This does not imply approval of the decision to use drugs. Harm-reduction measures presume that for the present the user is going to continue his or her drug use, and we must accept that fact. The user is treated with dignity as a normal human being. By the same token, there is an expectation that the user will behave 'normally', i.e. within the law. Thus, the drug user is responsible for his or her behaviour.
Harm reduction is neutral regarding the long-term goals of intervention.
It does not mean that the eventual goal of a harm-reduction approach might not include abstention. Indeed, in many instances, harm-reduction measures are a vital first step towards reduction of, and even cessation of, drug use. By treating the user with dignity rather than as a criminal, harm-reduction programmes have been successful in bringing addicts into treatment programmes. Harm reduction involves a prioritisation of goals, in which immediate and realisable goals take priority when dealing with users who cannot be realistically expected to cease their drug use in the near future, but it does not conflict with an eventual goal of abstention. It is simply neutral regarding the long term goal of intervention.