Harm Reduction is a passion of mine. I co-founded a peer-led organization that provided essential healthcare through acts of civil disobedience, and I’ve also contributed to the development of programs at the federal level. To me, Harm Reduction is a stand against a culture that easily discards people who use drugs. When more people die from substance use than from car accidents or gun violence combined, it’s clear that the issue lies within the culture, not the individuals. Doubling down on a white-supremacist-driven war on drug users is not only illogical but inhumane. Those impacted by substance use deserve compassion, support, and care—not punishment or judgment.
What is Harm Reduction?
Harm Reduction is a compassionate response to a complex issue, aiming not just to save lives but also to shift societal attitudes toward more humane and effective solutions. Rather than focusing on punishment or abstinence, it prioritizes the health, safety, and dignity of individuals who use drugs.
Harm Reduction meets people where they are, offering them tools, education, and support to reduce harm, whether or not they are ready to stop using drugs. Services like syringe service programs, naloxone distribution, and safe consumption spaces have proven highly effective in preventing overdoses and improving public health.
A key aspect of Harm Reduction is challenging broader societal and structural issues, like the war on drug users, which disproportionately harms marginalized communities, particularly people of color. These policies reflect systemic racism and classism, criminalizing poverty and addiction rather than treating them as the public health issues they are.
“True confession: I got into harm reduction to enable people who use drugs. I enable them to protect themselves and their communities from HIV and hepatitis C and overdose. I enable them to feel like they have someone to talk to, someone who cares, someone who respects them and their humanity. I enable them to ask for help and to help others in turn. I enable them to find drug treatment and health care, to reconnect with their families, to rebuild their lives. And I enable people who use drugs to take personal responsibility for their health and their futures. If that makes me an enabler, I’m proud to claim that term.”
“Opponents of syringe service programs and harm reduction in general typically remark that it, ‘sends the wrong message.’ The message they are referring to is, ‘we love you and want you to be safe.”
