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“The point again: it is not the substance, but the relationship to the substance that causes problems.”
                                                                            - Peter McWilliams, Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do

Rainbow of Harm Reduction
Characteristics * Examples

Addicts, abusers, etc. (whatever term you prefer) use up the majority of illegal substances that circulate in the blackmarket. Evidently, this is because they take substances in higher quantities and frequencies. But does this mean that most drug users are addicts? No. In fact, less than 20% of Americans who have ever tried drugs would fit the description of an addict who uses regularly. Our public drug policy, however, does not reflect this statistic. Programs like D.A.R.E. were originally developed to influence young kids who have most likely never done or been exposed to drugs yet. For people who have done drugs (to the point where they cannot regulate or moderate their behavior), there are abstinence-based 12-step models. These two programs serve people on opposite ends of the drug-using spectrum, leaving a huge gap in between where there are no services for the other 80+ percent of the population. Harm reduction seeks to fill this gap with programs that our government refuses to provide.

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