Overviews
Different drugs produce different effects and pose different
risks. The legal status of any given drug is not necessarily
a reliable indicator of its potential for harm. Whereas marijuana
has never been shown to cause an overdose death, alcohol poisoning
kills more people every year than all illegal drugs combined.
Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D. has described
tobacco as more addictive than heroin. Anti-social behavior
is oftentimes associated with illegal drugs, when drug prohibition
plays a critical role in exacerbating problem behavior. During
a 1988 government hearing Dr. Koop testified that "[i]f
tobacco suddenly were unavailable and was as expensive as
heroin and cocaine, I think that you would find that the behavior
of some tobacco addicts would be very much like the behavior
of some addicts of heroin and cocaine."
Because
different drugs pose different risks, different responses
are required. Harm reduction measures like methadone maintenance
are proven health interventions for problem heroin users.
However, such therapies have limited application for other
drugs. Likewise, there is a strong case to be made for taxing
and regulating the sale of marijuana, but the arguments that
support such a shift, namely the need to separate the hard
and soft drug markets, don¡¯t lend themselves to drugs like
cocaine. Regardless of the legal status of any given drug,
harm reduction is the appropriate response.
Harm
reduction is an alternative approach to drug policy and treatment
that focuses on minimizing the adverse effects of both drug
use and drug enforcement. Critical to reducing harm is reality-based
drug education. In theory teenagers aren¡¯t allowed to drink
alcohol, but that doesn¡¯t mean they shouldn¡¯t be taught
to always use designated drivers when attending parties where
alcohol is consumed. Harm reduction is a set of practical
strategies that reduce negative consequences of drug use,
incorporating a spectrum of strategies from safer use, to
managed use to abstinence. Harm reduction strategies meet
drug users "where they're at," addressing conditions
of use along with the use itself.
