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SSDP/Learning/Harm Reduction 101

Harm Reduction 101.

A free, evidence-based course on the public health strategies that save lives, from naloxone to drug checking. Six short modules, one quiz, no cost, no login.

6 modules 45 min Quiz
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Module 01 of 06 6 min

What is harm reduction?

A public health approach that meets people where they are, reducing harm without demanding abstinence.

§ 01

The core idea

Harm reduction is a set of practical policies, programmes and practices that aim to reduce the health, social and legal harms associated with drug use, for people who use drugs, their families and their communities. It does not require people to stop using drugs as a condition of support.

§ 02

The principles

Modern harm reduction rests on a small set of non-negotiable commitments recognised by the World Health Organization, UNAIDS and Harm Reduction International:

  • Pragmatism over ideology, respond to what is actually happening.
  • Human rights and dignity for people who use drugs.
  • Evidence-based interventions, not moral judgement.
  • Participation, nothing about us without us.
  • Any positive change counts. Progress, not perfection.
§ 03

What harm reduction is NOT

Harm reduction is not the opposite of treatment or recovery, it sits alongside them on a continuum of care. It is not 'giving up' on people, and decades of evidence show it does not increase drug use.

Companion toolkits

Take harm reduction into your community

Drug Harm Reduction 101 covers practical risk reduction and crisis response for young people. The Community Harm Reduction Guide sets out the human rights and public health case you can take to services and decision makers.

Drug Harm Reduction 101Community Harm Reduction Guide