Addiction is real whether harm reductionists believe in it or not
Stop cancelling methheads and drunks while holding memorials for overdose deaths
There’s a certain strand of harm reduction philosophy that claims that all the negative outcomes of drug use are caused by criminalization, stigmatization, and a poisoned drug supply. These harm reductionists will emphasize the pleasureable and social elements of drug use, attempting to crush stigma with an entirely positive representation. Some of these harm reductionists will even go so far as to argue that addiction itself does not exist. People can’t be ‘addicts’; they can only be stigmatized and criminalized drug users. In this framing the answer is decriminalization, destigmatization, and a safe supply, then everything will be fine for drug users.
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