Harm reduction, or harm minimization, refers to a range of intentional practices and public health policies designed to lessen the negative social and/or physical consequences associated with various human behaviors, both legal and illegal. Harm reduction is used to decrease negative consequences of recreational drug use and sexual activity without requiring abstinence, recognizing that those unable or unwilling to stop can still make positive change to protect themselves and others.
Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent is to enable the patient to confront substance dependence, if present, and stop substance misuse to avoid the psychological, legal, financial, social, and physical consequences that can be caused.Citation needed
Project Prevention is an American non-profit organization that pays drug addicts cash for volunteering for long-term birth control, including sterilization. Originally based in California and now based in North Carolina, the organization began operating in the United Kingdom in 2010. The organization offers US$300 to each participant. Barbara Harris founded the organization in 1997 after she and her husband adopted the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth child of a drug-addicted mother. As of May 2022, the organization had paid 7,833 people.
A halfway house is an institute for people with criminal backgrounds or substance use problems to learn the necessary skills to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves.
An intervention is an orchestrated attempt by one or many people – usually family and friends – to get someone to seek professional help with a substance use disorder or some kind of traumatic event or crisis, or other serious problem. Intervention can also refer to the act of using a similar technique within a therapy session.
Drug courts are problem-solving courts that take a public health approach to criminal offending using a specialized model in which the judiciary, prosecution, defense bar, probation, law enforcement, mental health, social service, and treatment communities work together to help addicted offenders into long-term recovery. Instead of punishment, their purpose is to address one of the underlying drivers of crime and, in the process, reduce the use of imprisonment, potentially leading to substantial cost-savings. Drug courts aim to do this by incentivizing or mandating offenders into addiction treatment combined with frequent drug testing and regular monitoring by the judge.
A methadone clinic is a medical facility where medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are dispensed-—historically and most commonly methadone, although buprenorphine is also increasingly prescribed. Medically assisted drug therapy treatment is indicated in patients who are opioid-dependent or have a history of opioid dependence. Methadone is a schedule II (USA) opioid analgesic, that is also prescribed for pain management. It is a long-acting opioid that can delay the opioid withdrawal symptoms that patients experience from taking short-acting opioids, like heroin, and allow time for withdrawal management. In the United States, by law, patients must receive methadone under the supervision of a physician, and dispensed through the Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) certified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
We Are With You is a British charity founded in 1967 that supports people to make positive behavioural changes, most notably with alcohol and drug misuse, and mental health. The charity works extensively throughout England and Scotland, with an administrative base in Farringdon, central London. Previously named Addaction, it changed its name to We Are With You in February 2020.
HM Prison Whatton is a Category C men's prison, located in the village of Whatton, near Bingham in Nottinghamshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and houses males convicted of sexual offences.
The drug policy of Portugal, informally called the "drug strategy", was put in place in 2000, and came into effect in July 2001. Its purpose was to reduce the number of new HIV/AIDS cases in the country, as it was estimated around half of new cases came from injection drug use.
Catch22 is a social business, a not for profit business with a social mission which operates in the United Kingdom. Catch22 can trace its roots back 229 years, to the formation of The Philanthropic Society in 1788. Catch22 designs and delivers services that build resilience and aspiration in people and communities.
St Giles Trust is a charity that works with people facing disadvantages such as homelessness, long-term unemployment, an offending background, addiction, severe poverty and involvement in gangs.
Acorn Treatment and Housing, formally known as ADAS is a drug and alcohol treatment provider in the North West of England. Its quasi-residential centres operate in Manchester, Stockport, Tameside, Oldham, Rochdale, Morecambe, Hull, Accrington, Clitheroe, Rawtenstall, Nelson and Burnley.
Action on Addiction is a UK-based charity that works with people affected by drug and alcohol addiction. It works in the areas of research, prevention, treatment, aftercare, as well as professional education and family support. The Princess of Wales has been patron since January 2012. The charity merged with The Forward Trust in May 2021.
Most of the illegal drugs in Pakistan come from neighbouring Afghanistan.
Noreen Oliver MBE was a British businesswoman, rehabilitation centre owner and advocate of drug and alcohol policy reform. She was the founder and CEO of addiction treatment centres in Burton-upon-Trent and Clayton, Staffordshire.
Discrimination against drug addicts is a form of discrimination against people who suffer from a drug addiction.
Tim Ryan is an American activist, drug abuse interventionist, author and speaker. He is the Founder and Executive director of “A Man in Recovery” foundation. According to the National Safety Council, Ryan is notable for his position in favor of Drug policy reform and as a proponent of legislative change in American drug policy. His work was the subject of the A&E series “Dope Man” in July 2017. Ryan is also the author of the 2017 memoir From Dope to Hope: A Man in Recovery.
Dr Eugenie Hilda Dorothy Cheesmond was a psychiatrist with a particular interest in drug addiction who formed the Lifeline charity in 1971.
The Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court (AODTC) is a specialist court in New Zealand which targets criminal offending driven by alcohol and drug addiction. There are three such specialised courts, in Auckland, Waitākere and Hamilton. Their purpose is to reduce the use of imprisonment by offering offenders with addictions the opportunity to attend treatment in the community. To be admitted to the AODTC, defendants have to be formally assessed as substance dependent by a qualified clinician, be facing a prison sentence of up to three years, and plead guilty.
