Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. It is also a movement for social justice built on a belief in, and respect for, the rights of people who use drugs.

Central to harm reduction is the understanding that drug use is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon that encompasses a continuum of behaviors from severe use to total abstinence. Harm reduction acknowledges that some ways of using drugs are clearly safer than others and incorporates a spectrum of strategies, including safer use, managed use, and abstinence. It emphasizes meeting people who use drugs "where they're at" and addressing conditions of use along with the use itself.

Key principles of harm reduction include:

1. Accepting that both licit and illicit drug use is part of our world and choosing to work to minimize its harmful effects rather than simply ignore or condemn them.

2. Establishing quality of individual and community life and well-being—not necessarily cessation of all drug use—as the criteria for successful interventions and policies.

3. Calling for the non-judgmental, non-coercive provision of services and resources to people who use drugs and the communities in which they live to assist them in reducing attendant harm.

4. Ensuring that people who use drugs and those with a history of drug use routinely have a real voice in the creation of programs and policies designed to serve them.

5. Affirming people who use drugs as the primary agents of reducing the harms of their drug use and seeking to empower them to share information and support each other in strategies that meet their actual conditions of use.

6. Recognizing that the realities of poverty, class, racism, social isolation, past trauma, sex-based discrimination, and other social inequalities affect both people's vulnerability to and capacity for effectively dealing with drug-related harm.

7. Not attempting to minimize or ignore the real and tragic harm and danger that can be associated with illicit drug use.

These principles guide the development of interventions and policies that aim to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities affected by drug use.