What is
Harm Reduction?
Rather than focusing on the prevention of drug use itself, harm reduction aims to reduce the negative consequences associated with drug use through a set of practical strategies and ideas. Harm reduction accepts that opioid use and misuse occur in our world, and promotes the well-being and quality of life of those who actively use drugs by providing them with services like syringe exchange programs, overdose prevention education, access to naloxone and more.
Visit the sites below for additional information on harm reduction:
What Does
Harm Reduction Involve?
Naloxone
Naloxone is a medication that reverses opioid overdose by displacing opioids from receptors in the brain—preventing failure of the central nervous and respiratory systems—allowing an overdose victim to breathe normally. Because the number of deaths caused by opioid overdose continues to rise, this FDA approved medication is becoming increasingly available to at-risk individuals, their families and community members through opioid overdose prevention programs. Emergency medical technicians, police officers and other first responders have access to naloxone as well, which is dispensed to the victim through either an injection or nasal spray.
Syringe Exchange Programs
Syringe exchange programs are a type of harm reduction initiative aimed at effectively reducing transmission of blood borne diseases—like HIV, HCV and Hepatitis B—among those who inject drugs by providing them with sterile needles and syringes, at little or no cost. They also help those who use drugs gain access to medical or mental health services, including substance use disorder treatment programs, and social services such as housing assistance and case management. Studies have shown, syringe exchange programs do not increase community drug use. Rather, they help connect individuals with resources and treatments intended to help them reduce, manage and even stop drug use when appropriate.
Learn more about syringe exchange programs.
The Good Samaritan Law
Under North Carolina’s Good Samaritan Law, a person who seeks help for an overdose from 911, E.M.S or the police cannot be tried in court for underage drinking or possession of a small amount of drugs or drug paraphernalia.