What limits and what perimeter should be determined for risk and harm reduction from an international perspective? Should this only concern demand (users) or also include supply (access to substances and their quality)?

Interventions to reduce risks first appeared in Europe in the 1970's. Since then, they have spread to most countries throughout the world. However, major obstacles remain: 1/ geographic program distribution, 2/ lack of funding and of national as well as international political support, 3/ paucity of services specifically adapted to certain vulnerable populations, etc. Today, we must redefine risk reduction not as a list of interventions, but as an approach based on key guiding principles: the respect for human rights, for human dignity and of available data, the inclusion and participation of drug users and challenging policies and practices that increase harms. These principles imply that risk reduction should extend far beyond offering services, which would require a complete overhaul of drug-related policies and legislation. Currently, a few local and national risk reduction experiments have proven successful with respect to drug use (decriminalizing drug use, for example) as well as supply (for example, cannabis social clubs, or regulations concerning certain substances in the United States, Uruguay and New-Zealand).

Learn more about the December issue of Alcologie &Addictologie journal click here.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.

Thumbnail: Société Française d'Alcoologie