Harm Reduction: A Social Work Practice Model and Social Justice Agenda‪.‬

Substance use problems have been characterized by some scholars as a manifestation of deeper, more pervasive ills of society such as poverty, discrimination, and a widening technological gap. (Currie, 1993). As a nation, we have chosen to frame substance use problems in terms of a criminal and medical model. We approach the problems through policies aimed primarily at drug supply reduction and, to a far lesser extent, at drug demand reduction with, perhaps, the belief that the deeper social ills will be healed if we can eliminate all nonmedical drug use (see Office of National Drug Control Policy [ONDCP], 1997). The main criticism of current drug policy is that, despite the financial expenditures for drug control enforcement and the severe infringement on social justice and human rights, illicit drug use continues, and the needs of those who seek treatment are not being sufficiently met. With regard to civil liberties and justice, social workers have observed that the focus of politicians and the media on crime and the criminalization of many activities has masked the social problems that lie behind the growing crime rate. However, the emphasis on public fear has served as a rationale for diverting resources from programs that address those problems to the construction of prisons and the expansion of police power. They also have provided the justification for the infringement of defendants' rights and the erosion of many of the protections guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. (NASW, 2000c, p. 33)