practicing harm reduction, we do not give up on abstinence—on the contrary, we may hope to encourage that possibility by helping people feel better, bringing them into therapeutic relationships with caregivers, offering them a sense of trust, removing judgment from our interactions with them, and giving them a sense of acceptance. At the same time, we do not hold out abstinence as the holy grail, and we do not make our valuation of addicts as worthwhile human beings dependent on their making choices that please us.
