Opioids in South Africa: Towards a Policy of Harm Reduction

From over-the-counter cough syrups and prescribed painkillers to heroin and fentanyl bought on the street, the misuse of opioids has ignited widespread debates about drug policy reform. In this book, the contributors draw on a range of disciplinary perspectives to focus on these issues in South Africa. Experts in medicine, pharmacology, and the social sciences and humanities, together with civic actors, present evidence-based arguments and insights and explore possibilities for reducing harm. Addressing three core areas--policy dilemmas, care and treatment, and the issue of stigma--they invite a wider conversation, asking us to imagine policy responses that can better protect the dignity and health of people using drugs, their families, and their communities. CONTENTS: DRUG POLICY IN A HISTORICAL CONTEXT. An Overdose in the Archive: Opioids and Harm in South African History--T. Waetjen. DILEMMAS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN POLICY AND CARE. What Questions Should the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Be Asking About Opioids?--A. Gray. Balancing Harms and the Role of the Courts in Psychoactive Substance Policy Reform: Lessons From a Cannabis Case--A. Kriegler. Reducing Harm for Users of Heroin in Tshwane: Some Reflections About Health Justice, Communities, and Medical Care--J. Hugo. Reimagining the Problem: Substance Use in Tuberculosis Patients in Cape Town--A. Versfeld. INVOLVING RESEARCH: SEEING PROBLEMS AND POSSIBILITIES IN THE CITY. Not as in the News: NyaopeUsers in Johannesburg--J. Keketso Peete. The Value of Trading a Harmful Drug For a Less Harmful Drug in Durban--M. Marks and S. Gumede. Complexities, Hopes, Possibilities-People Who Use Drugs Doing Research in Cape Town: Reflections on Inclusion and Methodologies--A. Versfeld et al. PERSPECTIVES ON TREATMENT AND HARM. The Relevance of Harm Reduction in South Africa: Notes From the Frontlines of a Movement--S. Shelly. 'Incompatible Knots' in Harm Reduction: A Philosophical Analysis--G. du Plessis. Stigma, Harm Reduction, and Addiction Treatment in Comparative Perspective--C.D. Clark.