{"id":6819,"date":"2008-09-08T12:35:13","date_gmt":"2008-09-08T12:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drogriporter.hu\/the-true-meaning-of-harm-reduction\/"},"modified":"2022-07-04T14:53:38","modified_gmt":"2022-07-04T12:53:38","slug":"the-true-meaning-of-harm-reduction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drogriporter.hu\/en\/the-true-meaning-of-harm-reduction\/","title":{"rendered":"The True Meaning of Harm Reduction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Competing definitions of harm reduction &#8211; Watch our video!<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarm reduction\u201d is a divisive term among treatment professionals working with drug users \u2013 it irritates many who believe that abstinence is the only legitimate goal of drug related interventions. Even if harm reduction programs, such as opiate substitution treatment or needle exchange gained great popularity and acceptance in the past decade in most countries of the world, there is still much confusion and debate about the theoretical and philosophical aspects. We interviewed several people in Vienna at the Global NGO Forum this June to learn about their opinions on harm reduction. We identified the following definitions of and approaches to harm reduction among the participants:<\/p>\n<p>1)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There are still opponents of harm reduction who consequently reject harm reduction and label it as \u201charm promotion\u201d, or the \u201cTrojan horse of legalizers\u201d. The opinion is hold mostly by the advocates of the War on Drugs in the U.S., where official documents never use the term.<\/p>\n<p>2)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Some people (like Antonio Maria Costa, head of UNODC) try to define every anti-drug activities as harm reduction, including the eradication of drug crops in Afghanistan and interdiction efforts of the police. They argue that all these interventions aim to reduce the harms caused by illicit substance abuse .<\/p>\n<p>3)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Others say harm reduction should not be a goal in itself but only a first step in the long way to abstinence. According to this approach harm reduction is only a subsidiary tool in the fight against drugs, with limited relevance, subordinated to abstinence-based treatment and primary prevention.<\/p>\n<p>4)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Proponents of harm reduction define it as a theoretical and practical framework to deal with drug users, based on the respect of scientific evidence and human rights, pragmatism and compassion. They argue that abstinence should not be always an absolute goal but every interventions are legitimate that improve the health and well-being of people who use drugs.<\/p>\n<p><center><object width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><param name=\"quality\" value=\"high\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/RufW2j9TdR8&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1\"><embed height=\"360\" quality=\"high\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/RufW2j9TdR8&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"640\"><\/object><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><center><strong>Watch the video!<\/strong><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: smaller;\">Posted by Peter Sarosi<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Competing definitions of harm reduction &#8211; Watch our video!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1005,"featured_media":6343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2900,2894],"tags":[],"countries":[2692,2761],"section":[],"video-author":[2921],"drug":[],"archive":[3222,3240,3247,3250],"video-series":[3249],"class_list":{"0":"post-6819","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles","8":"category-video-database","9":"countries-austria-en","10":"countries-global-drug-policy-related-films","11":"video-author-drugreporter","12":"archive-harm-reduction","13":"archive-regulation-and-control","14":"archive-united-nations-drug-policy","15":"archive-us-drug-policy","16":"video-series-un-commission-on-narcotic-drugs-cnd","17":"entry"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/drogriporter.hu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2016\/09\/the_true_meaning_of_harm_reduction.png","author_info":{"display_name":"P\u00e9ter S\u00e1rosi","author_link":"https:\/\/drogriporter.hu\/en\/author\/sarosip-2\/"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin  - 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He is a human rights activist and drug policy expert, the founder and editor of the Drugreporter website since 2004, the author of countless articles, co-author of books and director of films about harm reduction and drug policy reform. He was the Director of the Drug Policy Program at the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union between 2004 and 2015. He is experienced in working at international drug policy forums such as the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. He was twice elected to the Core Group of the EU Civil Society Forum on Drugs. He is the co-chair of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network. He has been representing the Hungarian Harm Reduction Network at the government\u2019s drug advisory body in Hungary since 2007. Peter also contributed to building a network of advocacy NGOs in Europe: the European Drug Policy Initiative. He provided technical assistance to several NGOs, and launched several campaigns on drug policy reform. 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He is a human rights activist and drug policy expert, the founder and editor of the Drugreporter website since 2004, the author of countless articles, co-author of books and director of films about harm reduction and drug policy reform. He was the Director of the Drug Policy Program at the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union between 2004 and 2015. He is experienced in working at international drug policy forums such as the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. He was twice elected to the Core Group of the EU Civil Society Forum on Drugs. He is the co-chair of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network. He has been representing the Hungarian Harm Reduction Network at the government\u2019s drug advisory body in Hungary since 2007. Peter also contributed to building a network of advocacy NGOs in Europe: the European Drug Policy Initiative. He provided technical assistance to several NGOs, and launched several campaigns on drug policy reform. 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