Harm Reduction
There is a movement in the United States as well as other
countries called harm reduction. The harm reduction agenda presuposes that
illicit drug use will always be a part of society and that we might as well try
and minimize the damage caused by drugs instead of trying to prevent it and
fully rehabilitate addicts.
At first look, harm reducation might seem to
make sense in its entirety, but there is much more beneath the surface. Yes,
reducing the number of drug-related crime, deaths and disease is important and
must continue to occur, but not while promoting drug use to our children by
encouraging them to do them "safely." It is also good to promote drug
rehabilitation instead of incarceration for drug-using offenders, but not when
the the proposed treatments are ineffective or use more drugs.
The harm reduction strategy promotes their
drug policy agendas such as drug replacement therapy, providing needles for IV
drug users and even injection rooms or houses where they can shoot-up in a
supervised atmosphere. They also seek to legalize more drugs and take away
accountability and responsibility.
In its own words, the harm reduction
agenda operates under the premise that there never will be a drug-free society.
The Foundation for Social Improvement and Drug-Free Alliance believes that
substance abuse can be wiped out through effective rehabilitation and
education, but it takes a shift in viewpoint by a large enough percentage of
the population that drugs are not adequate long-term solutions to problems.
This includes the majority of pharmaceuticals.
Join the Drug-Free
Alliance today and help make a safer society for all by reducing the harm for
real by adopting sensible drug policies.
Harm Reduction Arguement Missing the Mark
Dear Editors,
In the March 2006 issue of the journal
Addiction two authors claimed that drug treatment alone was not a way out of
the drug problem in America. While it has been acknowledged that locking up
addicts doesn't solve the problem either, the solution that is proposed by the
authors of the study would only make sense to a limited number of people who
ultimately want to legalize drugs, or at very least decriminalize their use.
It's a movement called harm reduction.
On the surface, harm reduction
agendas seem to want to help, but they revolve around unproven theories that
are flawed.
Part of the argument of harm reduction is based on the idea
the drug addiction and alcoholism are incurable brain diseases, where patients
are told it's not their fault and are expected to relapse. According to the
authors of the previously-mentioned article, their opinion of addiction
treatment is that it "is generally acknowledged to be useful, frail, and
incomplete."
Another assumption is that "…despite our best
use-reduction efforts, drug misuse will remain prevalent and socially costly."
This is only true if we give up on finding more effective measures for demand
reduction and complete rehabilitation. Throwing in the towel at this stage in
the game would only condemn our society and we would forever be attempting to
bail water instead of fixing the leak.
Yet the harm reduction and drug
legalization agenda says, "For this reason, harm reduction -- by which we mean
interventions to help people to more safely consume drugs if and when they
continue to use -- becomes an integral part of any prevention program."
Drug abuse tears apart our social fabric and damages every moral and
virtue that collectively we consider to be good. Providing substitute drugs for
addiction, supplying clean needles, trying to teach kids how to use drugs
"safely," or prescribing mind-altering medications for unproven brain chemical
theories do not hold the answer to our nation's drug problem. Granted, neither
does building more prisons, placing too much emphasis on reducing the supply
through enforcement or continuing ineffective treatments.
There is a
solution though, and it starts with a societal shift in viewpoint on drugs. Our
nation has been entirely consumed by the legal drug trade to the tune of ads
for pills everywhere you turn and billions of dollars in profits every year for
pharmaceutical companies.
Seeking healthier alternatives to problems in
life rather than looking for the next 'miracle drug' is a good beginning. If
consumers actually read the studies and side effects of the drugs that millions
of people take every day, most of them would reconsider their
decision.
In addition, having successful drug education and
rehabilitation programs can reverse the statistics, but it takes everyone from
parents, teachers, community leaders and elected officials to demand that
programs actually get results. The revolving door of addiction cannot be
tolerated and excuses are not acceptable. People can and do recover from
addiction every day and the majority of kids decide not to abuse drugs, and
that is what must be focused on and reinforced.
The efforts of those who
help others lead drug-free and productive lives must be applauded, while those
who encourage drug use should be corrected.
Sincerely,
Lucas A
Catton, CCDC
© 2009 Drug-Free Alliance