The purpose of this paper is to discuss the different goals of ‘drug treatment’ within a European context and the key implications for those planning or delivering health and social responses. The heterogeneity of people who use drugs and the diversity in severity and complexity of drug taking and drug problems in Europe mean that a single goal or paradigm such as ‘harm reduction’, ‘recovery’ or ‘abstinence’ is no longer adequate to meet the diverse needs we face.

Background paper commissioned by the EMCDDA for Health and social responses to drug problems: a European guide.