In this time of crisis, harm reduction activists must go beyond their regular demands and urge governments to act quickly to prevent a public health crisis transforming into a social collapse (Greek translation).
Harm Reduction
Harm reduction is a pragmatic and compassionate approach to people who use licit and illicit drugs. As a principle it is applied in several other areas of life, for example when you fasten your seat-belts in a car to reduce the risk of injuries. Policies and services based on harm reduction respect the dignity and freedom of human beings and help them to stay healthy and alive even if they choose to continue using drugs. A very obvious example is to distribute clean needles among people who use drugs to prevent hepatitis C and HIV infections. Harm reduction programs should be part of an integrated social and healthcare system. But harm reduction is much more than just a set of services - it is a movement for freedom and social justice applied in the field of drug policy. Drugreporter is a chronicle of this movement.
Road 184
“Road 184” is a movie about the Estonian Community of People who Use Psychotropic Substances, LUNEST, the first officially registered Estonian organization that protects the rights of drug users. Today, LUNEST unites people who speak different languages and have different citizenship, as well as those who do not have any citizenship in Estonia.
The problem of alpha-PVP in Russia and other post-Soviet states
On Russian YouTube, there are videos of alpha-PVP users, acting in bizarre and uncontrollable ways. It’s just one small sign of a vast, hidden epidemic. Read this report from Sam Iravani!
The Rising Wave
“The Rising Wave” is a movie about the organization from Lithuania “Young Wave” (“Jauna Banga” in Lithuanian), which deals with the use of psychoactive substances by young people.
Harm Reduction Must Go On: Position of European Harm Reduction Networks on COVID-19
The Correlation European Harm Reduction Network and the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association published a joint position on the continuity of harm reduction services during the COVID-19 crisis. (PDF: English Russian German Portuguese Spanish Hungarian Polish Czech Montenegrin)
Arild Knutsen: An Open Letter on Covid-19 and People Who Use Drugs
This letter was written by Arild Knutsen, a Norwegian drug user activist, to raise awareness of how the Covid-19 epidemic can affect people who use drugs – and how to protect them.
Harm Reduction Responses to COVID-19 in Europe: Regularly Updated Infopage
On this info page Drugreporter provides regular updates about resources and news on how harm reduction service providers respond to the COVID-19 Epidemic.
4 Short Videos about Recent Developments in Global Drug Policies
The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is the largest international drug policy decision making forum in the world. This year, at the 63rd session of the CND, our video advocacy team produced four short video reports to inform the public about some of the major developments.
How to Make a New EU Drugs Strategy?
The EU Drugs Strategy (2013-20) expires this year and there are huge gaps in its implementation. Policy documents that are not enforced damage the credibility of the EU. To avoid this, we should revise the paradigm and create a new framework for actions.
A Reality Check of the Official Data on Harm Reduction – Interview with Eberhard Schatz
The Correlation European Harm Reduction Network published its first monitoring report (download here!) of harm reduction in Europe. On this occasion, we interviewed Eberhard Schatz, one of the two coordinators of the network about new trends and challenges.
