Drug use in prisons: strategies for harm reduction (ANRS-PRIDE Program)

Laurent Michel

The existence of risky practices related to drug use inside prisons is a reality everywhere and is a major issue for the community as a whole. The level of implementation of harm reduction (HR) measures recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is very often poor and reveals inadequate concern about public health issues in the prison environment, without any respect for the principle of equivalence for prevention and health assistance with the general community. In 2009, the French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis (ANRS) developed a comprehensive research program focusing on the prevention of infectious risks in prison settings. Different steps were defined and scheduled, and included i) an inventory of harm reduction (HR) measures, ii) a qualitative survey on the reality of risky practices, iii) an assessment of the social acceptability of HR measures, and iv) an intervention trial exploring the feasibility of upgrading existing HR strategies. A progressive implementation of this program has shown it is feasible, but in France, it requires tenacity, simple long-term objectives, support from a scientific authority, pedagogical interventions for all involved, as well as constant discussion with the authorities. The implementation of this program in other countries is equally simple to manage.