U.S. opposes 'harm reduction' From the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna: Germany and other European countries could not convince others to include the contentious term "harm reduction" in the text, which refers to a variety of measures such as drug substitution and needle exchange programmes, or providing rooms where addicts can safely inject drugs. After the text was adopted by consensus, the German ambassador said his country and a group of 25 mostly European countries would interpret the term "related support services" to mean harm reduction. His statement drew criticism from Cuba, Russia, Pakistan, the United States and others. The US was opposed to the term "harm reduction" as it includes measures that would make the government seem to condone drug use, US diplomats explained earlier. However, Washington was not opposed to specific programmes such as needle exchange, they said. "The document means what it says," the US Assistant Secretary of State David Johnson said. Some 80 countries currently implement harm reduction policies. Thanks Morrison! Thanks Morrison! » more at: www.earthtimes.org Posted By jamesk at 2009-03-14 15:50:12 permalink | comments » More ways to bookmark this page





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