Care, agency and criminality: Making sense of authorised extended distribution in the accounts of key stakeholders.
Int J Drug Policy
; 71: 56-61, 2019 09.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31226504
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
One of the current harm reduction debates in Australia concerns the legalisation of the extended distribution of sterile needles and syringes, a practice that is currently unlawful in most Australian settings.METHODS:
We used data from a unique pilot program of authorised extended distribution to document the opinions held by 22 key stakeholders -service staff, drug users and police - about the risks and benefits of authorisation, and to analyse the ways in which drug users were understood within these.RESULTS:
Opinions were strongly in favour of authorising extended distribution, based on the belief that this would reduce the transmission of hepatitis C. However, stakeholders also identified that distributors risked attention from police and some noted that the consequences of this would be borne by distributors themselves and not the services that support them. These opinions rested on specific assumptions about people who inject, some of which reflect negative constructions of drug users as a source of danger to the public or as helpless 'addicts' with little control over their risk reduction. But there were other representations that positioned drug users more positively as responsible agents with a strong duty of care to themselves and others whose choices are often limited by inadequate service structures. Staff participants drew on these understandings in careful and strategic ways, arguing for the rationality and expertise of drug users, while also problematizing the individualised approach that any form of authorised extended distribution might take.CONCLUSION:
We argue that localised and incremental changes such as those that took place to support this pilot project, and the extensive support for extended distribution among stakeholders in this study including police, creates meaningful opportunities to think about extended distribution differently, which can in turn support conditions for future discussions about legislative change.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Substance Abuse, Intravenous
/
Hepatitis C
/
Needle-Exchange Programs
/
Drug Users
/
Criminal Behavior
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Oceania
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Drug Policy
Journal subject:
SAUDE PUBLICA
/
TRANSTORNOS RELACIONADOS COM SUBSTANCIAS
Year:
2019
Document type:
Article