Harm Reduction and Illicit Drugs

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Harm Reduction and Illicit Drugs

• What works and what doesnt
• Tomas Zabransky, M.D., Ph.D.
• Czech Republic

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What works in the harm reduction

• Build on personal experience
• Pragmatic, evidence-based approach
• Building coalitions
• Communicate principles the way your audience
  understands
• Point out the benefits for the whole society, not
  for drug users exclusively
• That is, to find the least common denominator
• M O N E Y ?

3
Building coalitions

• Networking people of different expertise /
  competence, but similar views
• Covering all the relevant areas (see failure
  example later)
• Trying to articulate common opinion
• Finding the trigger the thing that launches
  the action
• Being fast, being public

4
Proper communication

• The most difficult part
• Scientifically fair, yet unambiguous
• Short, but covering all the substantial issues
• Understandable, but not selling the goods
• Step by step but comprehensive
• Polite, but sharp when necessary
• Audible

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Having in mind benefits of the whole society, not
your target group exclusively

• Relatively easy when speaking about issues such
  as BBDs
• More difficult when speaking about criminal
  factors
• Impossible when discussing values (that are
  often use as camouflage for beliefs)
• Money talks?
• Very often but not always

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Find the interests of public

• Success stories
• Needle exchange (and other HR measures) programs
  in Europe, Australia and Canada (and elsewhere)
• User rooms in Frankfurt am Main
• Heroin maintenance in Switzerland
• The implementation if substituion treatment in
  Czech Republic
• And, possibly, classification of illegal drugs in
  the CR

• Failure stories
• Needle park (Curych)
• Raised legitimate community concerns
• User rooms (Czech Republic)
• Too far to early
• Did not respond to community needs
• Cessation of pill testing in Czech Republic and
  elsewhere
• Communication into public underestimated
• Coalition not built properly (venue promoters
  stand back)

• The implementation if substituion treatment in
  Czech Republic

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Thank you for your attention!

• tomas_at_zabransky.cz
• www.focalpoint.cz