Letters | Hong Kong needs new approach to reach hidden drug users

Emphasis on harm-reduction may be how Hong Kong pulls young people away from destructive drug habits

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Harm reduction is an approach that aligns more with the UN aims of “health and justice”, and may help pull back youth on the brink of a lifelong struggle with drugs. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 11:00am, 1 Jul 2019Updated: 11:00am, 1 Jul 2019

Hong Kong has a zero-tolerance policy towards drug abuse. Plenty of efforts and resources have been allocated for either public education or drug treatment and rehabilitation services: both important and indispensable actions. However, there is an increasing number of hidden drug users, using in secret and not receiving active care, with some perhaps experimenting or using drugs socially.

Experts have tried different ways of reaching out to and identifying these hidden users but have faced great difficulty, and we suspect that a lot of this has to do with our ideology of Hong Kong as a drug-free city, and the stigma that anyone who uses drugs is doing something “bad”.

The UN recognises each June 26 as the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, and this year’s theme was “health for justice, justice for health”. On reflecting upon this theme, we see Hong Kong as at a crossroads. We want our young people to be drug-free and healthy, and to reach their full potential, but are also unable to fully help those choosing to try drugs – because of societal stereotypes relating to their choice and the stigma around it.

The answer could lie in harm-reduction education and initiatives, which take a non-judgmental approach in guiding users to make safe choices in their drug use, to reduce harm. This could be critical in starting timely conversations with experimental or social drug users, helping them to reconsider or reflect on their attitude and behaviour. Perhaps this could even encourage and guide some towards making long-term positive choices for their health.

We hope to see harm reduction in Hong Kong become more integrated in our community response to drug use, an approach that aligns more with “health and justice”. It may help pull back those youth who are on the brink of a lifelong struggle with drugs.

Sky Siu, executive director, KELY Support Group