Harm Reduction

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has reported:

"harm reduction is often made an unnecessarily controversial issue, as if there was a contradiction between treatment and prevention on the one hand, and reducing adverse health and social consequences of drug use on another. This is a false dichotomy. They are complementary".

Mainliners fundamentally believes in this and the ethos of harm reduction, and we aim to minimise the damage caused by illicit drugs to both the individual and society as a whole.

Whilst abstinence from the dependency of drug use will always be the ultimate outcome, reducing the harm caused to both the user and the general public will continue to be at the forefront of Mainliners service provision.

We understand that the hurt caused by drugs is not simply related to crime, but in the marginalisation of people and communities, and the health risks associated with injecting practices and the spread of blood borne viruses. Harm reduction employs a range of innovative interventions and treatment methods that work best for the client, working holistically to achieve the goals set. Mainliners will continue to work with public health bodies, as well as the voluntary and private sector to ensure that harm reduction and BBV prevention remain central pillars in our health and criminal justice strategies.

Key strategic outcomes of HM Government indicate a developed package of support to help drug users, and particularly those causing most harm, to access and complete treatment and to reintegrate into society. The Scottish Government states it is essential that equity of service provision across Scotland is assured in harm reduction services which provide needle exchange, sterile paraphernalia and advice to reduce blood-borne virus.

For more information on Harm Reduction and its principles, please download this statement from the International Harm Reduction Association, or visit their site at http://www.ihra.net/