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Harm reduction and drug policy: implications for South Africa
Psychoactive substances have been used for social or religious purposes around the globe for millennia. However, in modem times, their inherent properties and hazards have been exaggerated or misrepresented. They are illegal, even feared. Yet, the futility of eradication efforts exemplifies the fact...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
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Institute of Criminology
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613169283760129 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Rothfuchs, Steve |
| author2 | Van Der Spuy, Elrena |
| author_browse | Rothfuchs, Steve Van Der Spuy, Elrena |
| author_facet | Van Der Spuy, Elrena Rothfuchs, Steve |
| author_sort | Rothfuchs, Steve |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Psychoactive substances have been used for social or religious purposes around the globe for millennia. However, in modem times, their inherent properties and hazards have been exaggerated or misrepresented. They are illegal, even feared. Yet, the futility of eradication efforts exemplifies the fact that drugs are here to stay. There is no doubt that the abuse of these substances by a small percentage of users does result in significant damage. However, the standard prohibitory regimes compound the problem by treating the possession and use of these substances as a criminal rather than a health matter. Drugs and their users have been demonised and relegated to the fringes of mainstream society. Social reactionists provide a theoretical basis for this process in matters that often appear to have been tailored to their work. Harm reduction initially developed as a treatment perspective however its features also imply a much broader philosophy. Its central tenet is to diminish the damaging effects of substance use and it has, so far, been accepted in an unelaborated form in South Africa's National Drug Master Plan. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/43295 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | English eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:31:52.071Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Institute of Criminology |
| publisherStr | Institute of Criminology |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/43295 Harm reduction and drug policy: implications for South Africa Rothfuchs, Steve Van Der Spuy, Elrena psychoactive substances drug policy drug trade Psychoactive substances have been used for social or religious purposes around the globe for millennia. However, in modem times, their inherent properties and hazards have been exaggerated or misrepresented. They are illegal, even feared. Yet, the futility of eradication efforts exemplifies the fact that drugs are here to stay. There is no doubt that the abuse of these substances by a small percentage of users does result in significant damage. However, the standard prohibitory regimes compound the problem by treating the possession and use of these substances as a criminal rather than a health matter. Drugs and their users have been demonised and relegated to the fringes of mainstream society. Social reactionists provide a theoretical basis for this process in matters that often appear to have been tailored to their work. Harm reduction initially developed as a treatment perspective however its features also imply a much broader philosophy. Its central tenet is to diminish the damaging effects of substance use and it has, so far, been accepted in an unelaborated form in South Africa's National Drug Master Plan. 2026-06-04T09:37:30Z 2026-06-04T09:37:30Z 1999 2026-06-04T09:25:48Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters LLM http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43295 en eng application/pdf Institute of Criminology Faculty of Law University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | psychoactive substances drug policy drug trade Rothfuchs, Steve Harm reduction and drug policy: implications for South Africa |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Harm reduction and drug policy: implications for South Africa |
| title_full | Harm reduction and drug policy: implications for South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Harm reduction and drug policy: implications for South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Harm reduction and drug policy: implications for South Africa |
| title_short | Harm reduction and drug policy: implications for South Africa |
| title_sort | harm reduction and drug policy implications for south africa |
| topic | psychoactive substances drug policy drug trade |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43295 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rothfuchssteve harmreductionanddrugpolicyimplicationsforsouthafrica |