Greenfield and Paoli's article in this edition of IJDP (2012) looks at the utility of the concept of harm reduction when applied to drug law enforcement and supply reduction activities. Attention to this issue is very welcome, as it expands consideration of the concept of harm reduction beyond its traditional focus on public health issues.I find the International Harm Reduction Association (now Harm Reduction International) (2010) definition of harm reduction to be the most useful and straightforward - 'Harm Reduction refers to policies, programmes and practices that aim primarily to reduce the adverse health, social and economic consequences of the use of legal and illegal psychoactive drugs without necessarily reducing drug consumption.' It is easy to see why this last element of the definition is controversial with those who believe that reducing drug consumption is the only or primary policy objective, and in the international debate on public health and HIV prevention in relation to drug users, we have seen how these sensitivities have inhibited the search for effective policies and programmes.
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