HOLISTIC APPROACH NEEDED TO TREAT DRUG USERS

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan has the vision, the temerity and the
strength of character to go all out to change the shape of mainstream
policy for drug users.

Harm-reduction approaches have not been widely accepted among health
practitioners around the world.

Addiction is a complex issue, rarely to do with just the addictive drug alone.

A varied response is required, with as many treatment choices as
possible, because what works for one person will not work for everybody.

The important thing is that harm reduction, substitution, abstinence,
education, health promotion and drug prevention are only part of the solution.

They must go side by side with approaches toward housing, poverty,
anti-social upbringing and poor mental and physical health in order
to offer a more holistic response to an extremely complex problem.

Stephen Heller-Murphy, Edinburgh