Harm Reduction

It’s a simple approach, with lots a complications addressing a complex set of problems all of which must satisfy a contentious crowd of interests and stakeholders. Still, if harm is the concern, then reduce it. In other words, 'first, do no harm.'

Perhaps harm prevention or punishment is preferable. But what is the endgame? To teach people a moral lesson? Or to reduce harm and save lives? Why not do both? On the other hand, schooling the recently deceased produces the sound of one hand clapping. The effort to impose drug abstinence arrogantly dismisses the death, trauma, and grief that follows from punishing drug users.

Here’s a smattering of randomly collected pieces that explore harm reduction as way of addressing drug use:

Maia Szalavitz, How Key Early Ideas Helped Shape Today’s Harm Reduction Movement (2021)

New Haven to give 'harm reduction kits' to people who use drugs (2020)

Beau Kilmer et al, “Considering Heroin-Assisted Treatment and Supervised Drug Consumption Sites in the United States” (2018)

Michelle Pelan, “Re-visioning Drug Use: A Shift Away From Criminal Justice and Abstinence-based Approaches” (2015)

Jennifer L. Doleac, Anita Mukherjee, and Molly Schnell, “Research roundup: What does the evidence say about how to fight the opioid epidemic?” (2018)

Maia Szalavitz , “The Wrong Way to Treat Opioid Addiction” (2018)

Betsy Pearl and Maritza Perez , “Ending the War on Drugs” (2018)

Don C. Des Jarlais, “Harm reduction in the USA: the research perspective and an archive to David Purchase” (2017)