Drugs & Alcohol
Drugs and alcohol have a steady presence in our society and culture. In addition to having wide-ranging effects on individual behavior, social interactions and our communities as a whole–the assumptions and perceptions that accompany different drugs vary widely as well.
How we understand the roles that drugs and alcohol play in our society, and their effects on individuals, influences how we manage their use and mitigate the damage that they can cause to our ability to function in the world, to our relationships, and to ourselves.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF HARM REDUCTION
Harm reduction is a guiding set of strategies that can be applied to drug and alcohol use. Central to the idea of harm reduction is that, for better or worse, drugs and alcohol play a role in our world, culture and society. Instead of ignoring drug use or attempting to keep people from using drugs and alcohol, harm reduction strategies are offered without judgement to reduce the negative consequences associated with drugs and alcohol.
Harm reduction strategies can include reducing use, managing use, substituting one drug for another, complete abstinence, and more.
PEOPLE FIRST
People who use drugs and alcohol are people first, and they deserve respect and dignity no matter what substances they use, how they use them, or for how long. We help people who use drugs to pick evidence-based strategies to reduce the harm that drugs and alcohol can cause.
Syringe Access & Safer Drug Use
We provide safer drug use supplies to people who inject or use other substances in order to prevent the transmission of HIV, hepatitis C and other infectious diseases.
Drug & Alcohol Counseling
We provide non-judgmental, harm reduction-based drug and alcohol counseling and drop-in services for people interested in addressing their substance use. Treatment is a partnership, individually tailored to address each participant’s goals and needs wherever they are in their experience with alcohol and drugs.
Related Reading
Committed to ending drug overdose
With drug overdoses on the rise, Ryan Delgado explains where people who use drugs can get the harm reduction resources they need to maintain health and safety.
Changing policies to help people who use substances
Harm reduction activist Laura Thomas joins SFAF and plans to get you involved to advance policies to improve the health of people who use drugs.
ARTEMIS improves mood, reduces viral load for men using meth
New research presented at IAS 2019 showed the effectiveness of a counseling intervention to improve mood, reduce substance use, and lower viral loads in men using meth.
IAS 2019 – Mindfulness intervention reduces viral load for men using meth
Adam Carrico explains findings from his study which showed that an intervention focusing on mindfulness, meditation and relaxation helped men living with HIV who use meth reduce their substance use and viral load.
San Francisco seeks solutions to harms caused by meth
Leaders at the Stonewall Project are sharing their expertise in providing services to people who use meth on the San Francisco Methamphetamine Task Force.
Delaying Overdose Prevention Programs Will Cost More Lives
San Francisco AIDS Foundation expresses deep disappointment that California Assembly Bill (AB) 362 is not proceeding this legislative cycle.
Relaunched Tweaker site tightens ties to substance-use support group
What began as a campaign exploring STI transmission is now an international resource for drug-use safety. SFAF’s Jen Hecht shares the importance of accessible sexual health information and the evolution of drug language.
Tweaker.org
What started as an awareness campaign about meth and sexual risk-taking now receives nearly 1 million visitors annually.