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Audience question from a lecture:
If a community is concerned about drug use & they experience harm as a result of the drug use of others, how does harm reduction balance that with the perspective of community members who use drugs who may not experience that use as harmful?
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If a community is concerned about drug use & they experience harm as a result of the drug use of others, how does harm reduction balance that with the perspective of community members who use drugs who may not experience that use as harmful?
/1
I spent a very long time thinking about this question today.
What scenario did they have in mind??!
My talk emphasized the critical need for programs/ policies to be shaped by experiences of PWUD & the movement history of establishing drug users led solutions.
What scenario did they have in mind??!
My talk emphasized the critical need for programs/ policies to be shaped by experiences of PWUD & the movement history of establishing drug users led solutions.
Piecing apart the assumptions in this question, we get:
1. “community” is separate from “drug users.” Meaning, that PWUD are not a part of the community but a.... separate faction? Deviant group of nomads?
2. PWUD’s desires exist in opposition to everyone else’s.
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1. “community” is separate from “drug users.” Meaning, that PWUD are not a part of the community but a.... separate faction? Deviant group of nomads?
2. PWUD’s desires exist in opposition to everyone else’s.
/3
& the big one:
3. If a group with 0 social capital is allowed agency & afforded a “seat at the table” to ask for what they need, the dominant group will be at risk- they have something to lose.
So what is it that is lost?
Expertise? Authority over the bodies of others?
/4
3. If a group with 0 social capital is allowed agency & afforded a “seat at the table” to ask for what they need, the dominant group will be at risk- they have something to lose.
So what is it that is lost?
Expertise? Authority over the bodies of others?
/4
I break down the distinction in the question in 2 ways:
A) any request for legitimacy or authority from an oppressed group is feared because it represents a crack in the power structure. The thought that you may need to give up your seat for someone who truly knows more
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A) any request for legitimacy or authority from an oppressed group is feared because it represents a crack in the power structure. The thought that you may need to give up your seat for someone who truly knows more
/5
B) The idea that drug users’ thinking is so altered that if given the opportunity to be heard, they will demand unlimited free and legal drugs, set trees on fire, kidnap children, turn public parks into sites for orgies, launch mass violence, and put spells on teens
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/6
I tried to think about one thing that drug user advocates I know have requested or do in the world that has potential to harm a “community.”
It was hard.
We all do things in our lives sometimes that hurt people. But that happens to everyone, drugs or no drugs.
/7
It was hard.
We all do things in our lives sometimes that hurt people. But that happens to everyone, drugs or no drugs.
/7
I kept thinking. Ways to hurt non drug users.
When my partner died from an OD, that definitely hurt. Sometimes I got upset with him. But he went to work everyday, drove me to school, helped me study, took care of the house and dog and loved me a lot. Drugs, yes. Hurt, no.
/7
When my partner died from an OD, that definitely hurt. Sometimes I got upset with him. But he went to work everyday, drove me to school, helped me study, took care of the house and dog and loved me a lot. Drugs, yes. Hurt, no.
/7
And here’s the thing:
Andy didn’t want to die of an overdose. He didn’t want to hurt me.
The assumption about this question is that Harm Reduction means PWUD want to advocate for the right to overdose and harm their families, or get really desperate and pawn mom’s TV.
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Andy didn’t want to die of an overdose. He didn’t want to hurt me.
The assumption about this question is that Harm Reduction means PWUD want to advocate for the right to overdose and harm their families, or get really desperate and pawn mom’s TV.
/9
