Question
Not sure if you're truly asking a question or making a statement here. Harm reduction models have been shown to be effective in some areas - what you're asking about seems more ideological than pragmatic. To keep it simple, I don't approve of any approach that helps people to continue using drugs, but I recognize that regardless of policy and law that people will do them. I am in favor of harm reduction models like needle exchanges because they limit the spread of disease. Testing substances to identify what they really are? Sure - I'm good with that. I reason that it's better to know what one is putting in one's body than to not know. A lot of addicts I've known simply call the Poison Control or a local pharmacy to identify a substance and this is legal.
What "experts" believe, what public policy dictates and what law enforcement practices are often not congruent. To be critical of US policies on drug abuse makes sense to me - we've been losing the "War on Drugs" since its inception.
About the Expert
Jim LaPierre
LCSW, CCS
Brewer, United States of America
Specialties
Anger Management, Gay Lesbian Issues, Spirituality, Divorce, Compulsive Disorders, Trauma and PTSD, Life Coaching, Addiction or Substance Abuse, OCD, Mood Disorders, Parenting, Domestic Abuse or Domestic Violence, Anxiety or Fears, ADHD, Impulse Control Disorders, Relationship Issues, Women, Loss or Grief, Eating Disorders, Depression, Finding Your Purpose in Life
License
my_license #LC9830