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Harm Reduction

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Harm Reduction

"Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. Harm Reduction is also a movement for social justice built on a belief in, and respect for, the rights of people who use drugs. Harm reduction incorporates a spectrum of strategies that includes safer use, managed use, abstinence, meeting people who use drugs “where they’re at,” and addressing conditions of use along with the use itself. Because harm reduction demands that interventions and policies designed to serve people who use drugs reflect specific individual and community needs, there is no universal definition of or formula for implementing harm reduction."

-National Harm Reduction Coalition

Harm Reduction Principles

(From National Harm Reduction Coalition).

Accepts, for better or worse, that licit and illicit drug use is part of our world and chooses to work to minimize its harmful effects rather than simply ignore or condemn them
Understands drug use as a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon that encompasses a continuum of behaviors from severe use to total abstinence, and acknowledges that some ways of using drugs are clearly safer than others
Establishes quality of individual and community life and well-being — not necessarily cessation of all drug use — as the criteria for successful interventions and policies
Calls for the non-judgmental, non-coercive provision of services and resources to people who use drugs and the communities in which they live in order to assist them in reducing attendant harm
Ensures that people who use drugs and those with a history of drug use routinely have a real voice in the creation of programs and policies designed to serve them
Affirms people who use drugs (PWUD) themselves as the primary agents of reducing the harms of their drug use and seeks to empower PWUD to share information and support each other in strategies which meet their actual conditions of use
Recognizes that the realities of poverty, class, racism, social isolation, past trauma, sex-based discrimination, and other social inequalities affect both people’s vulnerability to and capacity for effectively dealing with drug-related harm
Does not attempt to minimize or ignore the real and tragic harm and danger that can be associated with illicit drug use

Harm Reduction Resources

New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition

https://njharmreduction.org/

We are advocates and organizers advancing harm reduction and equitable drug policy reform in New Jersey. We are people who use drugs, who are in recovery, and who are harmed by the War on Drugs and overdose deaths. We are family members, neighbors, and community leaders united in our commitment to the philosophy and practice of harm reduction. We promote harm reduction by distributing naloxone, fentanyl test strips, and other harm reduction supplies through peer-led programs; advocating for syringe access expansion and equitable drug policy reform; and organizing to build power among people directly harmed by overdose and the War on Drugs. We work in coalition (which we define as “coming together for combined action”) to advance the safety and dignity of people who use drugs, and to make evidence-based harm reduction public health resources widely available in New Jersey.

Syringe Exchange Services | Project Access

Northern Jersey Community Research Initiative (NJCRI)

393 Central Ave

Newark NJ, 07103

Contact: 973-558-5063
Open Monday-Friday until 4PM

https://www.njcri.org/behavioral-health

Project Access is the only syringe exchange program (SEP) located in Newark. The program is authorized by the State of New Jersey and the City of Newark to distribute sterile syringes to injection drug users, and to accept used needles for proper disposal. The program is anonymous and participants are provided with a card identifying them as a program participant which allows them to legally possess syringes.

Drug Policy Alliance

https://drugpolicy.org/issues/harm-reduction

The Drug Policy Alliance envisions a just society in which the use and regulation of drugs are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights, in which people are no longer punished for what they put into their own bodies but only for crimes committed against others, and in which the fears, prejudices and punitive prohibitions of today are no more. Our mission is to advance those policies and attitudes that best reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition, and to promote the sovereignty of individuals over their minds and bodies.

National Harm Reduction Coalition

https://harmreduction.org/

National Harm Reduction Coalition creates spaces for dialogue and action that help heal the harms caused by racialized drug policies.

Sharps Disposal

https://safeneedledisposal.org/states/new-jersey/

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that used needles and other sharps be immediately placed in FDA-cleared sharps disposal containers. These strong, plastic containers are generally available through pharmacies, medical supply companies, and online. If an FDA-cleared container is not available, place used sharps in a strong, plastic container, like a laundry detergent or bleach bottle. The container should be leak-resistant, remain upright during use, and have a tight-fitting, puncture-resistant lid. When the container is about 3/4 full, follow community guidelines for proper disposal methods. If a trash collector is reluctant to collect a red sharps container, refer them to your state waste agency.

Harm Reduction Policy

Good Samaritan Laws State-by-State
http://choopersguide.com/content/911-good-samaritan-laws-by-state.html

Principles and practices of Harm Reduction and believes the implementation of the 911 Good Samaritan is a critical component of opioid overdose prevention. Here is a list of states so you can view their Naloxone Administration Laws.

Overdose Prevention Act

https://drugpolicy.org/sites/default/files/OPA_pamphlet_law.pdf

"The Legislature finds and declares that encouraging witnesses and victims of drug overdoses to seek medical assistance saves lives and is in the best interests of the citizens of this State and, in instances where evidence was obtained as a result of seeking of medical assistance, these witnesses and victims should be protected from arrest, charge, prosecution, conviction, and revocation of parole or probation for possession or use of illegal drugs. Additionally, naloxone is an inexpensive and easily administered antidote to an opioid overdose. Encouraging the wider prescription and distribution of naloxone or similarly acting drugs to those at risk for an opioid overdose, or to members of their families or peers, would reduce the number of opioid overdose deaths and be in the best interests of the citizens of this State."

Naloxone Accessible Without Prescription

https://www.cdc.gov/stopoverdose/naloxone/index.html

Although larger pharmacies were already able to offer naloxone to individuals without a prescription, this was not a statewide policy. The recently passed legislation will allow pharmacists to dispense naloxone without a prescription under a standing order from the Department of Health.