Malaysia’s harm reduction ‘stuck In heroin era’ as stimulant use rises, panel warns

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7 — Malaysia’s harm reduction policies and public messaging remain centred on heroin-use models, even though amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) have become the dominant drug in the market, an addiction researcher said.

Prof Vicknasingam B. Kasinather, professor of addiction at the Centre for Drug Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), said harm reduction conversations still revolve around needle exchange and methadone substitution, rather than psychosocial treatment that is clinically recommended for ATS use.

“The language we use for harm reduction is still very much used during the opioid era. We still talk about needle exchange, methadone – it’s no more applicable,” Vicknasingam said at the Drug Policy Summit Malaysia 2025 in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

“ATS is now the dominant drug in the market. So where is the harm reduction for ATS? It doesn’t come out very clearly.”

Vicknasingam noted that a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has already developed a harm reduction module for ATS and that training was previously conducted in Malaysia, but said its adoption and adaptation in local programmes “is still far from effective”.