Educator Advocates Harm Reduction as Effective

A majority of adults age 18 through 20, and many persons age 17 and under, have at least occasionally consumed alcohol beverages. Therefore, there needs to be more than a “Just Say No” response, according to Dr. Marsha Rosenbaum, who promotes harm reduction.

Dr. Rosenbaum earlier conducted federally funded research on a variety of substance use and abuse issues. However, she shifted to education after her daughter’s experience with the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program, which relies heavily on fear tactics.

In 1998, Dr. Rosenbaum wrote a letter to her high school son, which was printed in the San Francisco Chronicle. In it, she urged him to “use common sense” and “most of all, be safe.” The response she got from parents was “this is exactly what I want to say to my child.” That led to the development of her “Safety First “ educational program.

Currently, Dr. Rosenbaum is working with the California Parent Teacher Association to get more information on harm reduction and being safe to more parents. However, she can’t get “Safety First” information into the public schools. The reason is simple: Federal funding prohibits any alcohol education program that doesn’t strictly promote total abstinence only.

Harm reduction refers to policies or programs that reduce the harm that can occur as a result of alcohol abuse. In addition to promoting abstinence, harm reduction typically involves teaching moderation, promoting the use of designated drivers, improving highway safety, reducing drunk driving, etc. Harm reduction promotes abstinence from alcoholic beverages as the safest choice, but recognizes that many individuals will not choose that option.

References

  • Baer, J.S., Kivlahan, D.R., Fromme, K., Larimer, M.E., & Williams, E. (1992). An experimental test of three methods of alcohol risk reduction with young adults. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 974-979.
  • Clear, A. (1997, Spring). Welcoming address: First National Harm Reduction Conference. Harm Reduction Communication, No. 4, pp. 1-13.
  • College students mandated to take alcohol interventions: what works. Press release from the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, 6-22-04.
  • Des Jarlais, D.C. (1995). Harm reduction: A framework for incorporating science into drug policy [Editorial]. American Journal of Public Health, 85 (1), 10-11.
  • Dimeff, L.A., Baer, J.S., Kivlahan, D.R., & Marlatt, G.A. (1998). Brief alcohol screening and intervention for college students (BASICS): A harm reduction approach. New York: Guilford Press.
  • DuPont, R. L., & Voth, E. A. (1995). Drug legalization, harm reduction, and drug policy. Annals of Internal Medicine, 123, 461-469.
  • Gordon, J.R. (1998). Harm reduction psychotherapy comes out of the closet. In Session: Psychotherapy in Practice, 4, 69-77.
  • Kilmer, Jason R. (with others). Harm reduction strategies for substance use and abuse. In G.A. Marlatt. G. Alan (Ed.), Harm Reduction: Pragmatic Strategies for Managing High-Risk Behaviors (pp. 145-217). New York: Guilford Press, 1998.
  • MacCoun, R.J. (In press). Toward a psychology of harm reduction. American Psychologist.
  • Marlatt, G.A. (1996a). Harm reduction: Come as you are. Addictive Behaviors, 21(6), 779- 788.
  • Marlatt, G.A., Baer, J.S., & Larimer, M.E. (1995). Preventing alcohol abuse in college students: A harm reduction approach. In G.M. Boyd, J. Howard, & R.A Zucker (Eds.), Alcohol problems among adolescents: Current directions in prevention research (pp. 147-172). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
  • Marlatt, G.A., Larimer, M.E., Baer, J.S., & Quigley, L.A. (1993). Harm reduction for alcohol problems: Moving beyond the controlled drinking controversy. Behavior Therapy, 24, 461-504.
  • Marlatt, G.A., & Roberts, L.J. (1998). Introduction to special issue on treatment of comorbid addictive behaviors: Harm reduction as an alternative to abstinence. In session: Psychotherapy in practice, 4, 1-8.
  • Marlatt, G.A., & Tapert, S.F. (1993). Harm reduction: Reducing the risks of addictive behaviors. In J.S. Baer, G.A. Marlatt, & R. McMahon (Eds.), Addictive behaviors across the lifespan (pp. 243-273). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
  • Peele, S. (1993). The conflict between public health goals and the temperance mentality. American Journal of Public Health, 83, 805-810.
  • Plant, M., Single, E., & Stockwell, T. (Eds.). (1997). Alcohol: Minimizing the harm-what works? London: Free Association Books.
  • Reuter, P., & MacCoun, R. (1995). Drawing lessons from the absence of harm reduction in American drug policy. Tobacco Control, 4, S28-S32.
  • Santini, Jacob.(2004) Drug educator advocates “Safety First.” Salt Lake Tribune, October 8, 2004.
  • Shore, E.R., Gregory, T., & Tatlock, L. (1991). College students' reactions to a designated driver program: An exploratory study. Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, 37, 1-6.
  • Single, E. (1996). Harm reduction as an alcohol-prevention strategy. Alcohol Health and Research World, 20, 239-243.
  • Somers, J.M. (1995). Harm reduction and the prevention of alcohol problems among secondary students. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Washington.
  • Study: Harm Reduction Most effective in Curbing College Drinking. Join Together Online (www.jointogether.org)

See Also