HARM REDUCTION: AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE FAILURE OF THE WAR ON DRUGS

Authors

  • Marjorie Ester Maciel FAFS
  • Divane de Vargas Escola de Enfermagem da USP

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/ce.v20i1.37728

Keywords:

Harm reduction, Illicit drugs, Public health.

Abstract

This article aims to undertake a reflection
on the Harm Reduction model in drug use as opposed to
the ‘war on drugs’ model. Through analysis of texts which
discuss the topic, it is ascertained that Harm Reduction,
although it arose in the early years of the last century in
the United Kingdom, was only consolidated as a health
strategy for drug users with the advent of the HIV/AIDS
epidemic in the beginning of the 1980s, related to the
use of injectable drugs, with its actions being focused
on syringe exchange. However, at the present time its
perspective of minimizing harm in other situations of drug
use has expanded, and it is now configured as a more
viable alternative in the light of the confirmed failure of
the hegemonic model of the war on drugs.

Author Biographies

Marjorie Ester Maciel, FAFS

Enfermeira. Doutoranda pelo Programa de Enfermagem/EE-USP. Membro do Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas em Enfermagem em Adições Álcool & outras drogas /USP. Docente do Curso de Enfermagem da FAFS- Fátima do Sul – MS, Brasil.

Divane de Vargas, Escola de Enfermagem da USP

Professor Associado do Departamento de Enfermagem Materno Infantil e Psiquiátrica. Líder do Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas em Enfermagem em Adições Álcool & outras drogas /USP, São Paulo – SP , Brasil.

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Published

2015-03-31

How to Cite

Maciel, M. E., & Vargas, D. de. (2015). HARM REDUCTION: AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE FAILURE OF THE WAR ON DRUGS. Cogitare Enfermagem, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.5380/ce.v20i1.37728

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 1 (2015)

Section

REVIEW

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