Help Not Harm

summary

what is help not harm

Help Not Harm is an independent grassroots campaign led by people who want to see the adoption of a harm reduction approach to drug use. We are young people, students, ravers, people who take drugs, drug service workers, community members, family members and academics.

Help Not Harm makes its calls to public institutions, policymakers and the night-time industries. We want our services to help and support people who use drugs, not harm them with stigmatisation and persecution.

The campaign was established by Scottish Socialist Youth members in February 2021, but now includes organisers from left-wing groups and communities across the entire country, including Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

ABOUT THE ISSUE

We’ve seen that the Just Say No approach doesn’t work – drugs will still find a way into people’s lives — old or young.

Public education about drugs takes an abstinence-only approach. This leaves young people without the knowledge to use drugs in a way that’s likely to present the least harm and dehumanises the struggles of people who experience problems relating to drugs.

Institutions, workplaces and the law seek to punish individuals who have a relationship with drugs. When this relationship is a problem, punishment serves only to make the lives of individuals more difficult. It is not a miracle cure for complex health issues.

The vast majority of people escape punishment, but this doesn’t mean no harm is done. In having drug penalties, institutions isolate those who develop a problem relationship with drugs, making them afraid (or unable) to reach out and access proper support.

Where the law is concerned, the War On Drugs has ensured that all illicit psychoactive drugs circulating in Scotland are unregulated in their production. This toxic drug supply is the main factor in drug-related deaths, from dodgy eccies to contaminated heroin and vallies. We can see this in the annual DRD statistics, which show that the vast majority of drug deaths come from accidental poisoning. 

Scotland could do better. We campaign for a Help Not Harm approach to drugs with the aim of a society where drug-related harm is no more.

we want to see

Opening of Safer Drug Consumption Facilities (SDCFs) in Scottish towns and cities, guaranteeing access to safe consumption sites for all who require them

Drug-checking facilities available to the members of every community, in locations which are accessible to the people who need them

Harm reduction education in schools, workplaces and local communities, offering an inclusive space for discussion led by experts whose knowledge extends beyond abstinence-only solutions

Regular counselling opportunities offered to those who ask for them within an appropriate span of time (in most cases no more than a week)

Better safety nets woven between schools, workplaces and local services to more effectively provide support to individuals who need help with problematic drug-taking behaviours

Free overdose prevention and peer support training offered in workplaces and community centres for all

Access to safer supply through medicine-assisted treatment, such as heroin-assisted treatment, for any person who requires it 

Easy access to advice & guidance about drug-use for those who seek it, including helplines and signposting to relevant organisations

we want to end

No tolerance policies, which prevent effective drug support interventions and isolate people from their communities

The outdated Misuse Of Drugs Act and Psychoactive Substances Act, replacing them with new classifications based on relative-harm

Punishment for drug possession from public institutions, workplaces, and in the eyes of the law

Stigmatisation of people who take drugs as less deserving of care and support when accessing healthcare.

The factors underlying and intersecting problems with drugs, such as: homelessness, a lack of opportunities, discrimination, poverty, bad employers, criminalisation, imprisonment and mental health problems.

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