US EditionFacts, not fear: Inside Mexico's pioneering drug harm reduction programs
- The Instituto RIA spearheaded 'Checa tu Sustancia' , an initiative providing free, anonymous drug testing at a festival to reduce risk among drug users from a public health and social justice perspective.
- This initiative is part of a broader effort by Mexican civil society to address drug use through harm reduction, focusing on offering information and safe spaces rather than prohibition.
- Instituto RIA members tested substances planned for consumption, using color-change analysis and fentanyl test strips, and also offered naloxone nasal sprays to reverse opioid overdoses.
- While Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum's anti-drug campaign, 'Stay away from drugs. Fentanyl kills,' centers on the dangers of fentanyl, harm reduction advocates like Lilia Pacheco argue that interventions improving quality of life are more effective than simply warning about the dangers.
- Volunteers like Jessica Reyes Moreno recognize the prevailing criminalization context but emphasize that providing information and safe spaces builds trust and can save lives, as expressed by a 43-year-old festival attendee who felt peace of mind after testing his ecstasy.
65 Articles
65 Articles
Associated Press News
Facts, not fear: Inside Mexico's pioneering drug harm reduction programs
Since the mid-1980s, a number of organizations, primarily in northern Mexico, have launched informational campaigns and community-oriented interventions aimed at addressing drug use from a public health and social justice perspective, rather than a security one.
According to the Drug Research Institute, it is now clear: permissive regulation of drug consumption causes serious social harm, therefore the framework of personal freedom and self-determination in this area must be reviewed.
The fight against insecurity remains one of the biggest concerns in Mexico. Although over the past six months more than 70 laboratories of fentanyl have been seized and homicides have dropped by 15%, disappearances have increased, showing that the crisis of violence remains in place. One of the biggest challenges is government corruption, a factor that allows the operation of organized crime. Without protection networks within the State, drug tr…
Patterns of ecstasy use amongst live music event attendees and their opinions on pill testing: a cross sectional study - Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
Pill testing services could potentially be used to reduce drug-related harm. This study aims to identify patterns of ecstasy use among live music event attendees; explore the opinions and potential usage of illicit pill testing programs and examine factors associated with the likelihood of still taking a pill containing a potential harmful substance. A cross-sectional survey was completed by 760 people attending a major Australian live music eve…
Drugs - A World History: Sky Documentaries (Pay-TV), Start: 16.03.
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