Harm Reduction in the News
Submitted by HRTC on Tue, 09/20/2011 - 13:34
Who Succumbs to Addiction, and Who is Unscathed by Richard Friedman, PhD in the New York Times, August 1, 2011
In no uncertain terms this Commision clearly states "The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world. ... Government expenditures on futile supply reduction strategies and incarceration displace more cost-effective and evidence-based investments in demand and harm reduction."
The Commision put forth several recommendations, here are just a few:
- "End the criminalization, marginalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs but who do no harm to others."
- "Implement syringe access and other harm reduction measures that have proven effective in reducing transmission of HIV and other blood-borne infections as well as fatal overdoeses."
- "Respect the human rights of people who use drugs."
- "Abolish abusive practices carried out in the name of treatment - such as forced detention, forced labor, and physical or psychological abuse - that contravene human rights standards and norms that remove the right to self-determination."
- Break the taboo on debate and reform. The time for action is now.
Read the whole report to learn more.
An H.I.V. Strategy Invites Addicts In, New York Times, February 7, 2011
"Insite, situated on the worst block of an area once home to the fastest-growing AIDS epidemic in North America, is one reason Vancouver is succeeding in lowering new AIDS infection rates while many other cities are only getting worse."
Initial preference for drinking goal in the treatment of alcohol problems: II. Treatment outcomes.
Adamson S.J., Heather N., Morton V. et al.
Alcohol and Alcoholism: 2010, 45(2), p. 136–142.