- What is a Drug Users’ Union?
A Drug Users’ Union is a group of people coming together to advocate for Drug Users’ rights, health, safety and happiness through community organizing and direct action!
Obviously, this can mean many things! It can mean holding rallies to raise awareness about Hep C, it can mean working on opening a Safe Injection Facility, it can mean training drug users to organize in their community… or just about anything you can think of!
The phrase “Nothing About Us, Without Us,” sums up why Drug Users’ Unions are so important. Drug Users deserve to have an active role and a strong voice in all the decisions that impact them.
- Are there other Drug Users’ Unions?
Yes!! There are successful drug users’ unions all around the world! Junkiebonden in the Netherlands, the Thai Drug Users’ Network in Thailand, VANDU in Canada, and VOCAL in New York City are just a few examples.
Drug Users’ Unions victories include:
· Expanding syringe access in the Netherlands
· Opening a Safe Injection Facility in Canada
· Mandating drug overdose prevention trainings in New York City’s homeless shelters
· Peer-lead HIV prevention programs across Australia
For More Information, see the links at the end of this post
What’s up with San Francisco’s Drug Users’ Union?
San Francisco’s Drug Users’ Union is made up of past and present Drug Users, and we had our first meeting in February, 2010.
As of May 2010, we have had seven well-attended meetings (and six additional sub-committee meetings) in the Mission and in the Tenderloin. We are working on creating our Statement of Purpose. Some of the long-term goals we have set include:
· Decriminalizing drugs & drug use
· Creating a safe place to use drugs
· Fair treatment by the law and service providers
· Increased respect within the using community, and outside the using community
Within the next few months, we will continue setting up our infrastructure and we will choose our first campaign. We believe our future activities are only limited by our imagination!
Other Drug User Groups:
International Network of People Who Use Drugs
VOCAL- New York City's drug users' union
