided the rationale for a diverse range of programs targeting an equally diverse range of drugrelated harms. There is a great book on harm reduction called over the influence by patt denning jeanine little and adina glickman which could be cited as a reference for many of the statements made in this article. Harm reduction programs accept the reality of drug use while attempting to reduce its harmful consequences to individuals and society. Dec 05, 2017 the data behind these changes has been studied and cited as evidence by harmreduction movements around the globe. Hra is a membershipbased organisation that represents the views of its members. As a guiding principle harm minimisation has provided the rationale for a diverse range of programs. Harm reduction, or harm minimization, refers to a range of public health policies designed to lessen the negative social andor physical consequences associated with various human behaviors, both legal and illegal. Addiction the seductive, but dangerous, allure of gabor mate gabor mate is admirable, but leads us down the wrong road. Infographic detailing vital information on the pharmacology, appearance, and effects as well as important harm reduction advice.
But harm reduction, cutting back on the drug of choice, such as tapering, doesnt work for any addicts that ive ever known. Professor nick crofts am is an epidemiologist and public health practitioner who has been working in the fields of hivaids, illicit drugs, harm reduction and law enforcement for 30 years. Why are so many people and institutions against harm. Harm reduction is a set of policies, programmes, services and actions that aim to reduce the harm to individuals, communities and society related to drugs, including hiv infection. But, this book has brought me to a new level of understanding what harm reduction can really look like and how it can be put into practice in my office. It is an easy and engaging book that i hardly wanted to. Australian harm reduction discussion has 2,8 members.
Naloxone, available as a nasal spray called narcan or in injectable form, resuscitates 100% of people who overdose if administered quickly. He has replicated this work in australia with the act investigation of novel substances actinos group. Harm reduction is a relatively new social policy with respect to drugs that has gained popularity in recent yearsespecially in australia, britain, and the netherlandsas a. Iowa harm reduction coalition working to improve health.
The new harm reduction worked with existing institutions and. Curtin university of technology, perth, western australia. Meet the glepha board global law enforcement and public. I would expect that part of the foundations work, pursuant to its harm reduction agenda, would be to encourage governments to make ecigarettes more available in jurisdictions, like australia, where they are banned, perhaps to tax them at a lower rate, and certainly to reverse the tendency seen in jurisdictions like california to apply. An examination of the philosophy and practice of harm reduction provides some insight into where and how we should proceed. Harm reduction is the strategy, policy, and philosophy of reducing risk and thus the morbidity and mortality associated with an action or condition. Paul harvey has worked at hepatitis nsw for almost 25 years. This is a reputation that has subsided over time with australia now considered to be well behind in the modernisation process of drug and alcohol policy. The final thing is to empower drug consuming communities to work with and produce innovations in harm reduction that are in touch with everyday street knowledge and knowhow about how drug scenes and these events operate. I still see it as highly useful for the clinician to read.
He is the information and communications manager at hepatitis nsw and works primarily in digital communications. Harm reduction australia international drug policy. Ihrc also operates a comprehensive drug user health program, serving over 3,000 iowans who use drugs each year. Mar 17, 2016 this brings us to the role of harm reduction, an approach that has been recommended by the world health organization, and is well established in many communities in canada and worldwide. He has a private practice in new york city specializing in harm reduction psychotherapy with drug and alcohol users and is codirector, with dr. Criticism sometimes centres on their lack of capacity to keep up with rapid changes in society. The book itself is lavishly illustrated with hundreds of photographs, taken by the author himself. Harm minimisation has been the cornerstone of australia s national drugs policy since the birth of the national campaign against drug abuse in 1985. However, the potential of australias national harm minimisation policy to guide intervention has been weakened by a number of forces. Harm reduction guide to coming off psychiatric drugs and withdrawal the icarus project and freedom centers 52page illustrated guide gathers the best information weve come across and the most valuable lessons weve learned about reducing and coming off psychiatric medication. Clients who wish it are given advice on how to reduce the harm in drug use, such as. Its misleading, however, to credit these positive results entirely to a change. In harm reduction we meet you where you are and work with you there in a nonjudgmental way.
The impact of harm reduction on hiv and illicit drug use. Ihrc is a nonprofit organization that advocates for policy change to promote the health, rights, and dignity of people who use drugs. Harm reduction is grounded in justice and human rights it focuses on positive change and on working with people without judgement, coercion, discrimination, or requiring that they stop using drugs as a precondition of support. This brings us to the role of harm reduction, an approach that has been recommended by the world health organization, and is well established in many communities in canada and worldwide. Research conducted by the agents tasked with implementing drugs policy shows that the lions share of the money we spend on drugs policy goes into prohibition.
These strategies are described and critically assessed by some of the worlds leading authorities on the use of alcohol and its related problems. Define harm reduction approach to reduce harmful consequences of high risk activities by incorporating several strategies that cut across the spectrum from safer use to managed use to abstinence. His rationale is that drug free australia worked on a multiplier of 3 injections per day to get that figure. How great harm reduction initiatives such as pill testing and reforms to uk drugs policy could have prevented the tragic pma deaths recently.
Professor david hawks, ba hons, d psych, msc econ, phd, fbpss, director. Drug and alcohol counselors work from this principle of harm minimisation. Nov 29, 2019 naloxone, available as a nasal spray called narcan or in injectable form, resuscitates 100% of people who overdose if administered quickly. A renowned public health expert is praising the australian medical association ama for adopting harmminimisation strategies and a compassionate attitude to drug users, yet questioning why such a stance isnt also assumed towards smokers. As the states most comprehensive harm reduction organization, north carolina harm reduction coalition educates the public about harm reduction tactics such as syringe exchange and naloxone and lobbies elected officials and law enforcement officers about the advantages of harm. An example of a harm reduction program is the widely accepted substitution of methadone for the. Harm reduction is compassion, harm reduction is love. Sweden has little interest in harm reduction, but favors what you approvingly call a choice between treatment and jail. The longterm regular use of tobacco and hazardous alcohol use are responsible for significant mortality and morbidity as well as social and economic harm in australia each year. The data behind these changes has been studied and cited as evidence by harmreduction movements around the globe. Stanton peele addiction web site spaws, twitter, facebook, linkedin. Blood borne viruses hiv this harm reduction advice will guide you on the transmission, symptoms, detection and the treatment and prevention of hiv. Farsalinos, in analytical assessment of ecigarettes, 2017. Harm reduction is an increasingly recognized approach to the management of substance abuse and other behaviors that may pose serious health risks.
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