Comment on 'What are drug users looking for when they contact drug services: Abstinence or harm reduction?'by Neil McKeganey, Zoe Morris, Joanne Neal,& Michele Robertson

摘要

It seems that Neil McKeganey's research has touched a nerve for many people. I'm surprised by this, because I thought that we had accumulated enough experience in the treatment of problem drug users for the maintenance-abstinence debate to have all but disappeared. Having worked in treatment services, and on treatment policy, in many countries, I think the sector in the UK should be proud of its achievements in developing and integrating a range of services that span the harm reduction to abstinence continuum. The stated aim of current treatment policy, furthermore, is to plan the care of an individual client according to their changing needs, not on the basis of the only service types available, or the preferences of their caseworker. Whenever I hear professionals voicing an unshakeable belief that a particular service model is the only way, I fear that this needs-led approach is being undermined.