Superior Points HRP - Canadian Harm Reduction Network

DEFINING HARM REDUCTIONHarm reduction has no universal definition.However, the following principles can all be considered central to itspractice (adapted from the Harm Reduction Coalition website; AlbertaNPNU’s Harm Reduction Information Kit, 2000):• Harm reduction establishes quality of individual and community lifeand well-being – not necessarily cessation of all drug use – as thecriteria for successful interventions and policies• All human beings have intrinsic value• Drug users are capable of making changes in their lives• Active and past-drug users, as well as families and communitiesimpacted by drug use, must be involved in the creation of harmreduction programs and policies designed to serve them• Harm reduction seeks to empower users to share information andsupport each other in strategies which meet their actual conditions ofuse• Harm reduction recognizes that the realities of poverty, class, racism,social isolation, past trauma, sex-based discrimination and othersocial inequalities affect both people’s vulnerability and capacity foreffectively dealing with drug-related harm• Harm reduction recognizes the right for comprehensive, nonjudgmentalmedical and social services (including addictionstreatment) and the fulfillment of basic needs of everyone, includingusers and those they love• Harm reduction does not attempt to minimize or ignore real andtragic harm and danger associated with licit and illicit drug use• Drug use is not good nor bad; considering the user’s relationship todrugs, while reducing drug-related harms is keySUPERIOR POINTS HARM REDUCTION PROGRAMProtocols for Staff, Volunteers and Community Agencies8