KNOW YOUR STUFF
Virtual 8-Week Harm Reduction Education Program

Learn about drug harm reduction in an intimate, small-group setting, with opportunities to discuss and share in addition to lecture content. Recordings will be available to group members, excepting sharing portions.

CLICK TO APPLY!

TENTATIVE SYLLABUS

Week 1 – 2/16/22
– Introductions / Ground Rules (20 mins)
– Drug Policy (20 mins)
– Stigma (20 mins)
– Harm Reduction Knowledge Pretest (30 mins)

Week 2 – 2/23/22
– Drug Use Overview
– Harm Reduction Basics
– Types of harm / harm by substance
– Principles of Harm Reduction
– Poll: What are some ways to reduce harm?
– Set and Setting
– Harm reduction as it relates to the drug
– Naloxone administration (video)
– Reagent drug checking + fentanyl testing (videos)

Week 3 – 3/2/22
– Alcohol
– Opiates/Opioids
HANDOUT: History and Origin of Alcohol and of Opiates/Opioids

Week 4 – 3/9/22
– Cocaine
– MDMA
HANDOUT: History and Origin of Cocaine and of MDMA

Week 5 – 3/16/22
– LSD
– Psilocybin
HANDOUT: History and Origin of LSD and of Psilocybin

Week 6 – 3/23/22
– DMT
– Ketamine
HANDOUT: History and Origin of DMT and of Ketamine

Week 7 – 3/30/22
– Cannabis
– Synthetic Cannabinoids
HANDOUT: History and Origin of Cannabis and of Synthetic Cannabinoids

Week 8 – 4/6/22
– Substance Use Disorders / Problematic Use (30 mins)
– Harm-Reduction-Based Recovery and Strategies for Change (25 mins)
– Harm Reduction Knowledge Posttest (30 mins)
– Closing Remarks (5 mins)

Example Topics Covered for Each Substance:
– Why do people use the substance?
– Effects: positive, neutral, therapeutic/medicinal, negative
– What does an emergency look like and what to do?
– About the substance / How it works in the brain
– Harm reduction as it relates to the substance
– Dosage
– Timeline
– Methods of administration
– Drug rankings by harm chart
– Ratio of fatal dose to effective dose
– Harm reduction strategies
– What dependence looks like
– Dependence among ever-users
– Drug combinations
– National legal setting

Tara Rodriquez, ASW

Associate clinical social worker and harm reductionist, with training in various psychedelic-assisted and somatic therapies and five years of experience working in harm-reduction spaces.