When Harm Reduction Becomes Policy — But the Harm Remains

Harm reduction was introduced as a pragmatic response to an urgent public health fear in the late 1980s. Decades later, HIV has remained relatively rare among injecting drug users — yet problematic drug use and its wider social harms have expanded across communities.

In The History of Harm Reduction, researcher Peter Stoker examines how a temporary emergency strategy evolved into a dominant policy framework, and why reducing harm without reducing drug use may no longer be sufficient.

The full paper explores the historical origins, policy assumptions, and unintended consequences of harm reduction — and raises a fundamental question: should prevention once again become central to drug policy?

→ Read the full report: The History of Harm Reduction by Peter Stoker (Part 1);

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