Reducing the harm

The Drug Foundation’s message is clear: no drug use is the safest drug use. But we realise there will be occasions when people ignore warnings and use drugs. In order to limit the harm from their drug use, we provide information about effective methods of drug harm minimisation. Such information directly benefits the person using drugs, and also protects the wider community.

Because cocaine is a highly addictive drug, and the initial effects of euphoria wear off quickly, it is important that users do not feed their cravings by repeating cocaine use (bingeing) to achieve the desired effect. It is very common for cocaine bingeing to lead to addiction. Possessing excessive amounts of cocaine at one time can help feed bingeing behaviour.

Injecting users should always use clean needles and return used needles to a needle exchange service. This will help prevent blood-borne diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis.

Studies show that shared straws (used for sniffing) can cause the spread of blood borne diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis as a result of residual of blood and mucus left on the straw.