Harm reduction is the latest buzz work in the treatment industry, drawing both praise and controversy. Politically and socially, the concept of harm reduction draws fire from Darwinist conservative thinking which shadows America’s judicial system and drug laws. America’s need for toughness in this respect, demands that addicts face the attrition of success or failure. Failure equates to jails or death. The other side of this is really the recognition of addiction as a disease. Partly as a result of scarce availability of treatment and recovery, compassionate liberal American’s have recently sought to reduce harm to addicts through the acceptance of the disease and by minimizing the hazards present on the streets. Dr. Andrew Tatarsky has become a lead source in providing information on harm reduction. His website page, Harm Reduction News is a great place to stay on top of what is going on in the world regarding harm reduction.
2 comments
Comments feed for this article
July 21, 2010 at 9:39 am
VJ
I feel it is only accetable to those who are dying and/or near death from the disease. Harm reduction plays an important role in saving lives in these situations. I came to a greater understanding of this concept after reading “In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts” by Gabor Mate’, MD. He works with this population daily and makes a very good case that harm reduction is a viable option.
July 21, 2010 at 10:29 am
Bill Ford
The debate on this subject is definitely one that needs to continue. Just ordered the book. In the Realm…Looking forward to reading it.