These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Secondary harm mitigation: A more humanitarian framework for international drug law enforcement.
    Author: Blaustein J, McLay M, McCulloch J.
    Journal: Int J Drug Policy; 2017 Aug; 46():66-73. PubMed ID: 28651112.
    Abstract:
    This article introduces the concept of 'secondary harm mitigation' as a framework for improving the humanitarian credentials of international drug law enforcement agencies. The concept is rooted in a critical analysis of the compatibility of the harm reduction philosophy with Australia's international drug law enforcement practices. On a utilitarian level, the net benefits of international drug law enforcement are determined to be, at best inconclusive, arguably counterproductive and in most cases, incalculable. On a humanitarian level, international drug law enforcement is also determined to be problematic from a criminological standpoint because it generates secondary harms and it is indifferent to the vulnerability of individuals who participate in illicit drug trafficking. Accordingly, the article concludes that a philosophy of harm reduction grounded in the public health perspective is inadequate for mitigating secondary harms arising from Australia's efforts to combat international illicit drug trafficking. A tentative list of secondary harm mitigation principles is presented and the article argues that secondary harm mitigation should replace supply reduction as a core tenet of Australia's National Drug Strategy. The article also concludes that secondary harm mitigation may provide a viable framework for stimulating a productive dialogue between those who advocate prohibition and those who call for decriminalisation at the global level.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]