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Policy Debate on Harm Minimization versus Abstinence in Drug Policy

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Policy Debate on Harm Minimization versus Abstinence in Drug Policy

Drug use is a massive problem in Australian society. The policymakers are faced with a

situation where they have to choose the best way to deal with it between harm minimization and

promotion of Abstinence. The most abused drug is alcohol, and youths end up living miserable

lives due to such drugs' effects. The use of drugs results in other social and health issues such as

loss of family and mental health issues. People who abuse drugs tend to suffer or cause others to

have mental health issues. Drug abuse and mental health issues tend to affect individuals'

productivity, which affects their economic ability to survive and provide for themselves (Brown

& Morgan, 2019). Drug abusers end up becoming a societal problem that must be solved.

Government and non-governmental organizations have to implement effective drug policies to

help curb the problem. Injection of drugs like cocaine can transmit diseases to others, such as

HIV and Aids, causing a considerable health problem beyond the drug issue, which is already a

burden (Pitcher et al., 2019). Drug rehabilitation is an expensive undertaking, making it

necessary for the government and civil society to advocate for a drug policy that effectively

helps the drug abusers who need rehabilitation services. Most drug users are still in school,

which affects their education and future life, making them miserable in life, leading to crime

(Brown & Morgan, 2019). Organizations like Drug Policy Reform Network and Harm reductions

network are some organizations that address drug issues in Australia apart from the government,

which is the leading player in drug policy issues. Some organizations advocate for harm

minimization policies, while others advocate for policies that promote Abstinence. The goal is to

promote a policy that will help deal with drugs' adverse health and social impact.

The Issue
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Drug abuse is the continuous use of drugs for purposes other than the health workers'

medication. The substance taken into the body alters the body's performance away from what a

usually function body would do. Drug use and abuse is an issue of focus and a problem that has

to be solved (Dale et al., 2019). Drug abuse is a health problem that can be treated, but the

systemic problem needs to be addressed to prevent more people from getting into abusing drugs.

The first step is to accept that drug abuse is an issue that affects mostly the youths who are in

their most productive age or at an age they plan and set the trajectory their lives will most likely

take. Alcohol and illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and marijuana are the common drugs

associated with drug abuse and highly abused. It is estimated that more than 3 million

Australians abuse illicit drugs, while another estimated 1 million misuse of prescription drugs

(Brown & Morgan, 2019).

Drug abuse is a problem faced by most people, regardless of their social class. Rich or

poor abuse drugs, which hurt their lives. People who abuse drugs need to be helped to overcome

the drug problem, but they must first accept that they have a drug issue that needs to be

addressed. The issue of drug misuse is rampant in Australia. Drug misuse is the use of drugs that

would otherwise be helpful to the body with intentions of other purposes leading to abuse. A

drug policy is a policy usually implemented by the government and with the support of civil

society organizations to help control drug use to avoid abuse. The treatment of drug abuse can

either be through medication or psychological. The policies to help in dealing with drug abuse

are either a harm minimization policy or an abstinence policy. Both have their merits and

demerits (Dale et al., 2019).

Policy Approach 1: Harm minimization

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The harm reduction approach to drug use and abuse is supported by organizations such as

harm reduction international. The policy approach aims at reducing the impact of alcohol and

drug abuse on the lives of the drug abusers and the affected community. It is a policy approach

based on the acceptance that drug remains an issue, and people continue to abuse the drug. The

idea is to help the people abusing drugs suffer less than how they would suffer without harm

reduction (Islam & Wollersheim, 2019). The approach considers the social, health, and economic

impact of drug abuse and the measures that can be best applied to reduce such impact.

Individuals already abusing drugs cannot overcome the negative impact and thus need support

from the community and government.

The National Campaign against drug abuse and the national drug strategy by the federal

and state government in Australia continue to prefer this strategy. The approach is based on the

social theory of interaction, which views the individual as part of the system, including the

social, economic, and cultural environment. The system has factors which lead the individual to

abuse drug, and the best way to help is to reduce the impact on the individual's holistic system

(Islam & Wollersheim, 2019).

The approach of harm minimization is based on the fact that drug use is both licit and

illicit, which leads to abuse. The individual drug abuser is part of the system and is a victim of

the system forces causing drug use and abuse and cannot be condemned or forced to stop

abruptly. Some drug abusers are dependent on drugs, and it is unethical to stop them from using

drugs because of the extremely negative effects it has on their lives (Pitcher et al., 2019). Harm

reduction appreciates the need to use the drug while minimizing the effects. The harm reduction

approach's objective is to address the drug abuse problem from a holistic perspective by

understanding that a drug policy should address all aspects surrounding the drug abuser (Wilson
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et al., 2015). The decriminalization of Cannabis in South Australia State was meant to control its

harmful effects. The objective is to help the individual socially, economically, and health on a

step by step basis. The media still portrays the harm reduction approach as a drug policy with

reservations. It is never seen as an effective strategy for Australia, especially with youths' death

in parties due to drug abuse (O’Keefe et al., 2020).

Strengths of Harm Reduction Approach

Harm reduction strategies reduce the spread of other diseases such as HIV and hepatitis.

Reducing the disease burden helps create a better opportunity to deal with the addiction problem

alone rather than dealing with multiple problems affecting the individual due to drug abuse. In

some areas, needles are exchanged for drug injection (Pitcher et al., 2019). Harm reduction

policies in Australia ensure that the drug users are provided with needles for drug injection use.

The approach ensures that the needles are supplied, and they get an education on the importance

of having fresh personal needles (Islam & Wollersheim, 2019).

The harm reduction approach promotes drug use and abuse education. It creates an

opportunity for the drug users to learn more about contraceptives, the effects of drug use, and

how they can get help. Government officers and non-governmental organizations get the

necessary support to work with drug users (Pitcher et al., 2019).

The policy helps address the issue of drug criminalization. Criminalizing drugs makes it

impossible for drug abusers to access healthcare services openly. Harm reduction policy helps

reduce the challenges drug addicts face from law enforcers, which encourages them to access

healthcare and supportive services as they battle addiction (Islam & Wollersheim, 2019).

Limitation of Harm Reduction Approach

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It is an expensive approach that focuses on solving most challenges in the individual's

lives from social, economic, and physical perspectives (Kolla & Strike, 2019). It also requires

skilled professionals to help implement the product, which mandates the government to spend

more resources fighting the drug menace. Sometimes the drug users are violent, and counselors

find it difficult to access the needle exchange sites (Kolla & Strike, 2019).

The approach can easily be abused. Harm reduction aims at helping the drug abusers do

so in a controlled manner. Adolescent drug abusers may take advantage of the harm reduction

measure to use drugs even more. For example, with enough injection syringes, adolescent drug

users may find it necessary to inject themselves more frequently (Kolla & Strike, 2019).

Policy Approach 2: Drug Abstinence

The abstinence approach is the oldest and most traditional in the history of drug and

alcohol abuse treatment. The abstinence approach is an approach that's aimed at stopping the

drug intake for addicts and avoidance for those who are not already abusing drugs. It is the only

way that guarantees success in full recovery and living a clean life free from drugs. A person

who does not engage in any addictive behavior is considered to have abstained (Kriegler et al.,

2019). The underlying belief for the drug abstinence program is the belief that individuals

already hooked to drug and alcohol abuse cannot be trusted to control the intake to minimal and

necessary levels throughout the treatment journey. The individual from a drug abstinence

approach is believed to lack the discipline and will most likely indulge in usual intake at

excessive and abusive levels (Kriegler et al., 2019).

The key theory guiding the approach is cognitive theory. Human behavior is a product of

the human thought process. Continued use of drugs impairs the ability of the individual good
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judgment. The individual who, for example, continues to use alcohol cannot make a better

judgment to avoid a relapse into heroin use (Kriegler et al., 2019). A person suffering from

alcohol addiction will not make a sober decision to reduce alcohol intake when such a person

continues to take alcohol. The mind is already compromised by the drug intake even at minimal

levels and cannot make a better judgment (Manning et al., 2017).

Commitment is a value that is advocated by the abstinence program. If an individual does

not commit to abstaining, he will most likely not commit to the recovery journey fully. That

individual may never recover from alcohol and drug abuse problems. This approach aims to

prevent young people from ever engaging in drugs and those already hooked to stop taking

drugs. The approach helps reduce drug intake within the population by promoting abstinence

programs and education (Manning et al., 2017). The drug abstinence approach has been proved

to work on alcoholism addiction but not heroin addiction due to the negative effects on the drug

user's health. The individual must ensure abstinence measures are checked, such as keeping away

from the environment that encourages drug and alcohol abuse. The Australian media covers this

approach to encourage individuality and self-discipline in living a drug-free life. The success of

the Abstinence approach is dependent on supportive factors such as family, friends, and

government programs (Kriegler et al., 2019).

Strength of Abstinence Approach

The approach helps the individual move away from unnecessary temptations. Even at

lower rates, the continued use of the drug will put the individual at the risk of relapse of

excessive use. It helps change the environment that tempts one into substance use (Islam &

Wollersheim, 2019).
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The abstinence approach is more affordable and easy to implement. The program requires

the Australian government and other non-governmental organizations to make drugs unavailable

and apply strictness on drug abuse completely. The authorities can then focus on the social and

economic support areas with the individual taking more responsibility, thus reducing costs of

drug control measures (Manning et al., 2017).

Limitation of Abstinence Approach

The limitation of the approach is the belief that drug use and addiction are a complete

failure on the individual and hence has every control to stop it. The approach ignores the

influence of the environment in drug addiction, and hence little investment is made in the drug

supply and distribution system. Expecting the individual to abstain from drug abuse is putting

more responsibility on a person who is already facing a systemic problem of addiction. It can be

overwhelming, leading to failure of the approach (Manning et al., 2017).

Abstinence is a rigid approach that has no alternative in fighting drug abuse and

addiction. It focuses on either Abstinence or nothing. The approach treats drug and alcohol abuse

like a disease which the individual choses to heal or not and advocates for no changes within the

system. The approach tends to be unworkable for the addicted individuals but want to change. It

is not supportive through the process of fighting addiction (Manning et al., 2017).

Responding to the Issue

In addressing the issue of alcohol and drug abuse the most helpful approach is the harm

reduction policy approach compared to the abstinence policy approach. Harm reduction

recognizes the fact that some people are still addicted to the use of drugs and alcohol and hence it

requires a well-controlled process to help completely deal with the issue.

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Harm reduction approach recognizes the impact of the individual’s environment on drug

abuse and implements measures that help regulate the environmental factors. The individual is

part of the system that sometimes is beyond his control and only the government can help. The

social substance abuse is inevitable in the society and thus harm reduction techniques

encompasses all factors in the life of an individual while still encouraging one to quit substance

abuse.

Harm reduction ensures the person does not suffer from the extreme withdrawal effects.

Withdrawal effects can cause serious health issues and even death due to lack of drugs. Harm

reduction ensures continued availability of the drug to in small portions with intention to quit

(O’Keefe et al., 2020).

Harm reduction promotes the individuality in the process. The individual has the

opportunity to control the quitting process step by step (Reichelt et al., 2019). The individual

initiative is long lasting and the human rights are respected. Every person including drug users

have a right to access good quality health care and be treated with respect. Harm reduction

approach ensures that all drug users are treated with dignity and care (O’Keefe et al., 2020).

The abstinence program ensuress that the drug is not available as the individual cannot be

trusted to self-regulate. However, the approach focus is limited to drugs alone rather than the

individual environment that also influences the abuse of drugs. Unlike the abstinence approach,

harm reduction approach is holistic thus more appropriate (O’Keefe et al., 2020).

Strategies

To influence and advocate for the harm reduction approach, engaging in in-depth

research is vital. Research ensures that data is available to influence policy makers on the
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effectiveness of the approach. Research helps gather data from majority of drug users and the

communities they live in helping create a database of analysis that can easily convince and

influence decision makers on why harm reduction is better than abstinence approach (O’Keefe et

al., 2020).

Media communication through press conferences, media interviews and seminars are

effective ways of communication to help create an argument that influences policy makers. The

policy makers can easily listen to how an argument is formulated and pushed through the media

which helps in forming a favorable opinion. The publicity from the media and seminars helps

convince more people to join in the support for the harm reduction approach.

Conclusion

Alcohol and drug abuse problem in Australia in needs focus with an approach that is

effective. Harm reduction approach and abstinence approach is the main strategies that the

government can use to help deal with the drug menace. Harm reduction and Abstinence

approaches have their strengths and limitations in the fight against drugs. Comparing the two,

harm reduction is the best approach to deal with alcohol and drug abuse in Australia. The

government should give more funding to the harm approach programs within Australia. More

financial support helps implement the approach in a holistic manner that covers all aspects of the

individual in the recovery journey.

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References

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Australia. Trends & Issues in Crime & Criminal Justice, (578).

Dale, E., Kelly, P. J., Lee, K. K., Conigrave, J. H., Ivers, R., & Clapham, K. (2019). Systematic

review of addiction recovery mutual support groups and Indigenous people of Australia,

New Zealand, Canada, the United States of America and Hawaii. Addictive behaviors,

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Islam, M. M., & Wollersheim, D. (2019). A comparison of opioids and benzodiazepines

dispensing in Australia. PloS one, 14(8), e0221438.

Kolla, G., & Strike, C. (2019). ‘It's too much, I'm getting really tired of it’: Overdose response

and structural vulnerabilities among harm reduction workers in community settings.

International Journal of Drug Policy, 74, 127-135.

Kriegler, J., Wegener, S., Richter, F., Scherbaum, N., Brand, M., & Wegmann, E. (2019).

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