There are many ways for drug warriors to sound heartless and cruel in the drug policy debate, but one of the worst is certainly the objection to life-saving harm reduction programs. Just watch this DEA spokesman complain about efforts to reduce HIV infection in New York:
Harm reduction is a matter of public health for everyone, not just drug users. To frame this as a simple question of whether we should be "teaching people how to do drugs" is powerfully shortsighted and oblivious to the actual risks that drug policy should seek to address.
It's incredible that these drug warriors spend so much time warring against imaginary and exaggerated drug threats, while simultaneously opposing sensible approaches in those areas where legitimate health concerns do exist.
Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
Add new comment