harm reduction - search results

[…] the UK Drug Policy Commission BE A BETTER MANAGER New website aims to improve team working 4 June 2007 www.drinkanddrugs.net 4 June 2007 News Round-up£2m pledged for harm reduction •Spread of BBVs needs policy change, says Turning Point • Support materials follow TOP •Scots report decline in teenage drink and drug use • Housing authorities […]

[…] international action. Actions should be realistic, measurable and cost-effective, according to the Commission. Europe plans action on highest ever drug use Special issue. The Great Debate – harm reduction versus abstinence Can problem users control their drink or drug use, or must they admit they are ill and vow to abstinence? Why is there no […]

[…] instead of injecting – or if they must inject, to make sure they hit a vein, as blood is better than muscle at killing bacteria. The usual harm reduction precautions, such as using clean ‘works’ and not sharing, are more crucial than ever. Any redness, swelling or pain on injection sites should provoke an immediate […]

Off the agenda? Is recovery pushing harm reduction off the drug policy radar, asks Marcus Roberts I attended a roundtable meeting on HIV and injecting drug use at City Hall in London in January. It was hosted by the National Aids Trust (NAT) and I was struck by an observation from the chair at the […]

[…] ‘wrong question’. ‘History has shown that national and international control of drugs can be effective and it is therefore the choice to be made.’ Meanwhile, the International Harm Reduction Agency (IHRA) has sent a letter to Ghodse, in collaboration with other harm reduction networks, calling on him to restate the INCB’s position on harm reduction, […]

[…] international action. Actions should be realistic, measurable and cost-effective, according to the Commission. Europe plans action on highest ever drug use Special issue. The Great Debate – harm reduction versus abstinence Can problem users control their drink or drug use, or must they admit they are ill and vow to abstinence? Why is there no […]

[…] writers (including ourselves) to produce inclusive and impactful articles.’ Natalie Davies, co-editor of Drug and Alcohol Findings ON THE COVER : Vancouver’s opioid crisis 8 EB Taking harm reduction to the next level REGULARS 4 NEWS Needless homeless deaths; credit card bamblinb banned 10 LETTERS & OPINION Abandoninb younb people to a bleak future; a […]

[…] care pathway has been developed from systems which were already in place.’ Hazel Stewar t works for the CAAAD Project (Community Action Around Alcohol And Drugs, a harm reduction drugs agency, which is par t of Bar ton Hill Settlement in Bristol). Meet her at the Unhooked Thinking conference (details at www.unhookedthinking.com). For information on […]

PHE’s gambling review made explicit that for gambling harm to be tackled effectively it needs to be treated as a public health issue. DDN hears from GambleAware chief executive Zoe Osmond about her organisation’s public health approach. Public Health England’s (PHE) long awaited Gambling harms: evidence review (see news, page 4 ) stated that […]

[…] just explain our naloxone pouches and how we rolled them out. Everyone loves a backstory, right? So how did these pouches become a thing?  Chris Rintoul, our harm reduction and innovation lead, brought the idea to the table when he joined Cranstoun, and there’s a very real reason why these kits have been made the […]

[…] News 27 June 2005 Sometimes the march of drug supplying and dealing seems unstoppable. Type any drug nameinto your Google browser and you will seethousands of companies offering to send youdecreetly wrapped packages of this or that; no need to risk detection, your details can be encrypted online.  There’s no doubt that if you want it, you can get it – which is where websites like ‘the vaults of erowid’ (www.erowid.org) come in. The twoAmericans who created this site now constantly update 30,000 documents covering 250 psychoactive substances, funded by donations and no adver tising. Where many organisations, particularly in the US, have failed to get the kids to ‘just say no’, this pair have gone for the practical option of information provision – and a ver y impressive archive it is too. This surely comes close to an online  harm reduction manual. Anyone with access to a computer can see exactly what a substance is made of, what it does, what it looks like, what to expect as it takes effect, andwhat the consequences will be. Erowid contributedto conference discussion on page 6. These thoughts are taken fur ther in the encounter with the Shulgins on page 12. You may be familiar with their work experimenting with psychedelic drugs (they tested them on themselves) or you may not; you may agree with what they do, or you may not. But whatever your view, it’s a fascinating glimpse into two veryoriginal minds. Articles in  DDNreflect all kinds of views and positions, but it’s probably timely to remind you that our job is to present what’s out there and what’s being talked about – whether it’s criminal justice, harm reduction, […]

[…] people who inject drugs, needle and syringe programmes (NSP) are a life-changing – and even life-saving – intervention. Being able to access clean injecting equipment, advice, and harm reduction interventions massively reduces people’s vulnerability to hepatitis C, HIV, bacterial infections and a range of other harms.  While we know that NSPs are an effective way […]

[…] Oxon DAAT, as I work for the NTA for 2.5 days per week setting up U.I. in the SE DAAT regions. Our other two staff are our harm reduction worker, Gavin Rogers, who is funded by the DAAT, and a volunteer coordinator who is funded by a charitable trust. Our core running costs are generated […]

[…] specific issues heard from service users, GPs, those running services – and those who have become activists because things aren’t working as they should, or because obvious harm reduction messages still aren’t getting through. Our feature on page 12 is a taster of what went on, but I’m quite sure each delegate would be able […]

International provision of harm reduction services is under threat from a funding crisis and lack of political will, according to a report from Harm Reduction International (HRI), the International HIV/Aids Alliance and the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC). Funding has been falling ‘dangerously short’ of estimated needs for some time and is set to deteriorate […]

[…] toward them from policymakers is likely to lead to the demise of a ser vice modality that has much going for it. The sterile debate about ‘ harm reduction or recovery’ is hurting the field. We need harm reduction services and we need services that help people to stop using drugs and alcohol – I […]

[…] can reduce the harmful effects of crack cocaine and cocaine use in Scotland. INCREASING NUMBERS In 2021, the Glasgow-based NHS WAND initiative – which provides wound care, harm reduction supplies and blood-borne virus testing – reported that around two thirds of the people presenting to them were injecting heroin, and around the same were injecting […]

Mat Southwell opened the 2014 Kaleidoscope Conference by linking harm reduction to mindfulness: ‘I find injecting ketamine helps me with mindfulness.’ The challenge he gave delegates was that governments may define recovery as one without drugs, but as a service user he wanted to set his own agenda. The challenge of harm reduction has always been one where the […]

[…] shelved by government, so it may be some time before we see any change in terms of improved funding.’ The sector needed to now focus on keeping harm reduction services open, getting naloxone to as many people as possible, providing a range of easily accessible online groups and being flexible in its approach to prescribed […]

[…] necessarily represent its views, or those of FDAP, WIRED and its partner organisations. News Round-upUN issues stark warnings on Afghan opium trade •IHRA’s 50 best on alcohol harm reduction•Alcohol Concern gives first kitemark to Swindon •Drugs and alcohol are today’s ‘social evils’ says JRF •Rehab deliver y guidance issued •Schools could be judged on drug […]

[…] Seizures of drugs in England and Wales 2005 avail- able at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/ pdfs07/hosb1707.pdf Needle needs Distribution of equipment should form only par t of a range of harm reduction initiatives that needle exchanges deliver – just one of the conclusions drawn by a team of ser vice user representatives sponsored by NTA to attend the […]

[…] spread of infection, particularly HIV and Aids. Back home, Alcohol Concern warns of a ‘chronic lack of progress’ on the first anniversar y of the National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England, and the government publishes ‘Ever y Child Matters’. April Models of Care for Alcohol Misusers (MoCAM) goes out to consultation for three months. […]

Entry point   Harm reduction services are the door to recovery and must be protected, says Michelle Judge A nationwide network of needle exchanges has been a feature of drug treatment in England since the late 1980s, when the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs’ (ACMD) 1988 report warned that ‘HIV is a greater […]

The government needs to ensure that the provision of the ‘whole range’ of harm reduction initiatives is in place to address increasing rates of drug-related deaths, according to a National Aids Trust briefing endorsed by Blenheim, Release, IDPC, SMMGP and others.  The use of drug consumption rooms should be considered. The document also urges the government to take on the ACMD’s recommendation that naloxone be made ‘routinely available’, as […]

[…] education, we need to go beyond "just say no",’ Martin Barnes, DrugScope’s chief executive told the charity’s London conference. Education needed to be evidence based and the harm reduction approach was now widely supported. It was essential to be responsive and alert. ‘Few can say the war on drugs has been won,’ he said. The […]

[…] has adequate community capital can offer treated drug users /addicts more resources and oppor tunities to rebuild a normal social network, thereby helping them achieve post treatment harm reduction or even abstinence.’ It is agreed by most that the best chances of recovery and achieving abstinence for many individuals with substance misuse issues is a […]

[…] education, we need to go beyond "just say no",’ Martin Barnes, DrugScope’s chief executive told the charity’s London conference. Education needed to be evidence based and the harm reduction approach was now widely supported. It was essential to be responsive and alert. ‘Few can say the war on drugs has been won,’ he said. The […]

The Ana Liffey Project is a national addiction service dedicated to harm reduction – Stephen Parkin talks to director Tony Duffin about their innovative street -based outreach work in Dublin.  If you’ve visited Dublin recently, you may have noticed that something innovative is afoot on the streets of Ireland’s capital city – quite literally. The Ana […]

[…] attending on the day) and it had strong representation from people involved in abstinence-based programmes. Nor was it our intention to defend the legacy of a ‘ harm reduction approach’ from the dangers of ‘a rejuvenated abstinence movement’. Rather, one of the great strengths of the consensus statement is that it shows it is neither […]

[…] young people. It is striking that many of those in public health who are now cautioning against e-cigarettes are the self same experts who had previously supported harm reduction in relation to illegal drug use. Over the last 20 years they supported the development of needle and syringe exchange services, substitute prescribing and a host […]

[…] similar levels to potentially harmful constituents found in NRT. And their attraction for many users is precisely that they are not medicines. Where to with tobacco policy? Harm reduction is central to current tobacco policy in England. This will be welcome news to those in the drugs field who feel rather beleaguered and browbeaten by […]

[…] what it sees as the government’s ‘fundamentally flawed’ drug policy. Areas the unit will focus on include the integrated drugs treatment strategy for prisons, the implications of harm reduction, effective and ineffective treatments of addiction and what a prevention policy could look like, as well as ‘the centralisation and management of treatment and why it […]

[…] the bins were installed, an intensive training session on health and safety issues was held for council staff by Streetwork, Police Drug Awareness Officers and the NHS Harm ReductionTeam. Staff were informed of how to identify and clear up drug paraphernalia, as not all participants were aware of how and why spoons, foils and swabs […]

[…] would not be possible for the foreseeable future and emergency admissions for delirium tremens would increase. In an attempt to reduce the inevitable impacts, a simple alcohol harm reduction information sheet produced by the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust was adapted and distributed across the city via all available channels. However, severely dependent […]

[…] the bins were installed, an intensive training session on health and safety issues was held for council staff by Streetwork, Police Drug Awareness Officers and the NHS Harm ReductionTeam. Staff were informed of how to identify and clear up drug paraphernalia, as not all participants were aware of how and why spoons, foils and swabs […]

[…] from existing facilities across Europe – not least the ability to be flexible and adapt to new challenges. ‘We are at a moment of great danger for harm reduction,’ director of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Alexis Goosdeel told delegates at the agency’s Drug consumption rooms in Europe – current […]

[…] mouth and oesophagus, or road accidents. The Department of Health recently launched a £6m press, TV and billboard awareness campaign to alert people to the unseen health harms caused by what Alcohol Concern has called ‘regular drinking of what many people mistakenly consider to be low level quantities’ (DDN, 1 February, page 4). ‘As […]

[…] July, page 10) that ‘Release and the editor have missed the point’ – on what exactly was not clear to me.He states that ‘the best form of harm reduction is abstinence’. Quite right he is too – for the small minority who are able to achieve this. For the rest, needle exchange, maintenance and other […]

On the front line Matt Johnstone brings harm reduction news from the annual NNEF meeting  The National Needle Exchange Forum (NNEF) held its annual meeting in Birmingham last month. The meeting brings together members of the NNEF to present the latest news and updates on harm reduction for needle exchange workers, harm reduction advocates and […]

The Values of Harm Reduction  Harm Reduction 2013. This international conference is a key event for all those interested in harm reduction around the world. The theme of the Conference 2013 is ‘The Value/s of harm reduction’. The theme calls on the urgent need to provide sufficient political and financial support to address the HIV epidemic driven […]

[…] our findings.’ There have been suggestions that COVID-19 ‘may interact with existing liver problems, and potentially increase vulnerability to those already at the highest risk of alcohol-related harms’, it adds. Prof Jim Lewsey: confident that MUP was reducing alcohol health harms The researchers state that they are confident that the reduction in health harms […]

[…] 9), Drs Carnwath and Ford suggest that there is a backlash within the UK against methadone and cite, amongst other things, my contribution to the debate on harm reduction at the recent Drug Treatment Conference in Glasgow. If there is a backlash against methadone, it seems to me that this has been created not by […]

[…] some people to call for a boycott of the games. Less has been written about the plight of another of the country’s marginalised groups, however.  According to Harm Reduction International’s most recent Global state of harm reduction report, there are an estimated at 1.8m injecting drug users in Russia, more than 37 per cent of […]

[…] £30bn a year. But where is the mention of escalating health risks from 24-hour drinking?, ask the medical experts, called to advise govern- ment on the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strat- egy. Members of the advisory panel have spoken out publicly about the disappear- ance of their scientific evidence – evidence that pointed to a rise […]

The song remains the same Music festivals may go hand in hand with drug culture, but we can be loud and clear on harm reduction, says Tracy Walker  In a muddy field, the distant thud of bass and excitement in the air, a small band of drug workers flies the flag for harm reduction (HR) […]

Social workers should be given the tools to promote tobacco harm reduction as they’re often the ‘initial, and in some cases, only’ point of contact with a range of marginalised communities, says a new briefing paper from the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR). Two thirds of people with severe mental health conditions smoke […]

Harm reduction measures can be seen as controversial within the wider population, but isn’t confronting public fears an essential stage in moving the agenda on? DDN reports ‘How radical can harm reduction be?’ asked Dr Ingrid van Beek at the City health 2016 conference in London. Van Beek was part of the team that […]

[…] £30bn a year. But where is the mention of escalating health risks from 24-hour drinking?, ask the medical experts, called to advise govern- ment on the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strat- egy. Members of the advisory panel have spoken out publicly about the disappear- ance of their scientific evidence – evidence that pointed to a rise […]

[…] going to be harms,’ said Pat O’Hare, opening HIT’s annual Hot Topics conference. The question was, how could we tackle this against a backdrop of disinvestment, where harm reduction was being ‘dismantled bit by bit’? Alex Stevens, professor at the University of Kent, used statistics to show how drug deaths were misused, ‘to scare and […]

Is the Welsh Government right to propose a ban on the use of e-cigarettes in public places, or does it risk seriously undermining tobacco harm reduction?  E-cigarettes are marketed as a safer alternative to ordinary cigarettes and regarded by some as a key element of tobacco harm reduction. The campaigning charity Ash (Action on Smoking […]

[…] enables collation of evidence that good work is being done in the field, while also helping to map the existing gaps. About the author: bxchange Supplies is a social enterprise that develops products and publications for the drug sector, with the aim of improving the harm reduction response to drug use. Februbry 2015 |  drinkanddrugbnewb | 13 Reviews www.drinkbnddrugsnews.com All About Drugs and Young People: Essential Information and Advice for Parents and Professionals Julian bohen, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, £16.99 DRbWING ON COHEN’S LENGTHY CbREER IN THE SECTOR , the book – and in particular the practical advice – is based on what he has learned from fellow workers, parents and from working directly with young people.  The book is based on several key principles. The first is the notion of equating ‘drugs’ with a broad range of legal and illegal substances – that nearly […]

Taking a global snapshot Why harm reduction must focus on the public health challenge. BECOMING IMMERSED in an international harm reduction conference is quite an intense experience, but that’s what we did last month at IHRA’s event in Barcelona. It was the first time DDN had been to this annual event, and the first time […]

[…] country’s ‘overdose epidemic’. Almost 107,000 people in the US died a drug-related death in the 12-month period to November 2021. The strategy is the first to ‘champion harm reduction to meet people where they are and engage them in care and services’, the White House states, as interventions like naloxone and NSP are often still […]

[…] in July. Still recovering from a decade of budget cuts to drug treatment and the unintended adverse impacts of the recovery agenda moving the focus away from harm reduction – and with drug-related deaths escalating every year since 2011 – treatment services were not ready for the severe overdose risk posed by nitazenes. Many of […]

[…] the market Over time I was able to disclose that I was a health professional who was interested in understanding the market and assessing the potential for harm reduction, rather than a customer. It is important to stress that Suffolk Police had oversight of this work and no laws were broken. Both sellers were eventually […]

By improving optimised OST and access to harm reduction, along with the upscaling of Naloxone provision, we can have an impact on drug related deaths.

[…] an initiative that can’t happen soon enough, says Ifor Glyn  There is a growing acceptance and evidence that providing safe and supervised injecting centres is a recognised harm reduction initiative that can lead to saving lives, encourage engagement with treatment services, and help reduce HIV and hepatitis C infections. They also address public concerns about […]

[…] users, who are then awarded a certificate on successful completion of each section. The programme, developed by Altrix Healthcare, features 11 modules covering every aspect of treatment,from harm reduction to maintaining a drug-free lifestyle. Early trials have reported improved levels of user engagement in the treatment as well as better relationships between workers and service […]

[…] industry of retailers, wholesalers and chemists. Down at the sharp end, the drug treatment field has undergone some seismic shifts – moving from a political focus on harm reduction and crime prevention to recovery, accompanied by a removal of ring-fenced funding, ferocious contract-culture and a cliff drop in public spending. The UK drug treatment system […]

[…] in years, Europe has been able to gather together an experienced group of advocates to form a motivated, innovative and forward thinking activist group interested in implementing harm reduction policy and practice across the EU. The group is called The European Network of People who Use Drugs (EuroNPUD). We began in 2010/11 when EuroNPUD received […]