Maketu Health & Social Services often find themselves between a rock and a hard place in regards law
and order and moral issues. The recent debate around the sale of legal highs such
as synthetic cannabis is a case in point.
For example,
taking a strong moral stand may endear a health service to the community but
alienate it from the very people it seeks to work closely with – that is the
users and often victims of the legal and illegal substances. But take a stand we must, for as the saying
goes, “if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything’.
In this
regard, a “harm reduction” approach seems sensible. A harm reduction philosophy
can be compared to the wearing a seat belt, it won’t prevent accidents, but it
will reduce the chances of serious or fatal damage. The alternative of course would
be never to drive a car.
Similarly,
while the wholesale eradication of harmful substances from the shelves may be
the ideal for some, the reality is that drugs in one form or another will
always be a part of society.
No surprise
then that we support the recently enacted law that seeks to regulate the sale
of psychoactive substances, much in the same way that laws govern the sale of
alcohol.
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