The Reduction of Drug-Related Harm / Edition 1

by E. C. Buning, E. Drucker, A. Matthews, R. Newcombe, P. A. O'Hare

Overview

The War on Drugs' has traditionally had total abstinence as its target. The contributors to this book take a new and challenging approach to problem drug use, arguing that abstinence is not the only solution. They believe that existing methods of treatment and control have been inadequate in controlling or improving drug problems and they propose a radical alternative: reducing the harm associated with the use of illicit drugs. International in scope, the book covers a broad range of drugs, and of social and individual problems. The spread of HIV infection, which has been described as a greater threat to individual and public health than drug misuse is also considered. The contributors give an overview of the current theories and practices that have helped to minimise the harmful effects of drugs and describe national and city-level strategies towards drug problems. They also cover the drug policies of several agencies and organisations world-wide, including police, doctors, community groups and local authorities. Concentrating on reducing drug-related harm, this in an important contribtuion to the debate on the future shape of drug control systems. It questions the role and function of existing drug laws and discusses how harm reduction will shape day-to-day work with drug users. Provocative and persuasive, it should be read by all policy-makers and practitioners faced with drugs problems, and will do much to help establish new strategies for dealing with drug use, strategies that minimise rather than exacerbate drug-related harm.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415066921
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	02/27/1992
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Buning, E. C.; Drucker, E.; Matthews, A.; Newcombe, R.; O'Hare, P. A.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The reduction of drug-related harm, Russell Newcombe; Chapter 2 Drugs and criminal justice, Geoffrey Pearson; Chapter 3 The impact of harm reduction drug policy on AIDS prevention in Amsterdam, Ernst Buning, Giel van Brussel, Gerrit van Santen; Chapter 4 Public health and health behaviour in the prevention of HIV infection, Gerry V. Stimson; Chapter 5 Beyond the prohibition of heroin, Alex Wodak; Chapter 6 International law, Simon Davies; Chapter 7 US drug policy, Ernest Drucker; Chapter 8 ::, P. G. Erickson, V. Watson, T. Weber; Chapter 9 Police policy in Amsterdam, Leo Zaal; Chapter 10 The criminalization of pregnant and child-rearing drug users, Loren Siegel; Chapter 11 Clarifying policy options on drug trafficking, Nicholas Dorn; Chapter 12 Self-injection education for street level sexworkers, L. Synn Stern; Chapter 13 HIV and drugs, Sheila Henderson; Chapter 14 Smack in the eye!, Mark Gilman; Chapter 15 A harm reduction educational strategy towards Ecstasy, Erik Fromberg; Chapter 16 An empirical study of the relationship between heroin addiction, crime and medical treatment, C. S. J. Fazey; Chapter 17 The role of the police in harm reduction, A. Fraser, M. George; Chapter 18 Reaching the unreached, J-P. C. Grund, P. Blanken, N. F. P. Adriaans, C. D. Kaplan, C. Barendregt, M. Meeuwsen; Chapter 19 The streetcorner agency with shooting room (‘Fixerstuebli’), Robert B. Haemmig; Chapter 20 AIDS prevention with injecting drug users in the former West Germany, Heino Stöver, Klaus Schuller; Chapter 21 Representations of drug users, Peter McDermott;