Syringe exchange programs are usually based on approach towards harm reduction that is committed to the realization of a reduction of damage and infection to the community and user through non-judgmental injections (Mogg & Levy, 2016). Further, this particular harm reduction approach involves a situation where drug users are provided with various resources and tools that ensure that they and their communities are kept safe. Harm reduction involves strategies such as safe use, abstinence from drug use, management of drugs, and addressing different experiences of drug users.
Safe Consumption Sites
Safe consumption sites entail facilities used in overdose prevention or facilities for supervised injection. Safe consumption sites always refer to places and facilities that can be used by drug users to take pre-obtained drugs administered to them with the supervision and assistance of trained practitioners. In this regard, the trained practitioners are equipped with skills that can help them in making the necessary intervention measures and preventing instances characterized by fatal overdoses (Shamsian, Tzemis & Buxton, 2014). Safe consumption sites involve prevention of overdose and supervised consumption which continues to play a critical role in mitigating the impacts associated with drug abuse among individuals. Supervised consumption services are commonly used as a harm reduction strategy with a keen interest in responding to the consumption of the illicit drug.
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Methadone Clinic
Methadone clinic involves facilities that are used by drug users with the objective of dispensing, or substance use disorder services clinic is a clinic which has been established for the dispensing of methadone, suboxone, and naltrexone among other substances as well as providing medically monitored drug therapy forms of treatment (Browne, Varcoe & Josewski, 2011). As a form of medically assisted therapy, methadone clinics play a crucial role in facilitating harm reduction in the sense that they ensure that patients are subjected to rehabilitation programs with comprehensive care based on models and approaches that fit their condition.
Legalization of Drugs
In harm reduction, legalization of drugs such as marijuana involves an exercise that focuses on the reduction or elimination of drug prohibitive laws and regulations. In this respect, the government may opt to introduce control measures to ensure that the legalized use of drugs does not eventually become detrimental to its citizens or members of the public using such drugs within its jurisdiction ( Dupont, 2009) .
Summary of Interviewees’ Responses
The focus of this interview involved obtaining opinions and view from three different people regarding certain specific practices associated with harm reduction. The specific harm reduction practices include syringe exchange programs, safe consumptions sites, methadone clinics, and legalization of drugs and marijuana among others. The three respondents were asked to give their views while responding to three different questions. One of the questions involved seeking their views regarding their understanding of harm reduction programs and practices that are often commonly used. The other question inquired about the effectiveness of different harm reduction programs and activities. Additionally, the interviewer required the respondents to give their general views concerning the role played by various harm reduction activities in lowering the negative impacts of drug abuse.
One of the interviewees indicated that reduction encompasses policies, practices, and programs that are aimed at ensuring the minimization of the negative social, health, and legal effects of drug use. In that regard, harm reduction focuses on the facilitation of a wide range of social and health practices that mitigate the negative impact of illicit drugs. Another interviewee explained that harm reduction entails the incorporation of a wide spectrum of strategies including safe use, abstinence from drug use, management of drugs, and addressing some of the conditions experienced by drug users. In some cases, harm reduction may require the consideration of policies and interventions that are designed to serve drug users with a reflection of a specific community or individual needs.
Two of those interviews were of the views that legalization of marijuana and other drugs might not be among the most effective ways of supporting harm reduction activities in the sense that it might end up encouraging its misuse. To that extent, one of the interviewees suggested that any attempt at the legalization of drugs should be accompanied by strict policies and regulatory measures for it to success in achieving its primary objectives as a harm reduction measure. When it comes to the consideration of methadone clinics as one of the approaches used in the harm reduction practices, one of the interviewees indicated that it may not address the expected level of effectiveness considering that appropriate guiding policies have not yet been put in place. In this regard, the interviewee opined that harm reduction practices should focus on addressing issues that transcend a narrow concern that is linked to drug abuse.
Instead, such activities should include socially and culturally-inspired programs that aim at enlightening the society concerning the need to support harm reduction and helping different members of the community to understand and discharge the roles and responsibilities in harm reduction. Another interviewee was of the view that an intersectional lens should focus on elucidating the importance of harm reduction approaches in understanding the commitment accorded to addressing the political, socio-cultural, and historical forces that are responsible for influencing and shaping levels of addiction. Generally, the two interviewees observed that the public is likely to support reform to the laws governing the use of drugs such as marijuana provided that the establishment of regulatory bodies accompanies it.
References
Browne, A. J., Varcoe, C., & Josewski, V. (2011). Harm reduction, methadone maintenance
treatment and the root causes of health and social inequities: An intersectional lens in
the Canadian context. Harm Reduction Journal , 8 , 17. doi:10.1186/1477-7517-8-17
Dupont, R. L. (2009). Harm Reduction and Decriminalization in the United States: A Personal Perspective. Substance Use & Misuse , 31(14), 1929-1945. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826089609066439
Mogg, D., & Levy, M. (2016). Moving beyond non-engagement on regulated needle-syringe
Exchange programs in prisons. Harm Reduction Journal , 6 (1), 7. doi: 10.1186/1477
7517-6-7
Shamsian, A., Tzemis, D., & Buxton, J. (2014). A drug use survey among clients of harm
reduction sites across British Columbia, Canada, 2012. Harm Reduction Journal ,
11 (1), 13. doi: 10.1186/1477-7517-11-13
