From: Don K Harrison <[donald harrison jr] at [um.cc.umich.edu]>
Newsgroups: alt.drugs,talk.politics.drugs
Subject: A great book on Harm Reduction
Date: 9 Apr 1994 22:32:24 GMT

I ran across a great book on the concept of 'Harm Reduction' today in the
library.....................

_Psychoactive Drugs and Harm Reduction: From Faith to Science_, Eds. Nick
Heather, Alex Wodak, Ethan Nadelman, Pat O'Hare, Whurr Publishers, 1993. 
Call Number: HV 5801 .P79 1993

The book has 24 different chapters, and one chapter was co-authored by
our own beloved brother Peter McDermott on Ecstasy in the UK.

The book covers the harm reduction issue all over the world, but
primarily the English speaking countries. There are chapters on nicotine
and alcohol as well. A good point made in the introduction is that the
concept of harm reduction does not necessarily equal prohibition or
legalization. Another fine chapter shows how a purist approach to harm
reduction can back-fire on a legalization advocate. I have read 7 of the
chapters so far, but I can tell that this is a must read for anyone
interested in the Harm Reduction approach and strategy, and how it might
related to the legalization argument.