Principle #6: Stop calling police on people in possession of, distributing, or using drugs and controlled substances

SUBSECTIONS

Why

Invitation / Action

Read More

Reflection Questions

Reflect

Research

Practice

Imagine

Return to 13 Principles

Why

  1. Drug use should be met with services and support when needed, not criminalization. When people possess or use drugs, this is often criminalized, discouraging people from reporting drug-use in ways that could positively affect medical care

  2. Mandatory drug treatment programs do not work. They are often predicated on a person pleading guilty and work to widen the carceral net, forcing people into coercive situations where they are sent to jail if they “fail” treatment

Invitation / Action

  1. Inform people about the complications, risk, and side-effects of using drugs in certain conditions or alongside certain medications in a non-judgemental way

  2. Non-coercively offer controlled alternatives to criminalized medications

  3. Work with the medical team to continue to care for people while they use drugs and minimize any harmful effects including preventing overdose 

Read More

  1. Principles of Harm Reduction - National Harm Reduction Coalition

  2. Harm Reduction Resource Center - National Harm Reduction Coalition

  3. Harm Reduction Education On-Demand - National Harm Reduction Coalition

  4. Involuntary Treatment for Substance Use - Drug Policy Alliance

  5. Harm Reduction in Hospitals - Harm Reduction Journal

Reflection Questions

Reflect 

  • Read this personal article by Louise Vincent of Urban Survivors’ Union on how stigmatization of drug use by health care systems can kill.

    • What are the different points of intervention where hospitals and other systems could have interrupted harm rather than contributing to it?

Research

  • What is your facility or hospital’s policy on drug possession and use - is it consistent with harm reduction principles?

  • What harm reduction resources exist in your community? Does your city have a Safe Use Site or Supervised Site for Drug Use? A needle exchange program? A drug user’s union? How might you connect the people you care for with non-judgmental support?

  • Watch Drug Policy Alliance’s Video What is the Drug War? With Jay-Z & Molly Crabapple

  • Watch Dope Is Death | The Short List

    • What was the Black Panther Party’s approach to drug use and addiction in health care spaces? 

Practice

  • Take a Free Online Harm Reduction Training at the National Harm Reduction Coalition, see upcoming trainings here

Imagine

  • Watch Shira Hassan’s Work on ‘Harm Reduction, Abolition and Social Work’

  • Imagine what care would look like where drug use was not criminalized? How would it increase access to care and reduce the harmful effects of chaotic drug use?