HAMS at the 8th National Harm Reduction Conference

Great Vid of conference made by HCLU (Hungarian Civil Liberties Union)

HAMS PRESENTATION ABSTRACT

An Alcohol Harm Reduction Self-Help Manual

The HAMS Harm Reduction Network has published a book titled "How to Change Your Drinking: a Harm Reduction Guide to Alcohol" (ISBN 145383060X). This book is a compendium of harm reduction techniques and strategies for people who wish to change their drinking for the better, including people who wish to drink alcohol in a safer manner, to reduce their consumption of alcohol or who wish to quit drinking entirely. These strategies and techniques include a Cost Benefit Analysis as a tool for choosing an alcohol use goal, Risk Ranking and Risk Tracking strategies, Alternative Coping Strategies, and Drink Counting and Tracking Strategies. We also discuss home detox techniques for people who wish to avoid the stigma of having a diagnosis of Alcohol Dependence on their medical records. Additionally, we discuss ways to avoid alcohol withdrawal, including the use of alcohol-free days to avoid withdrawal and Marijuana Maintenance (cannabis as a substitute for alcohol) as a safer alternative for people who have great difficulty avoiding alcohol withdrawal. All HAMS strategies and techniques are optional. HAMS is deeply committed to respecting each drinker as an individual and hence goals of safer drinking, reduced drinking, or quitting are always chosen by the individual and never assigned from the outside. Not only is this a self-help manual but it is also an excellent resource for clinicians working with people who are not helped by more traditional models.

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