Harm reduction in Australia: some problems putting policy into practice

Abstract

Harm minimisation has been the cornerstone of Australia's national drugs policy since the birth of the National Campaign against Drug Abuse in 1985. As a guiding principle harm minimisation has provided the rationale for a diverse range of programs targeting an equally diverse range of drug-related harms. However, the potential of Australia's national harm minimisation policy to guide intervention has been weakened by a number of forces. These include the absence of a clear understanding of what harm minimisation is and is not, the existence of a ‘zero-tolerance’ attitude toward illicit drug use among National Drug Strategy leadership and a cumbersome Commonwealth policy-making process. This paper examines these and other related obstacles to the implementation of harm reduction strategies. Some suggestions are made in relation to how Australia's harm minimisation policy could more effectively help guide both government and non-government intervention in the drug field.