NCJ Number
177377
Editor(s)
P G Erickson,
D M Riley,
Y W Cheung,
P A O'Hare
Date Published
1997
Length
485 pages
Annotation
This volume represents the third collection of papers drawn from seven international conferences on harm reduction as a new direction for drug policies and programs and explores several specific policy options and practical innovations.
Abstract
Ranging from history and social theory to human rights considerations, as well as traditional matters of public health and clinical practice, topics covered in the papers illustrate the scope and vigor of the emerging harm reduction approach. Evidence of this can be seen in the application of harm reduction thinking to a number of areas broadly associated with existing drug policies, for example, prisons and incarceration, international security and order, development policies, and human rights. In addition, the papers note several clinical and laboratory studies that shed new light on issues related to drug testing, athletics, and pharmacology. The papers also examine the important dimensions of community perspectives and those of special populations such as female drug users and ethnic minorities. Major features of a public health-centered harm reduction model are listed according to conceptual, practical, and policy levels. Harm reduction is also discussed in relation to drug legalization, methadone maintenance, the supply side of the drug war, AIDS, prenatal drug use, and alcohol-related harm. References, tables, and figures