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Departments > Sustainability > Harm Reduction
Harm Reduction
In April 2004, the City of Victoria unanimously approved a harm reduction policy framework for managing the harms to the community from substance use and the necessary supports for drug and alcohol users. Victoria's harm reduction approach addresses the complex inter-relationship between prevention, treatment, enforcement, housing and other supports. It promotes public and professional dialogue on substance use in the community, and it supports collaborative action to address the adverse health, social and economic consequences of substance use.
The City has gone through a tremendous learning curve in the past few years, which has fundamentally changed the way it looks at resolving some of its toughest social problems. The biggest challenge has been to grasp the complexity of substance use and its potential impact on people and communities. In doing so, the City has embraced harm reduction as a pragmatic, cost effective and socially responsible approach to reducing the personal and social harms associated with substance use.
See the following Council and other reports below:
Other Related Information
- Province of British Columbia
Ministry of Health Harm Reduction - A British Columbia Community Guide - [PDF 464KB]
- Insite - Vancouver's Supervised Injection Site
The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS is conducting the scientific research project of INSITE with the goal of assessing whether an injection site will reduce the harm associated with injection drug use to individuals and the community. A number of reports have published
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