The ensuing discussion focused on the advantages and the disadvantages of drinking, including the effects of alcohol on reaction time, with everyone actively involved. Toward the end of the meeting, several students thanked us for promoting such an open forum in which their views about drinking were accepted and discussed, even though alcohol consumption was illegal for these underage drinkers. Maybe some of us seniors could lead the discussion with the ninth-graders, the way you did with us. Following this introductory meeting, school officials invited us to put on several harm reduction workshops for the graduating class. This program was found to reduce harmful drinking patterns significantly over the course of the school year.
Harm reduction views people as responsible for their own choices.
And it works. Dr. G. Alan Marlatt is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Addictive Behavior Research Center at the University of Washington. He is a member of the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse for the National Institute on Drug Abuse and is a recipient of the Jellinek Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to knowledge in the field of alcohol studies. Contact Prof. David J. Hanson, Ph.D. Sociology Department, State University of New York, Potsdam, NY 13676. All rights reserved for entire web site.